Favorite Stray Cats Album?

Figured I'd take up the suggestion (rickabilly) from the other thread, so:

What's your favorite Stray Cats album?

For me, it's a toss-up between the 1st, Stray Cats and last Choo Choo Hot Fish (original) albums; although that's not to discount the ones in between, as they're all great and there is some especially nice work on Let's Go Faster. It's a hard call as Choo Choo has Jade Idol, My Heart is a Liar, Beautiful Blues, Lust N Love, along with nice versions of Mystery Train and Sleepwalk (entirely diff. pass than the BSO version and closer to the original Santo & Johnny Farina tune). Contrast that with the 1st album's "hits" of Rock This Town, Stray Cat Strut, Rumble In Brighton, Runaway Boys, Fishnet Stockings, and covers Double Talkin Baby & Wild Saxophone.

Like I said before, tough call, but considering the lasting impact of the 1st albums' songs I'd have to go with...

Stray Cats

Hey Davy,
Yep, gotta agree, the Stray Cats album kicked it off for me!
Great transcpiptions too, how long you been playing and what style normally?
Cheers Pete.

Stray Cats for me

Stray Cats. But I can't stop listening to Crusin' Round Sixteen Candles over and over. I love the CCR cover on that.

Gonna Ball for me

1st album for me...

Still can mind were i bought,what i felt when i played the both side"s,=MAGIC!.

Stray Cats...no...Blast Off...no...Rant N Rave....no...Rumble In Brixton...hell...it's just too tough and depends what day it is.

Steve
Crazy Mixed Up Kid

1. Stray Cats
2. Blast Off! / Choo Choo Hot Fish

- Choo Choo Hot Fish
- Stray Cats
- Gonna Ball

... Or a mix between this 3 !

- Wicked Whisky
- Runaway Boys
- Fishnet Stockings
- Little Miss Prissy
- Sleepwalk
- Rumble In Brighton
- Beautiful Blues
- Ubangi Stomp
- Cryin' Shame
- Lust N' Love
- Double Talkin' Baby
- Stray Cat Strut
- Jade Idol
- Rock This Town
- Crazy Mixed Up Kid
- Mystery Train

1.Stray Cats
2.Gonna ball
3.Ran´t´n rave
4.Choo choo hot fish
5.Rock therapy/Blast off

I HATE Lets go faster and Original cool albums.

favourite COLLECTION cd:japanese cd,which collects ALL B sides and Maxi ep stuff along with hits from 81-83,official BMG release, I don´t remember name right now,was it new kind of collection..or something like thet.

Rock therapy!
And the rest!

juice3 wrote:

1.Stray Cats
2.Gonna ball
3.Ran´t´n rave
4.Choo choo hot fish
5.Rock therapy/Blast off

I HATE Lets go faster and Original cool albums.

favourite COLLECTION cd:japanese cd,which collects ALL B sides and Maxi ep stuff along with hits from 81-83,official BMG release, I don´t remember name right now,was it new kind of collection..or something like thet.

can't even conceive of the idea that I could ever hate a stray cats album!!!! Seems like the strangest thing to say - do you actually 'hate' them or just not as keen?!

How can you "HATE" a Stray Cats record ?

Setzerado wrote:

How can you "HATE" a Stray Cats record ?

have to say is the strangest comment have ever read on the forum!!!!!!!!

scatcatcnut wrote:

Setzerado wrote:

How can you "HATE" a Stray Cats record ?

have to say is the strangest comment have ever read on the forum!!!!!!!!

YES,it´s possible;I´m also Elvis fanatic,but I HATE some 60´s movie stuff(not ALL)...hey wait a minute,I´ll have to "back off", Shotgun baby and Struck by..are OK songs in Let´s go faster album. So maybe "not so keen" is better word.

May be I'm loosing something in translation but I can't understand a verb like "HATE" about some Stray Cats albums in a Brian Setzer forum... Even if Let's Go Faster and Original Cool are probably not the best Cats records, just take your two examples : Struck By Lightning Twice and Shotgun Baby... How can you "hate" an album with that kind of songs (without talking about Tight Black Leather, Let's Go Faster, Cross Of Love or Town Without Pity !)

I do not condone the use of the word "hate" but can understand that if you are posting on this forum, you are a setzer/straycats/bso fan. You wouldn't be here otherwise! So all opinions are valid. Just save that depth of feeling for a band like flock of seagulls.

Sorry, heretic moment coming up - I haven't bought the Wolfgang album.....yet..... I'm working up to it!

The best album for me is CCHF

No it isn;t - the best album is all the B sides that didn't get on albums. Cross That Bridge, Drink That Bottle Down, Looking Better Every Beer, Somethin' Else etc...

Stray Cats for me....

I'm ashamed to admit I don't have Choo Choo in my collection yet....am I missing something good?

Rob

Flattop Rob wrote:

Stray Cats for me....

I'm ashamed to admit I don't have Choo Choo in my collection yet....am I missing something good?

Rob

Yes, yes you are.

You're welcome.

One of the things I love about that radio interview that's on the music player right now is that there are a lot of tracks on there from the first two albums that most US fans hadn't heard yet at the time it aired. Imagine hearing Fishnet Stockings, Gonna Ball, or any of the tunes not on Built For Speed, and wondering where in the hell you could find these great songs. For many US fans, these albums were not easily available, and remained off their radar until the internet provided fansites like this one and easier access to these imports.

Having been raised on Built For Speed and Rant-n-Rave, I'd have to choose one of those. By the time I heard Stray 1, Storm the Embassy sounded pretty dated, and I didn't really dig their take on Ubangi Stomp, and most of the other tunes I associated with Built For Speed. I think the first two albums are essential, but flashing back to 1983 and 84, I have to go with one of the first two Stray Cats albums I owned. Today, I'd say Rant-n-Rave. But it's pretty even. And anything involving Brian Setzer ranks pretty high amongst the thousands of albums I own.

Choo Choo Hot Fish is a must-have for your collection. In my opinion, it sits perfectly in the middle of the all-out rockabilly of Blast Off, and the lack-O-billy of Let's Go Faster.

Brian, Lee, and Jim all had chances to branch out on their own and grow as musicians from 1985-1992, and when they reunited in 1989, it seemed like they wanted to get back into rockabilly, keeping their other projects as far removed from the Stray Cats sound as possible. So Blast Off was this hyper-billy album that showcased Brian's virtuosity like no other.

With 1991's Let's Go Faster, it seemed like they decided they could shed the limitations of rockabilly and become a modern rock band without having to split up to do it. The major labels must have not known what to do with the Stray Cats outside the 'billy box, as the album couldn't find distribution in the US or Europe, so the album saw limited release in Australia and Japan.

What I love about Choo Choo Hot Fish is that it shows that the Stray Cats didn't have to stray too far from their rockabilly sensibilities to put out a modern-sounding album. Choo Choo is both rockabilly and modern rock, and with Beautiful Blues and Sleepwalk, there's some foreshadowing of Brian's jazz influences that would lead him to the Brian Setzer Orchestra just about two years later. The rockabilly may not be as raw as it was 10-12 years earlier, but it's definitely there. Elvis On Velvet may be the best example of the modern rockabilly (does that make it mockabilly?). I love the Everly-esque harmonies on Cry Baby, the edgy Cochranesque vocals on Please Don't Touch, the growling guitar of Lust-n-Love, and Slim Jim's thundering herd on the percussive assault that is Can't Go Back to Memphis. Actually, Can't Go Back to Memphis might have been a good title for this forward-thinking album, except it closes with an extended rockabilly rave-up of Mystery Train. I guess you can go back to Memphis after all.

Slower tracks are few and far between on a Stray Cats album, but we have three very moving selections on Choo Choo Hot Fish. With Sleepwalk, you get a reverb-drenched, virtuosic masterpiece. I am in the minority here, but I do prefer it to the BSO version. My Heart is a Liar has one of the most poignant vocals ever by Brian. Jade Idol is this great ethereal instrumental that would be at home on a murder mystery movie soundtrack. Normally, I depise synthesized strings, but they actually work well here.

Then there's the Let's Go Faster refugees: Cross of Love and Let's Go Faster (Japan only). Were these the two strongest tracks from LGF? Maybe, maybe not. But they both get fresh recording sessions for this album.

After this album, I was really excited to see what the 90s would bring for Stray Cats. It seemed like the band had gone through this evolution to be able to avoid the retro-pigeonhole and thrive in the current musical landscape. Sadly, it was not to be.

As any sycophant will tell you, you should buy every Stray Cats album and love them equally as if they were your own children. Seriously, though, I would buy Choo Choo Hot Fish before a lot of the other albums. This is only my opinion, but I would put it above Rock Therapy, Let's Go Faster, Original Cool, and, when I'm not in the mood for hyper-billy, I would even rank it ahead of Blast Off.

Rant-n-Rave-abilly

Wow, again. Thanks for the insight, guys. Looks like I've been missing out all these years....and I'll definately be picking it up next! Especially if it has Sleepwalk, one of my all-time faves...I'd like to compare it to the BSO version....
Rob

You're not alone Rickabilly, I too like Sleepwalk better on CCHF. The BSO version is very good in its own right but if I have to choose...

God, if it wasn't 11pm over here, I'd put CCHF at high volume right now! I love that album!

Yes, I absolutely agree Choo choo...is best Cats album since "original era"(3 first albums),Can´t go back to Memphis only weak track in my opinion and Elvis on velvet maybe also,but otherwise really great album, I wish they would release 3 first albums in remastered versions in Europe in future,but I´ll doubt so

it's SOOO simple

Stray Cats

And favourite song is Runaway Boys.

When you've been there from the beginning, you knda have the same feelings about these songs. It's difficult for me to know whether Runaway Boys is my fave song, or just because it's what started it all off. It's like, hearing an 80's song today and liking it, but when i heard it when it was new, i hated it (does anybody undertsand that?)

Mikey Bidgood (whoops)

Slow down Juice, Can't Go Back To Memphis and Elvis On Velvet are not "weak" and Choo Choo Hot Fish is probably the highest Stray Cats album !