★★★★★
Brian Setzer's up to his old tricks on Vavoom!, stirring up over-caffeinated neo-jump andneo-swing, sprinkled with hip-hop and psycho-billy. Purists mightrightly take umbrage at dubious remakes of "In the Mood" and"Caravan," but he compensates with shiny big band arrangements,wily guitar riffs, and a winking swagger. B-
- ew.com
2011-03-03
★★★★★
Track review of "Angels We Have Heard on High" Personnel: Brian Setzer: vocals, guitar; Eric Morones, Matthew Zebley: flute, altosaxophone; Charlie Peterson: clarinet, baritone saxophone; JimYoungstrom: bass clarinet, tenor saxophone; Tim Messina: tenorsaxophone; Ron Blake , Sean Billings, Steve Reid , Jamie Hovorka:trumpet; Mike Briones, Kerry Loeschen, Jeremy Levy: trombone; RobbieHioki: bass trombone; Tony Pia: drums; Leslie Smith, Julie Reiten, JohnHatton: background vocals...
- www.allaboutjazz.com
2010-12-27
★★★★★
Former Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer's recent stock in trade seems to be Christmas albums, of which he has several, both of the studio and live variety, in the last decade alone. As near as I can tell, this would be the third of the live variety...
- www.hour.ca
2010-11-30
★★★★★
If your idea of big band music is another X-Factor brat murdering 'Mack The Knife' then think again. Once upon a time, if you wanted low down and swinging R'n'B then you needed a big fat orchestra to get the party started. Brian Setzer might be a rockabilly and blues revivalist, but he plays with it total conviction. You can almost smell the Brylcreem as he takes to the microphone, with his gritty guitar work the icing on the cake...
- www.clashmusic.com
2010-10-12
★★★★★
With the Stray Cats now officially off the prowl, no longer to roam rock'n'roll's treacherous back alleys following 2008's farewell tour, chief 'Cat Brian Setzer returns in his more artful solo guise. Though, in the late 70s, Setzer and his quiffabilly outfit had to decamp from Long Island to London for their big break with producer Dave Edmunds, he has made little headway here since the days of Runaway Boys, Stray Cat Strut and the band's other upright bass-slappin' early hits...
- www.bbc.co.uk
2010-08-22
★★★★★
Guitarist-vocalist Setzer mixes recognizable rock and big-band licks with his own hep-cat lyrics on songs like "Hey Santa!" and "Santa Drives a Hot Rod," while also covering classics like "White Christmas" and "Jingle Bell Rock." His retro-swing thing is lightweight and catchy, and it's hard to forget the band's warped version of "Angels We Have Heard on High," which is mixed with Buddy Holly's "Peggy Sue." This CD will kick the holiday parties up a notch.
- www.jazztimes.com
2009-11-06
★★★★★
Big bands still can't rock, Setzer still can't sing, and that's only the beginning. There is for instance chief arranger Ray Herrmann, Bernard's black-sheep grandnephew, whose dad was 86'd by Stan Kenton because he didn't have any soul...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-07-10
★★★★★
The Rat Packlives again on Brian Setzer Orchestra's second album, Guitar Slinger. With his horn-punctuated,17-piece backup group, guitarist Setzer connects the worlds of'50s big bands, jump blues, and Stray Cats rockabilly. Byoffering salutes to Louis Prima and Sammy Davis Jr. along theway, Setzer stirs his rock with a swizzle stick.
- ew.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
With recent proliferation of the swing culture, it's become rather
fashionable to couch yourself as a hipster or a daddy-o. But Brian
Setzer's always been a forerunner of the swing movement. Even back
when the Stray Cats were in action, there was a rockabilly strut
to the music.
Bringing a 16-piece orchestra to that Stray Cats sound is something
that's seemed to work well for Setzer...
- www.pitchforkmedia.com
2009-03-22