Customer Reviews

13 (Dig)

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a pretty big fan of Brian's solo career, I've waited eagerly for any solo release in the past decade. 2001's 68 Comeback Special "Ignition" remains the standard in modern rockabilly. His over the top guitar riffs and witty lyrics where so good, it lead to an eventual letdown on his next effort. Brian released Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy in 2003 with nearly impossible expectations. NBFD, was much darker and very personal with a huge blues influence. It was good, but it didn't have the same playfulness that 86CS seemed to enjoy. In 2005, Brian went a completely different direction with Rockabilly Riot, a tribute to all the old school rockabilly guys from the 50's and 60's.

So, now in 2006 we come to "13" right in the middle of another personal millstone in his life. With a new marriage and a move to Midwest, Brian's latest release seems to reflect the changes in his personal life. While it's pretty obvious that he is really the only one holding the modern rockabilly torch, and no real successor to hand it to, Brian takes this opportunity to experiment with the genre. Brian's strength as a guitar player has always been his ability effortlessly mix rock/blues/country/jazz into his own rockabilly hybrid. Here, there is a noticeable mix of punk and hard rock which I initially thought I was going to hate. But as I give the disc a spin, I find it quite refreshing. Lyrically, the good natured, slightly out of whack humor that made 86CS so much fun is back. Just take a listen to "Everybody's Up to Something" and make your own conclusions on who exactly "Ashlee" is.

Dave Darling along with Brian disserve some credit in the production booth because the mix is crisp, yet raw sounding at the same time. The guitar solos are not as flashy as we all know he's capable of, but creative mixing and the use of different yet subtle guitar effects keeps them fresh and exciting.

Highlights include the road trip rumbling of "Take an Chance on Love," the county overtones of "Don't Say You Don't Love Me," that features Julie Reiten, Brian's wife, and jazzy swing of "When Hepcat Gets the Blues."

This record is definitely a departure from any of his earlier works, and it deliberately lacks any "pop" single. But lack of pop material is part of what makes this album so fun. It lives the rockabilly ideology; it's retro, yet modern, and playfully rebellious. At this stage of his career, Brian seems intent on experimenting with different sounds and styles on various projects. This is an example of one he got right.

Where do I begin, there is so many different types of music on this CD I can't think straight!! Country, Rock, Jazz, Touch of Metal, Punk and he is very talented at all of them. If you have not ever purchased a Brian Setzer CD before, new or future fans this is the one to buy!!!

I had a copy of this reserved through Amazon so I would receive this as soon as it was released. I have been playing this now for several days. It is absolutely incredible. Mr Setzer is at his usual untouchable superior guitar playing. What makes this cd great is the unbelievable variety from song to song. It goes from country to jazz to hard rock and on and on. Let me state the obvious, if you are a Setzer fan this is a MUST buy. If you don't know much about Brian's music this is a perfect sampler so you can experience the genius of this man's talents.

No doubt about it, the man has some serious skills. Just when you think you can expect one thing from him he turns you on you ear. I won't touch on all the different styles on the album as I think everyone else has done a pretty good job. What I will say is this album is proof positive of why Setzer will go down in the Pantheon of Guitar Gods.

This is a rockin' CD! Setzer proves that he can play rockabilly and beyond. This is mainly a guitar focused CD, with several different types of guitars and effects, different styles, some great vocal harmonies, and even a little cowbell! ; )
My personal favorites are: "Take A Chance On Love" (a hard rockin', high energy, guitar fueled tune), "Don't Say You Love Me" (rockabilly flavored, nice vocal harmonies with his wife Julie, who sings with him throughout the CD), "Rocket Cathedrals" (straight ahead rocker), "Mini Bar Blues" (cool little bluesy/jazzy instrumental with Setzer playing a 12 string Rickenbacker), "When Hepcat Gets The Blues" (some bluesy/rockabilly licks with a bunch of jazzy chords), and "Everybody's Up To Somethin'" (another straight ahead rocker, with some cowbell!).
Providing a solid rhythm section are the multi-talented Bernie Dresel on drums (many, many, popular studio and live credits, as well as the Brian Setzer Orchestra), Ronnie "The Crusher" Crutcher on bass (who also plays guitar in a killer rockabilly style band, "Hillbilly Casino"), and the tasty piano stylings of Robbie Chevrier.
I love the Stray Cats, The Brian Setzer Orchestra, and Setzer's other solo CDs. He has a playing style that both amazes me and touches my soul. This CD adds to that feeling, with a hard edge and stellar production.
If you love Brian Setzer and would like to hear him play a variety of guitar music across the spectrum, I think you'll dig this CD.

I am a big Brian Setzer fan going back to the Stray Cats. He quite frankly is one of the few artists out there whose music is just fun, lively, and makes you feel "Hey man, this is music". Setzer is as talented on the guitar as Jerry Lee Lewis is on the piano and in my mind no better compliment can be paid to a musician.

Every new iteration of Brian Setzer has been enjoyable: Stray cats, to the Swing of the Dirty Boogie, to the Rockabilly of the Comeback Special, and the superb tribute to sun records.

But, he missed it on this CD. The song writing is silly and sophmoric. I do not expect to find the meaning of life hidden behind the lyrics found in Setzer's CDs but the majority of songs on this CD have all the same elements. Some songs are riddled with rhymes children in the first grade use, and are repeated endlessly. Such as in the song "Bad Bad Girl in a Bad Bad World".

For example here is a small snippet out of the song mentioned before:

She's a bad bad girl in a bad bad world
A bad bad girl in a bad bad world
It's not her fault she's a bad bad world
It's so sad it's a sad sad world
She's a bad bad girl in a bad bad world
A bad bad girl in a bad bad world
It's not her fault she's a bad bad world
She's a bad bad, bad bad, bad bad, bad bad girl

What garbage! By the end of the little chorus you just want to give the CD a toss.

Many of his songs are riddled with the disjointed tempo changes found in punk music. Setzer has been able to do this subtly in the past without calling attention to it, but there are a few songs on here that just sound confused. Definately not a Setzer trait.

There has never been a Setzer song that I absolutely cannot stand, until "Really Rockabilly" and "Bad Bad Girl". The first two bad songs he has done on the same disc. There is not one single song on here that compares favorably with any other of his songs that have come before.

I have to mention that I hold Setzer to a very high standard, which until now he has never fallen short of. This CD is still far better than 95% of the crap that is being released in today's market.

To summarize I would encourage Setzer to get beyond this CD, and return to his thrown a top the music landscape.

I like this CD so much I decided to order the LP. I love the warm sound of vinyl and the feel of the lp.

Just as I expected. More fun stuff from Setzer. Not groundbreaking creative BUT music we've come to expect and enjoy from Mr. Setzer. Tap those toes and crank it up!!!

Got to hear a lot of different types of songs, but my favorite is going to be Really Rockabilly. Don't know if this is just him washing his hands of the Rockabilly scene, but I got a kick out of the lyrics.

I was really looking forward to Brian's latest disc, but was overall disappointed when I listen through its entirety. It just did not seem fun, like many of his previous albums. The songs seemed rather tired, and they tend to start sounding the same near the end of the record. I see he has a new BSO album coming out, so I hope that offering will be much better than this...at least I would hope. For those who are new to Brian's work, I would suggest his "Comeback Special" which was excellent, or one of his early BSO project albums, such as "Guitar Slinger".