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The Stray Cats are great. I love rockabilly, whether it be from the 50's or the '00's. It's just wonderful, fun,
attitude laden, sexy rock and roll. If I'm remembering my history correctly, this was the first Stray Cats
American album and the one that made the impact on the American society of the 1980's, and rightly so.
This album manages to keep your toes tapping for pretty much the whole thing. "Rock this Town" opens
the album on the right foot; it's upbeat and uninhibited at times, a solid song that has some great guitar
work courtesy of Mr. Brian Setzer. His guitar sounds like no one else's around. It's just awesome. I'd love
to be able to play like him. "Built For Speed" is another solid song. The vocals are teasing in the verses
and strong in the chorus, which works incredibly well and sounds great. There's a meaty instrumental
in this one as well... wonderful. "Stray Cat Strut" has got to be my favourite song on the album, I think
it has to be one of the ultimate sexy songs. The walking bass line adds great attitude, and the very
swingy, catchy, and harmonically pleasing ooohh's are cool, and the vocals convey nice sexiness.
"Rumble in Brighton" brings the pace back up again, with a great instrumental opening that hints at the
wildness that comes later on in the song. This piece closes the first side very well, carrying the strength
of the album through right when some albums tend to get weak. "Lonely Summer Nites" and "Double
Talkin' Baby" are just two of the great songs on side two of the album, and are probably the ones that
contrast the most stylistically as well. "Lonely..." is the 'ballad' of the album; The vocals are smooth
and jazzy, and the saxaphone adds to the melancholy mood that the vocals convey. "Double Talkin' Baby",
on the other hand, is a great upbeat ditty that has great attitude and just flat out rocks. I like the "You're
drivin' me crazy" part the best. Go get this album dammit, and revel in its glory.
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Stray Cats: Built for Speed