Customer Reviews

Ignition

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

It's nice to see Brian Setzer back doing what he does best, good straight ahead neo-rockabilly. Coming very quick off the heels of his BS Orchestra cd "Vavoom", I thought this might be a hurriedly slapped together project. But that's not the case at all. As it turns out, this is the best material I've heard from Setzer in many years. This new stripped down trio of his sounds every bit as good and tight as the Stray Cats unit of the 80's. This CD starts out with the good rockin' title tune "Ignition". Then on the next song "5 Years, 4 Months, 3 Days" he veers a little bit towards country. It reminds me a lot of the song "Six Days On The Road", but the guitar sound reminds me of Bill Kirchen from his Commander Cody days. "Hellbent" is one mean rock and roller that contains some of the most fierce guitar licks on the album. I saw him perform this song on T.V. and he just tore the house down doing this song. "Hot Rod Girl" has single written all over it. It reminds me a lot of his music from the Stray Cats days. "8 Track" is a great tune where Setzer offers up his best Slim Whitman imitation, and yodels his way through this song, and at the same time laying down some very hot and cool rockabilly licks. "59" is another song that could be single material. The cheesy lyrics have the 50's written all over it with words like "everything I have is from '59. My first guitar and that girl of mine". But the music, with it's muscular neo-rockabilly sound, is very 21st century. "Santa Rosa Rita" starts out with a nice spanish style guitar, then changes pace and goes into a full tilt rocker. The numerous rhythm changes really give it a unique sound. "Get 'Em On The Ropes" is my favorite song on the album. This is an excellent barroom type rock and roll song that has a lot of attitude. And a very catchy tune at that. "Dreamsville" is the one slow dance number here. It's another tune with a real 50's flavor to it with it's "shoop shoop wah" chorus sung by the Brianaires. The album ends with the ultra cool instrumental "Malaguena" that reminds me a little of Dick Dale with it's mean sounding surf mixed with a beautiful spanish guitar sound. Four minutes of pure delight and a great way to end a fine album. When it comes to rockabilly, Mr. Setzer has a way of putting the pretenders and wanabees in their place. He IS the King of modern rockabilly, and shows us on "Ignition" that he's back!

Not being a big fan of swing, I was doubtful of the quality of this CD when asked to listen to it. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. The title track is a great way to start off an album, and it only gets better from there, with tracks ranging from the wistful (the album's lyrical standout, "'59") to the scornful ("Get 'Em on the Ropes"). The music wallows in Setzer's trademark bluesy guitar and slide fills, welcome on tracks with goofy lyrics such as "Rooster Rock" (it's literally about being a rooster).
On the whole, the album is a bit of a departure from Setzer's "Jump, Jive and Wail" days, but the change is not bad. My personal favorite track, "(The Legend Of) Johnny Kool Part 2" is an adrenaline-soaked trip through greaser hell, chronicling the misadventures of the doomed title character as he takes on the CA fuzz. The song is great, the album is fantastic, and its a must-have for all fans of Setzer or swing/rockabilly in general.

Brian Setzer backtracks to the early 80's Stray Cats sound with a rockin' and reelin' new disc. Each tune is made for summer cruises in the drop top 59 Chevy. The album starts with a great opening track "Iginition" and heats it up on "5ys, 4mon, 3 days". My favorite tracks are "hot rod girl" and "59" - a somewhat autobiographical song. In classic BS style, he finishes up with a fabulous cover of "Malaguena"

Brian's guitar playing is very solid and his band provides a great groove throughout the disc. This is a great summer time CD - pick it up!

Ignition is a great CD for road trips. Feel good, rock n' roll, rockabilly is the only way to travel.

Brian Setzer just might be stuck in the past, but there is nothing wrong with that at all. His "Ignition" album doesn't deviate from the rockabilly sounds of the late `50s and `60s, except this time he's dropped the orchestra and gone back to the three-piece Stray Cats sound. His tried and true sound is a hit on this album.

The album starts off with the upbeat and fiery guitar work on the title track, "Ignition". He slows things down on the next track, "5 Years, 4 Months, 3 Days", more of a country-isk sounding tune. He shows off his guitar ability by playing a solo that ranges down the bass neck of his double-neck Danelectro. Setzer scores a hat trick in the middle of the album with my favorite songs "'59", "Rooster Rock" and "Santa Rosa Rita". "'59" is Setzer's confession that he's just a little "behind the times". This ballad showcases his singing ability. The very upbeat "Rooster Rock" was penned and sung by the bassist, Mark Winchester, that will make your foot start taping. Setzer uses time changes with great effect in "Santa Rosa Rita" by beginning the song with slow Spanish-like guitar and ballad-like singing just to rev it up into high gear for a rockin' chorus. Setzer proves that he's not lacking in guitar skills by closing the album with a rocked up version of "Malaguena".

As Setzer proved with his orchestra, he is not afraid to surround himself with excellent musicians. "Ignition" is no different. His two backers are highly talented. Just listen to Winchester on the double-bass and imagine his fingers a blur over the strings. Bernie Dresel on drums can lay down one of the best locomotive rhythms around. I doubt you will find a tighter trio. If you're a Setzer fan, don't shy away from this one because the orchestra is not there. You won't know what you're missing.

At Last, the real Brian Setzer has returned, introducing himself humorously as the "'68 Comeback Special", a take on the classic Elvis special that gave the King his second wind. "Ignition" revs up it's engine and won't let up! This is the great, fun music we expect of Brian Setzer, but not seen since The Stray Cats 1992 "Choo Choo Hot Fish", a frequently overlooked masterpiece.

There are no deep insights here, no meaningful emotions, no big band brass. But if you are looking for pure fun in rock and roll, you will find it here...along with Setzer's expert guitar, and deep vocal stylings. These are cruising songs, song to drive the road by. Car songs, girl songs, and sexy double entendres abound. In Setzer's world, it's hard to tell if a song is about a car, a woman, sex, or all of the above! Check out "Hot Rod Girl" and "Ignition" for starters!

The autobiographical "59" is truly memorable, a pure pop tune. His particular brand of rocking honky tonk is evident on "8 Track" which could be a number one country rock song if given a chance. Although waxing slightly pholosophical in the searing "get Em On The Ropes", he returns to pure rockabilly in "Blue Cafe". The traditional "Malaguena" brings the CD to a close in a very untraditional way!

This is a very refreshing Grand Return of the Real Brian Setzer; unpretentious, and doing what he does best. Unparalleled guitar stylings and good natured summer songs make this a must have for 2001!

This is Brian Setzer showcasing his over the top guitar wizardry and witty lyrical ability in near peak form. After spending most of the 90's with his big band orchestra, he takes a left hand turn back to his Stray Cat roots. Although 68CS is a three piece band, the comparison to the Stray Cats ends there.

From his snarling lyrics in "Get em' on the ropes" and "hell bent" to his country chops in a self parody like tune, "8 Track" to his blues influence in "Hot Rod Girl" and "Rooster Rock" this record is packed with creativity. He even manages to sneak in a little influence from south of the border with "Santa Rosa Rita" and the killer instrumental in "Madaguena" as the final curtain drops.

Brian's real genius is his ability to mix the styles of blues, swing, country, and jazz right on the fly. Add some light hearted lyrics and a nice supporting cast in Bernie Dresel and Mark Winchester, and you've got yourself a great rockin disc.

Although this should be on the shelf of every hard core rockabilly fan, it's friendly enough for casual to sit up and take notice. Brian Setzer continues his quest in keeping great rockabilly alive.

The only thing I wasn't too thrilled about is Brian seems to have no interest in creating another project similar to "Ignition." His follow up record, "Nitro Burnin Funny Daddy" was very personal, almost too bluesy, and the lyrics were a bit dark. In his next solo project, "Rockabilly Riot" Brian takes a whole other direction strips everything down, and gives us nice history lesson on the pioneers of rockabilly.

Although "Nitro Burnin Funny Daddy" and "Rockabilly Riot" have nice highlights, I still hope he taps the creativity he used to make "Ignition" to create another great rockabilly experience. So grease your hair, grab your Gretsch 59' and let Brian Setzer drive us and rockabilly into the future!

'Ignition' finds Brian Setzer getting back to the raw, stripped-down, hard-drivin' rockabilly style that first made him famous with The Straycats. I really like the loose, raw attitude of this album. Fans of the smoother, big-band type sound of The Brian Setzer Orchestra may or may not like the new approach he takes on this record. This batch of songs is firmly rooted in the 1950's and aims directly at the retro-greaser crowd. The lyrics are centered mainly around hot-rod car culture and might be a little too 'red neck' for the casual listener. As usual though, the guitar playing is awesome and Setzer nevers gives less than 110% as a performer. Lyrically, some listeners might not gel with the references to hot rods and roosters, etc. But this a fun, hard-rockin' record for those who are into Setzer's retro style.

After several years and 4 albums with the orchestra, Mr. Sezter whips up a rousing batch of goodies with a Stray Cats style band. These guys jam their way through this CD with familiar sounding, but all new material. The songs are great fun and my kids and I dance around and sing along to the whole CD. The energy level is high, the lyrics are clever, and best of all Brian Setzer has a whale of a time blazing out one awesome riff after another. This is a must-have for guitar enthusiasts. My favorite songs were the punked-out Get 'em on the Ropes, and the scorching opener, Ignition. But they're all good. Brian Setzer is clearly at the top of his game. Love the cover art too! Get it!

After being an integral part of the swing revival with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, Ignition! is a return to Brian Setzer's rockabilly roots. While the sound on this album is similar to his days with the Stray Cats, the performances have a lot more fire and passion. In fact, Setzer's playing has never been better than it is here. As for the songs, several of them are top notch as tracks like "5 Years, 4 Months, 3 Days", "Hot Rod Girl", and "Santa Rosa Rita", and the smoking title track would have fit right in on the Stray Cats' Built for Speed album. Other superb tracks include the nostalgic "Dreamsville", the rave up "Get 'em On the Ropes", and the very catchy and melodic "59." However, the album's greatest tracks are the faster ones where Setzer gets to wail. "Hell Bent" is a wicked tune where Brian starts solo with the vocal over some nasty licks before the band kicks the song into overdrive. "The Legend of Johnny Kool (Part 2)" outrocks its predecessor on the Brian Setzer Orchestra's Guitar Slinger album while the closing instrumental "Malaguena", with its roller coaster ride of moods, is another gem. Other tracks like "Rooster Rock", "Blue Café", and "8 Track" are pretty decent although the latter would have worked better without all the yodeling. All told, if you liked the Stray Cats but wished they rocked a little harder, Ignition! is the album for you.