Where most of their early 80s peers failed, the Stray Cats succeeded. They were fully aware of their kitsch and they used it to their advantage, exploiting their unique gimmick in much the same way as bands like Slipknot have in this decade. Fast forward to the mid-1990s, and Brian Setzer’s repeated the trick with the Brian Setzer Orchestra, a 17-piece big band extravaganza, oozing with enough semi-authentic swing style and classic car references to keep even the dingiest diner in business. Where the Stray Cats made the 50s cool again, the Orchestra goes one step further back in time, making it once again hip to play trombone.
With five saxophones four trumpets and four trombones, BSO is most definitely an authentic ‘band,’ but add to that a piano, bass, drums and the hardest working electric guitar in America, and you’ve got yourselves the world’s only Rock N’ Roll orchestra. History has never before seen, and may never see again, a big band leader so tattooed, but this is no novelty act. As a trained jazz musician, Setzer is no slouch, yet he still needed to raise his game considerably to keep up with the Orchestra, and gradually help mould them into a real rock n’ roll outfit, fit for the club circuit. A common criticism of big band music has always been that it’s music of the past, but the late 90s saw a revitalisation of the style, founded almost solely on the basis of Setzer’s infusion of rock n’ roll.
‘Boogie Woogie Christmas’ is the fifth studio release from the Brian Setzer Orchestra, and the first since their self-titled debut to rely so heavily on others’ material, featuring only one track from Setzer’s own pen. Classic Christmas tunes are the order of the day (maintaining the diner theme), and selections range from traditional hymns to traditional secular songs to re-interpretations of Tchaikovsky, Elvis and Bobby Darin, all cast on the whim of the band leader in the trademark rock n’ roll orchestra fashion. Surely there’s elegance, romance, “swing,” but what really sets the Brian Setzer Orchestra apart is their accelerated “rock” mode, most brilliantly observed on opening track ‘Jingle Bells.’
Setzer threatens to commit a blasphemy, rewriting part of the set-in-stone chorus lyric to read
’Oh what fun it is to ride in a ’57 Chevrolet,’ yet what’s most shocking is the Setzer’s raucous vocal, reaching down further than is healthy to growl the vehicular reference. And it’s not just Setzer; the band lends its hand to the mayhem, delivering the loudest horn stabs you’re likely to hear, again and again, as the piece reaches a fascinating crescendo after Setzer’s virtuosic electric guitar solo. Johnny Mathis’ yuletide staple is given a similar, barely tamer, treatment, though Setzer now trades speed for an elegant jazzy guitar solo, book-ended by call-and-response horn sections. ‘(Everybody’s Waitin’ For) The Man With The Bag,’ the subject of which is obvious, we’re treated to a similar mix of elegance and roughness.
Though much is to be made of the melodic qualities of the band, it’s rhythmically that the best does, and must, excel. Setzer was always a very competent rhythm guitarist, but it’s the jazz-standard drum and bass section which keeps everything in order, usually shunning the spotlight to accommodate the more commanding instruments. The pair of Elvis Presley covers on offer, ‘Blue Christmas’ and ‘Santa Claus Is Back In Town,’ are ambitious to say the least, as Presley’s ghost (literally) is hard to shake of songs of which his are the authoritative recordings. On both, the Orchestra opts for a stripped down style, which allows the aforementioned rhythm players to excel. ‘Blue Christmas’ is bare, really bare, closely mirroring Elvis’ recording with sparse acoustic guitar, drums and bass, before Setzer takes it on a completely new course with a burning guitar solo, in true Stray Cats style. ‘Santa Claus Is Back In Town’ features a strong, tight blues-y horn section a-la ‘Trouble,’ again daring to deviate little from the original, and the cover succeeds precisely because it’s so tastefully interpreted.
Setzer’s vocals are another aspect of the band’s charm to be noted. He possesses quite a considerable range for a singer so “rough,” yet his Bobby Darin/Frank Sinatra-informed croon is fully in evidence here, and he’s obviously been practicing. With the Stray Cats Setzer demonstrated his ability to sing cleanly and unaided by music on tracks like the doo-wop ‘I Won’t Stand In Your Way,’ but to see him cast in the role of Darin in that singer’s classic ‘Baby, It’s Cold Outside,’ in tandem with the same’s old cohort Ann-Margret, is an entirely different proposition, yet Setzer handles it with wonderful grace and charm. The sparse guitar and choral arrangement of classic hymn ‘O Holy Night’ affords another chance for Setzer to showcase his talent in what is a beautiful, must-hear rendition.
Though this CD is not short of highlights, it’s hard to deny the supreme honour to the 7:15 performance of Tchaikovsky’s ‘Nutcracker Suite,’ if only for sheer daring. A big-band blowout this most surely is, a re-working of the performance arranged for Les Brown’s Orchestra fifty years ago, and nowhere has the Orchestra sounded more polished and technically proficient. Setzer appropriates many of the piano leads for himself, producing a stunningly precise performance of runs a pianist would find difficult despite his digital advantage. The reduced suite is a joy to behold, perhaps Setzer’s own statement that he wishes to be taken completely seriously.
In fact, as stated, the album itself is testament to the Orchestra’s considerable technical talent, and the creative talent of its leader in particular, even if it’s largely a covers album. It’s tough to recommend a Christmas album to a listener, as they’re invariably pulled out only at Christmas, if then, but as seasonal selections go, few come with a more solid guarantee of quality and value for money than the Brian Setzer Orchestra’s Boogie Woogie Christmas.
Note: This CD was re-issued in 2004 with two extra tracks, ‘Run Rudolph Run’ and ‘Cactus Christmas,’ while selected editions also included ‘Santa Drives A Hot Rod’ and ‘Christmas Island.’
In late 2005, BSO released a second Christmas album, entitled ‘Dig That Crazy Christmas.
