The Brian Setzer Orchestra* – The Dirty Boogie

I compared this to my original even though I'm sure both were recorded digitally, the 1998 version sounds remarkably better. Going to sell the reissue

Album is mastered fairly low and I had to crank it a bit to get it to a listenable level. Overall it sounded good and I don't have a 98 version of the vinyl to compare. It may have been mastered at the same level. Deko did a great job on the jacket as it looks like the original, but another poor job with the label. Instead of using the cool '98 label they reused some art from the jacket and it looks very cheap. The splatter vinyl looks good and the surface noise isn't too bad with only a pop or two during playback.

Bought this on release and boy am I glad I did. It got a vinyl release when vinyl was pretty scarce in 1998. Brian Setzer is a fabulous guitarist and doesn't get the credit he deserves. He's also a tremendous arranger and a very clever chap. This LP sounds great. Might need upping a bit in volume, but both Setzer's guitars and the brass arrangements sound top notch. Special mention should be made to his version of Sleepwalk - truly astounding.

People who love exclusively jazz will not like this album. Conversely, just because you listen to this album will not mean you like jazz. Now that we've gotte nthis straight, let me explain why. The stuff in here is specifically swing and rockabilly. And it has a fairly aggressive sound. If you like punk, you might like this. If you like 50s retro, then you will definitely like this. In short, this stuff is loud and fast, but it was meant to be fun. It's poppy, bright, and Brian Setzer's vocals are energetic.

Here are some songs I recommend:

"This Old House" is pretty nice and fast. Your regular swing, but it's fun.
"Sleepwalk" is very good, actually. Really reverby, it brings to mind the sound of recordings from the 50s and 60s, the sound of oldies. This track arguably is the most complex one in the whole CD, because it is so expressive.
"Switchblade 327" is really fast, and it's really aggressive.
"Nosey Joe" is kind of funny. Listen to the lyrics.
"Hollywood Nocturne" is less aggressive than a lot of the other tracks in this CD. It's got a bit of the faux-Latin flavor in it.

Truthfully, the CD is kind of camp, but it's all in good fun. Once again, you jazz fans will probably not appreciate this CD, and for those of you who want to hear some real jazz, skip over this.