#73
February 1981
Stray Cats
Stray Cats
Genre: Rockabilly
4.75 out of 5
Highlights:
Runaway Boys
Ubangi Stomp
Storm the Embassy
Rock This Town
Rumble in Brighton
Stray Cat Strut
Here it is. The apex of Rockabilly Revival. Like The Ramones before them, Setzer and the boys hopped the pond and blew this stuff up. The success of the Broadway show Grease should have been a bellwether that this was going to happen and we should have all known that it wouldn’t last forever. I mean, I love to Rock but even I get tired of AC/DC telling me, in various ways, how we are going to do that.
Anyhoo. Here it is. The early samplings of transplanted American Brian Setzer’s electric fingers, Lee Rocker’s stand up bass and Slim Jim Phantom’s simple but effective drumming.
Because Built For Speed comes next year, and that’s the one that everyone had, the one that brought them fame and fortune, is it fair to even talk about this record?
The production, a lot of it by Dave Edmunds, is muddy and unimpressive but that could be the YouTube transfer.
I get why you might leave off “Storm the Embassy” from the next couple records but, you know what? Joe Strummer wanted to play in this sandbox and, after London Calling, he never got back there. Glad Brian and the guys picked up that mantle. I really don’t expect anti-war protest songs from my Rockabilly but, I really appreciate it.
I can hear the opening 6 bars of “Rock this Town” and be instantly transported to when I was a teenager and time stood still, while Brian’s retro-velvet burst into that forced wail, we all wore denim jackets with the collars turned up, we rolled up our jeans and wished we could East Coast Swing Dance. Years later I would learn and I would jam to this song. (I have two signature moves, something every short dancer needs to be able to impress). And is there as sublime a one-two as this song into “Rumble in Brighton”?
No. The answer is no.
I used to play “Stray Cat Strut” right after “The Prey” by Dead Kennedys. They both had ominous and slinky bass lines and I used to imagine that the character in the former was the murderer in the latter. Ah, youth.
Much of the album, though, is filled with covers from the era that, while they work, Edmunds and the Cats don’t really add anything as much as pay homage to half of them. The exceptions being:
The cover “Ubangi Stomp” which picks up everything The Cramps ever did, throws it up against the wall, pulls out its switchblade and makes Lux piss his interior.
“Jeannie Jeannie Jeannie” which the guys make their own. “Double Talkin’ Baby” works just fine. “Wild Saxophone” belongs in the hands of Bog Bad Voodoo Daddy or Royal Crown Revue.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pase83SZkDg&list=PLg_vNWyQLaUUl-joidx6Nrk8C81IjcIUh&index=11
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