REVIEW: Brian Setzer Orchestra, The Dirty Boogie (Interscope) /
Live At Bogart's, Cincinnati, OH
- Scott Slonaker
The Brian Setzer Orchestra is what rock would sound like today if the Beatles and everything after them never happened and the '90s had only the landmarks of '50s rockabilly, jump blues, and WWII-era big band swing from which to draw. Equipped with a 17-piece backing band, ex-Stray Cat Setzer has explored that "what if?" possibility for three albums.
The BSO's eponymous 1994 debut was largely laid-back and jazzy, more Sinatra than Cochran. 1996's supercharged Guitar Slinger did a 180 in grand style, positively bursting with Setzer's manic Stray Cats-on-Viagra licks and the Orchestra's ear-splitting brass blasts. The Dirty Boogie falls somewhere between the two extremes in tempo, but producer Peter Collins opts for a more "vintage" feel, toning down the Really Big Horn Rock aspect and making the record sound more like its influences instead of an update of them.
As before, Setzer does about half covers and half originals. Usually, the best thing that can be said about his original tunes is that the lyrics' frequent anachronisms make them blend in pretty well with the classics (not a rip). The opener, "This Cat's On a Hot Tin Roof", the title track, and "Let's Live It Up" all hold their own alongside versions of chestnuts such as "This Old House", "Since I Don't Have You", and even a retooling of Brian's own "Rock This Town" (a live staple for years).
Setzer paid tribute to one of his prime inspirations, the legendary Louis Prima, quite nicely on Guitar Slinger's "Hey, Louis Prima". Here, though, he and the boys outdo themselves with a flawless, reverent rendition of Prima's "Jump Jive An' Wail", the gem of the record. It may not actually be the original (currently featured in a Gap commercial), but it's damn fine anyway.
Unfortunately, The Dirty Boogie seriously loses steam through much of its second half. A duet of Leiber/Stoller's deservedly obscure "You're The Boss" (originally done by Elvis and Ann-Margret- 'nuff said) with No Doubt's Gwen Stefani is cute, even charming, but not much can hide the song's glaring lyrical stupidity. Another Leiber/Stoller tune, "Nosey Joe", should have also remained forgotten. Setzer's own "Hollywood Nocturne" tries vainly to be a loungy torch ballad, but ends up a snore. (Try looking back to the gorgeous "September Skies" from the first album for a good slow tune.) Setzer's shortcomings as a singer all seem to surface simultaneously on the last track, a surprisingly flat version of Bobby Darin's "As Long As I'm Singin'".
The Dirty Boogie may be the weakest of the Brian Setzer Orchestra's three albums, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't contain several fine additions to the band's visionary revivalist canon.
The Orchestra's recent show at Bogart's in Cincinnati was my second BSO extravaganza. The crowd on hand was much larger and younger than last year's, which goes to show what a difference can be made when a certain style of music hits a spike in popularity.
Aside from the addition of much of The Dirty Boogie to the setlist and the corresponding deletion of just about everything from Brian Setzer Orchestra (boo!), the show remained largely unchanged. The Orchestra's fourteen horns (five saxophones, four trumpets, four trombones) all have swanky matching purple music stands adorned with the equally swanky BSO logo, which skillfully incorporates a martini glass and olive. (I bought a T-shirt at last year's show because of that logo.) Unfortunately, MTV Beach House-refugee statues ("I am the Mighty Beach House Tiki God!") remained scattered across the stage.
Aside from the contradictory stage decor, the Orchestra remains one of the greatest show bands in modern music. Setzer looked and acted as though he was having the time of his life, and took frequent pauses between or during songs to cut loose with solos on a variety of vintage guitars. The songs from Guitar Slinger sounded wonderfully classic, with Setzer's downright possessed lead on "(The Legend Of) Johnny Kool" earning special mention. Regrettably left behind was the version of "Town Without Pity", my personal favorite. "You're The Boss", "Nosey Joe", and "Hollywood Nocturne" were also left out, so that made the omission of "Pity" a fair enough trade.
Setzer tossed in "Stray Cat Strut" (complete with a transition to the "Pink Panther" theme in the middle) alongside "Rock This Town", which earned the biggest pop of the evening from the kids. I was disappointed he didn't end the show crooning "My Way" like before, which in this year's context would have been a fitting tribute to the Chairman of the Board himself. Oh, well. For all my quibbling, the world's loudest swing band is without peer in a live club setting, and gives their songs life that is unattainable on record. Don't miss 'em.
