Stray Cats – 40

The Stray Cats haven’t put out an original album since their 1993 release of Something Else, and that was twenty-six years ago, yet here they seem dead set on delivering an album commemorating their 40th anniversary, where for me I beg to ask them the question, “If you’ve had nothing to say in all these years, then why now, or is this just an excuse for an anniversary payday?”

But hey, if you’re still into the Stray Cats’ sound, 40 is a pretty fine album, a sort of time capsule from the mid 80’s, yet updated with a slightly more polished feel, an album filled with the immediacies of their three piece rock-a-billy sound and a driving presentation. That being said, I keep going back to the expression of a ‘timeless quality’, and I was dearly anticipating more, hoping for a more deeply rich and textured sound defined by both their long absence and their solo work over all these years that should have lead to a redefining of not only the essences of the Stray Cats, but how they wish to be seen in this new century.

There are some surprises, the track “Desperado” dives into the surf theme, a song I’m sure even Dick Dale would have been proud to have penned … though it’s important to remember that the band was heavily influenced by Bill Haley & The Comets, Carl Perkins, Eddie Cochran, and of course Gene Vincent, all of whom dance around the edges of this record, a record that captures a larger fuller sound along with a dynamic energy. I’m hoping the band finds a new audience, because I was in my early 30’s when they first hit the music scene, and as much as I’d like to, dancing around to their rather blessedly short songs took more effort than it used to. Though if you’d like to hear it from the boys themselves, they’re quoted as saying:

Brian Setzer “You have to understand how unique The Stray Cats are. It’s me playing an old hollow body guitar, Slim Jim playing two or three drums, and Lee Rocker slapping a stand-up acoustic bass. I get to write new songs and then play them with my buddies. Somehow we created a new and exciting sound with this simple idea. And you know what? A lot of people agree!”

Lee Rocker “This new album really feels like the first record we did, it’s really natural and comfortable. For the recording, we went live – like doing a gig, we recorded in a real, organic way. We were all in one room standing next to each other recording live, with the amps turned up to 10, it captured the undefinable things that happen when a band is great, it captured the magic that takes place and an undefined spark.”

Slim Jim Phantom “We’re very, very focused when we get into the studio, it didn’t feel like a long time had passed since we had done this, it felt very natural and familiar. We were all in a row with everyone watching each other, so it felt like a gig in the set-up. We really embraced that a little bit for the album, it’s like an old way of making records. The modern is meeting the vintage, which has always been our inspiration.”

I’m not going to say that their words sound disingenuous, but they do come off as rather run of the mill expressions of support for the record without any sincere excitement for what these rather old dudes are attempting to reestablish. There’s also nothing tricky or remarkable about what this threesome pulls off, where even with the immediate nature of the music, less gifted artists would tend to let all the songs sound the same, though the genius (and I use that word liberally) is that the Stray Cats don’t; each track holds its own flawless weight and charm. If you’ve never heard a Stray Cats’ record, then hands-down, this is the one for you, if you had an album or two from back in the day and you’re reacquainting yourself, then you’re gonna find this record to be far more rewarding than their earlier outings.

*** As to the record itself, there’s a limited silver vinyl, a limited edition of 500 blue marble vinyl (with poster, two stickers and two coasters along with a pre-order T-Shirt), limited of 300 copies on red marble (with a poster, two stickers and two coasters, along with a pre-order T-Shirt), limited splatter vinyl, limited gold, as a 180 gram package with the look and touch of a brushed metal stainless steel diner. There’s also a limited edition CD box with bonus tracks, two coasters and a postcard. The records don’t sound brilliant or flawless, but then with so many limited packages being available, focusing on the ‘collector’s market, it seems the concentration was on uniqueness and not sound quality.

Review by Jenell Kesler

Great album, classic Stray Cats!! Plenty of Gretsch guitars plugged into Fender Bassman amps, awesome album for guitar freaks!