Vavoom!
Brian Setzer may have been vilified by purists and progressives for daring to "modernize" rockabilly and swing, but the pompadoured Long Islander has now laughed all the way to the bank twice at their expense--and in two different decades, no less. Like its predecessor, the surprise hitThe Dirty Boogie, this collection won't win points with music academics, but then Setzer's having too much fun to give a flying (musical) fifth. Though he clearly idolizes his forerunners, Setzer never lets his reverence for form get in the way of his sense of joy, committing frolicsome heresy on some classics along the way (injecting surprisingly effective looped samples and hip-hop beats into "Pennsylvania 6-5000" and giving "In the Mood" a rap!). His take onBobby Darin's "Mack the Knife" is a bit slavish, only reinforcing the hit's perfection. But as he's admitted, Setzer's a rockabilly writer/guitarist by nature, a notion reinforced here by his own tunes and a flashy take on the instrumental "Caravan." His band charts are both serviceable and modern, but might benefit from a different arranger's perspective. And if his notion of fusing swing and rockabilly still seems marketing driven, recall that this is largely a joyously amped-up version of whatBill Haleywas up to way back in his pre-"Rock Around the Clock" days.--Jerry McCulley