Customer Reviews

Nitro Burnin Funny Daddy (with Bonus CD Single "Luck Be a Lady")

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This cd starts off like a shot. The first time I heard 'Sixty Years' I was blown away, almost frothing at the mouth for the rest of the disc... then the 2nd song came on 'Don't Trust a Women' and the deal was cemented, I mean it was quite obvious this package would be a showstopper. Remembering the cd 'Vavoom' and how that only got better as the cd progressed I was in a sort of 'Setzer' Heaven. The third song came and went and I liked the change of pace, nice almost Jerry Reed-ish quality as did Rat Pack Boogie... I was livid. Then on abouts the 7th track the songs became either redundant or in the case of St. Jude, they totally didn't work. Wild Wind was a lot of hot air and 'to be Loved' was a bit of a snoozer that I simply couldn't Love. The final song came on, I glanced at the back of the case and noticed it was a different a mix of song three; at least that's what the back of the disc case claimed, you could hard tell as much, they sounded almost identical to me.

Sadly, I listened to the bonus disc and was unmoved. I still have fond memories of the first half of this disc and hope in time the last half would grow on me. Unfortunately 'Vavoom' proved to be the exception and not the rule, this cd didn't gain momentum as it raced down the track it merely ran out gas somewhere on lap number six.

This would probably have been a good album if Brian Setzer's last trio album wasn't "Ignition". There's some good stuff here, but it just doesn't add up to his last performance. The sound is even more rockabilly with a large flare of oldies and country thrown in for good measure. The first half of the album is four-star material, but the rest of it lags, and nothing here adds up to the hits on "Ignition". Overall, "Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy" isn't all that bad, but Setzer is capable of doing much better.

With the opening notes of "Sixty Years" the new Setzer trio comes out of the gates with a much more raw sound than the previous album. The guitar is loud and dirty with a good rhythm to get your feet a stompin'. Spaz Hatton fills in the bottom with the thick strings a boomin', but the double-base work of Mark Winchester is sorely missed on this album. The raw sound continues with "Don't Trust a Woman (In a Black Cadillac)". The speed is quick with several great fills from the "Ignition" returning Bernie Dresel, an incredible drummer. Setzer plays a little banjo for "When the Bells Don't Chime" more country than rockabilly, but another quick toe taper, but not nearly as dirty. Some good pickin' here. The instrumental, "Rat Pack" pretty much ends the four-star part of the album. This track is a playground for Setzer's pickin' ability with a lot of Chet Atkin's and Les Paul flavor. I wasn't impressed with "Ring, Ring, Ring", "Drink Whiskey and Shut Up," or "St. Jude". I did like the cover of "Wild Wind" made famous by Frankie Lane in the fifties. Setzer covers it well.

This album doesn't hold a candle to "Ignition", but that doesn't make it a bad album. It's good in its own right, but its difficult listening to something that is below what Setzer has shown he can do, and has done frequently. As what "Vavoom" was to the BSO, this is to his latest trio albums. I do want Setzer to keep moving forward with the trio sound and would quickly purchase the next trio album. I like the raw, dirty sound, but I'd like to see it at the level I know Setzer can create.

I'm a huge Setzer fan and eagerly await any new release but I was quite let down by this one. Fans of only the BSO will probably not find this appealing. Nothing in the way of real swing or jump blues here. The rockers here are not like the great rockabilly tunes Setzer usually has in him. They just don't have that Setzer stamp on them, they are very generic and unexciting. "Sixty Years" is ok but you get the feeling that it could have been done by anybody. His best music is just like his guitar playing, when you hear it, you immediately know it's Setzer.

My personal favorites on this release are the doo-wop "To Be Loved", Setzer accompanied only by his guitar and a doo-wop chorus - "That Someone Just Ain't You" while not doo-wop has the feel of a 50s type ballad and "When The Bells Don't Chime" - Setzer does some nice banjo pickin'.

I haven't heard the bonus disc since I bought the Japanese release which was available a couple of months before being released in the states.

In response to some reviews below, this CD is not the BSO. This stuff is similar to the 68 comeback special / Setzer trio tunes. If you're looking for swing, it's not here. If you want some hard core blues/rock n' roll/rockabilly - then you'll love this one.

I am a Stray Cat fanboy from the start. I am a Setzer fanboy. I have bought every Stray Cats, Setzer, and BSO record that has ever come out. 68CBS rocked, this one just is not doing it for me. I can not put my finger on it but I had to force myself to put this one into the player...not since "Choo Choo Hot Fish" have I had that problem with a Cats or Setzer related CD. It is not garbage and it is better than most stuff that comes out these days but I am going to have to give this one a 3.

The CD kicks off with "Sixty Years", which on my first impression is a song that ZZ Top probably wouldn't mind releasing themselves. "Dont Trust a Woman (in a black cadillac)" , best I can think of, has a subtle Deep Purple edge to it. "When the Bells Dont Chime" rang up some Smokey and The Bandit memories. "That Someone Aint You" is the 50's Prom Ballad. "Rat Pak Boogie" is an up-pace instrumental focusing Setzer's guitar work with a jazzy/rock feel. Than follows "Ring Ring Ring" which is the BSO without the O. Throw some horns in on this one and it would fall in perfect with Dirty Boogie or Vavoom.Moving on, we come to "Drink Whiskey and Shut up", with bluesy/mumbo beatand a Thorougood attitude. "Smokin & Burnin" has a retro-swing/Buddy Holly groove to it. "Wild Wind"...wild west."St. Jude"...I dont hear Setzer at all. You would never know. Ever. "To Be Loved" is another Prom Ballad sort, and finally the banjo mix of "When The Bells Dont Chime". Setzer is all over the place on this one, and I've never enjoyed any "skitzo-musical" release by any artist.So I biasly give 3 stars for that reason.

This is Brian Setzer's second 'post orchestra' CD as a trio. When the Stray Cats got back together this summer, I was hoping for a CD to follow this historic event - instead Brian releases another CD with his 'Trio' and only the bonus CD features the 'Orchestra'. Overall, the CD isn't bad, but 'Ignition - 68 Comeback Special' had much more rockin' tunes and there is really no outstanding track on this album. Of course, his guitar playing is as good as ever and there are even a couple of rockers on here : "Don't trust a Woman", "Ring, Ring, Ring" or "When the Bells don't Chime" - but overall it feels, like Brian kept the foot off the gas a bit on this album. Again, not a bad CD but if you like his more rockin' material, you're better off with 'Ignition'.

Brian is INSPIRED on this new album!!! It is still burning rubber donuts all around in my head! The first thing you will notice is the CD cover with Brian leaning on a 1930s hotrod looking all the part of a Stray Cat twenty years later (has it really been that long?!?). The coy smile belies what's inside!

The first three cuts on the album are no-brainers for hit singles. (We Only Got) Sixty Years (On the Planet) ends any question as to whether Brian and the band can guitar rock anymore. This song is air guitar nirvana with Brian belting out throaty vocals while Bernie Dresel beats holes in his drum set and Johnny "Spaz" Hatton makes the bass THUMP! Don't Trust A Woman (In A Black Cadillac) keeps things rumbling along more in a rich rock vein rather than rockabilly. Next comes the surprise of the three in When The Bells Don't Chime that defies typical classification. Brian plays a stomping banjo (yes, banjo!) along with great rockabilly riffs and a fast beat sure to get everyone in a dance mode BSO-style! It's part country, part rock, part Americana, part rockabilly, but all fun and good. Next comes a great slow 1950s ballad in That Someone Just Ain't You and an instrumental called Rat Pack Boogie. The pace gets back into overdrive with Ring, Ring, Ring in modern 1950s rockabilly stomp. Then comes Drink Whiskey and Shut Up - a funny tale from a bartender tired of trendy people in his bar. The Stray Cats live in 2003 with Smokin' 'N Burnin' rockabillying about hotrods and hot girls! A great remake of Wild Wind follows and then another surprisingly catchy ballad in St. Jude (Pray For Us). For the Setzer doo-wop fan, you will be in doo-wop heaven with To Be Loved. The final track is the Banjo Mix of When The Bells Don't Chime.

All things said, this is a GREAT album worthy of many plays and the 'Keep' section of your CD collection.

If you were a fan of the Stray Cats, you will like this CD. If you like the swinging Brian Setzer Orchestra, this is not the one for you. Many think the swing fad of 1999 has passed and to many it has, yet for those of us who never stopped drinking Martinis or listening to the Rat Pack, Brian, please make up your mind. You have us coming and going. The BSO is still solid and you have the ability to play a little jazz guitar too. Remember your jazz roots in the Village my man, your fans await.

Fans of Brian Setzer will really like this CD. There's a lot of diversity here. Hard blues flavored rockers, straight rockabily, hillbily, doo wop ballads, and more. In my opinion, Setzer is strongest when he stretches his musical boundaries. The strongest songs on this cd don't fit into the usual catagories most people associate with him. Songs like St. Jude and When the Bells Don't Chime sound fresh and remind me of career high points like Boulivard of Broken Dreams and Broken Man respectively. For a Setzer CD that breaks new ground and also contains his signature rockin' sound -- grab this one. Bottom line if you really dig Setzer, you'll really dig this.