Brian Setzer Orchestra
Guitar Slinger
Interscope
Rock * Pop

The cover of Guitar Slinger shows the former Stray Cat, pompadour intact, guitar in hand, leaving a casino. It's the perfect image for Setzer's Big Band project, the brash and brassy Brian Setzer Orchestra. On his second such album, Brian's Eddie Cochran-styled guitar meshes with a seventeen-piece band in the tradition of Count Basie's "Old Testament" ensemble. This isn't the first time Setzer has resurrected a genre; The Stray Cats were the moving force behind the Rockabilly revival that began in the 1980s and continues today. A far cry from that stripped-down trio, his new backing group features five saxes, four trumpets, four trombones, piano, upright bass, drums and, of course, one very electric guitar. The material on Guitar Slinger ranges from Stevie Ray Vaughan's "The House Is Rockin'," to the Latin Jazz-inspired "(Everytime I Hear) That Mellow Saxophone" to a cover of the Stray Cats' "Rumble In Brighton." Setzer's work attracted the attention of Guitar Slinger producer Phil Ramone (Count Basie, Paul Simon, Barbra Streisand) and The Clash's Joe Strummer, who co-wrote the Dick Dale-ish "Ghost Radio" and the "Vegas at three in the morning" album closer, "Sammy Davis City." When you get bored stirring your martini with the lounge crowd, pop Guitar Slinger into your CD holster.