BSO vs. Stray Cats

I think the BSO are more surprising that 'Stray Cats', by that i mean they cover a lot more ground and styles. Therefore some of it isn't to my taste. I'm more of a Rocker i guess. But saying that my ears have been opened to a lot of music by BSO that i wouldn't have considered essential listening. I thought the idea of Elvis was to add some excitement for the teens in the '50's when all they had to listen to was the crooners.....now thanks to Brian and the BSO i find that the crooners were in fact worth listening to, and i'm glad that Frank and Bobby etc have been placed back in my subconcious.
But at the end of the day there are honestly some BSO songs i play all the time and others i rarely listen to. But i never tirer of Stray Cats, most of their music sounds as fresh as it did in the '80's. So another vote for Stray Cats!
Plus the fact, as already been said, that the BSO could change yearly, but Stray Cats would only be Stray Cats if Jim, Lee and Brian were the members. The chemistry between though 3 guys! I think what ever problems they had over the years, they can join up at the fall of a hat, and they would still gell together.
Roll on September 12th!

Ponczek007 - I see your point about BSO with Trio segment being the best of both worlds. Maybe so, but the Trio bit does seem to be the rockiest highlight of the show! From what i've heard, the audience loves those bits!


Steve

No contest...it's the Cats all the way.
I appreciate and enjoy the Orchestra but if you're measuring by excitement levels then the Cats win hands down.The BSO are probably technically superior with all the arrangements etc but for me there's nothing to compare with the stripped down trio.As for the Setzer/Winchester/Dresel combo...yes they were/are fantastic musicians and produced a great album in Ignition....BUT IMHO the backing vocals live were nowhere near up to Jim & Lee's.Another factor in the 'Stray Cats are simply the best' discussion.
Hey,it's all great but Stray Cats can't be topped....by anyone...period!

Cheers
Steve

How to approach this question diplomatically???

It's just an unfair thing to approach. Brian has put his moniker on many different artforms over the years. It's not just Stray Cats or BSO, it's about a young musicians path and learning curve into maturity (maturaty? Maturety?)!! The difference between Brian and the rest of us is that his life has been documented and lived publicly. Luckily, he has always liked, and produced great music (with the exception of 'The Rain Washed' - opinion).

My quick answer ot Stray Cats or BSO, is..... BRIAN! His music so far has always been a major part of my life, and i can't see that changing in the near future.

The four people i really hope to bite the bullet before are, my ever loviing wife and best friend, Nicki, my daughter Martha, my unborn daughter and Mr Brian Setzer.

Believe me when I say, that this is not the ramblings of some crazed fan, I genuinely have been on an emotional rollercoaster throughout Brian Setzer's musical history.

As for SC v BSO... just stop it, that's all i ask.

Love, peace and harmony is ALL this goddamn world needs

Mikey xx

i love everything of Brian.
Stray Cats are cool and cult.
68 Comeback special was a great trio.
Nashvillians are a great and tight band also.
I even love his Rock recordings of the 80ties.

But the BSO Music made me addicted to the Setzer World.
This bombastic sound, these arrangements, the amazing guitar work...wow!

I`d just listen to Dirty Boogie this morning in my car.
It seems to me, from this point the guitar sound changed. It´s so awesome.

So, i don´t want to choose...but I´m little more a BSO fanatic...(but just a little),
and the end i`m a Setzer fan.

i suppose if i had a gun to my head i'd pick BSO. that's just good stuff.

That's kind of like deciding which of my cats I like best

I've been into swing all my life, so I've been partial to BSO. But I like rockabilly because BSO got me to listen to more Stray Cats, and I absolutely LOVE Rocakbilly Riot.

I have fond memories of riding around in a 67 Mustang with my older sisters in the early 80s and listening to Stray Cats on the radio. I guess I like all things Setzer. And I'm SO happy the cats are coming to OC this July - 20 days after my birthday!

HA HA HA ! What a silly question! Ummmm STRAY CATS ! HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Hey Stray Cat Lover,
Gotta agree with ya 101%!! That raw energy that the first album and their live shows have can't be beat!
Cheers Pete.

Hello,

Asked very difficult ... whatever ... very good!

With that I like at the Stray Cats, The Setzer Mr Solo, the BSO, 68 Special, Nashvillian, is the energy, sound, the game of Gretsch through a Fender amp, the melody, talent Mr Setzer!
Her career is remarkable and totally blameless.

It is and remains imperial across the musical universe, and it's what I like !!!!!
Demoniac it is played as,vive the Setzer song!!

Stéphane

Sorry for my English....

Just as "one soul is not equal to another" so is "one band not equal to another". I love both groups, so it is a hard choice. On one hand, the Stray Cats almost single-handedly brought back the rockabilly genre, and on the other hand the BSO brought a lot of new fans into the fold while doing the same (along with some other bands) for the swing/big band jazz style. But following the logic of equality laid out earlier in this post, the 3 members of the Stray Cats create just as much intriguing musical sounds as the 15+ members of the orchestra. Combined with the fact that they started it all, I'd have to go with the Stray Cats in a photo finish.

The BSO sounds incredible when they're firing on all cylinders, and they can break down into small groups, both jazz and rockabilly to win out in any discussion of versatility.

But the chemistry Brian, Lee, and Jim bring to the stage is hard to beat, in part because of the wave of nostalgia the fans bring to the performance. Plus, in 2004, Stray Cats could and did call out 2-3 tunes a night that deviated from the previous show's setlist. Here's a few I found on the 2004 Euro Tour CDs:

That's All Right
Good Rockin' Tonight
My Baby Left Me
Twenty Flight Rock
Sweet Love On My Mind
Unchained Melody (in French)
Race With the Devil
Drink That Bottle Down
Brand New Cadillac
Hound Dog
Baby Let's Play House
Mystery Train
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Summertime Blues
Somethin' Else
Red Hot
Rock Therapy
High School Confidential
Malagueña
Baby Blue Eyes
Oh Boy
I Fought the Law

I doubt a whole lot of rehearsal went into some of these. Brian, Lee, and Jim just have this history - a kind of shorthand that allows each show to be an "anything can happen" situation.

Because of the numbers involved, it's unlikely the BSO could flex their setlists to that degree, except maybe in the trio sets. I think there was a Japan tour (possibly in 2003) where the trio sets varied significantly from night to night.

So while I have been impressed with the range of material recorded and performed live by the BSO, I have to jump on the Stray Cats bandwagon in this, the year of the Cats.

Come June 21st, in Aspen, I will likely have a different answer...

Any Setzer-Related-Port-in-a-Storm-a-billy