Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy

After retreating to his big-band persona for 2002's Boogie Woogie Christmas, Setzer drops the horns for a leaner, more eclectic sound on this 2003 release. There is straight-ahead doo wop ("To Be Loved" features a cappella vocals with softly strummed guitar and could have come off a Persuasions album), bluegrass (Setzer shows off his banjo skills on "When the Bells Don't Chime," one of two versions of that song), '50s-style slow dance R&B ("That Someone Just Ain't You"), and of course rockabilly (the instrumental "Rat Pack Boogie" sounds as if it were written with the loungy big band in mind and "Ring, Ring, Ring" seems like a "Stray Cats" outtake). This is also the hardest-rocking Setzer album since his mid-'80s work, as he turns the volume up on rootsy guitar rockers like "Don't Trust a Woman (In a Black Cadillac)" and the bluesy ZZ Top-styled scorching leadoff track, "Sixty Years." Setzer sounds great throughout and little seems forced or calculated. Lyrically he stumbles occasionally, especially on "Sixty Years" as he lambasts the corruption of big money, hardly a unique take on the topic. He also sounds unduly angry on "Drink Whiskey and Shut Up," a song that could have been grabbed off a Reverend Horton Heat album. Setzer's guitar is rightly prominent in the mix. He displays his classic, echoed '50s style and nimble fingers, in particular on the jumpy "Smokin' 'n Burnin'." He even shifts into Ennio Morricone territory on a windswept Wild West ballad "Wild Wind," an evocative, cinematic piece that means well but tries too hard to be "The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance" and comes up short. Regardless, this is an enjoyable and extremely varied listen from an artist in his prime who proves that he's far from a one-trick pony. Those who have followed Setzer from his early days will especially appreciate its diversity. ~ Hal Horowitz