Vinyl Testaments: Red Hot and Live TALKBACK!

[Marv-El]

Read it here: http://www.criticalmess.net/index.php?page=585
 
and rant and rave about it here!

[Rocko]

I'm not a fan, but I once was. I had everything he had ever put out, including a pre Stray Cats group called The Bloodless Pharohs and a couple (or maybe 3?) solo albums.Used to defend him quite vehemently. He has every right to do whatever he wants. There's no rules in art, and anyone who says otherwise should talk about sports or accounting instead.

He's one of the few living people who it can be said created something, truly made a new thing as far as I know, by combining an electric guitar with a Big Band. Big Band guys and Rock & Roll guys were historically wired differently enough that there was a cultural divide, it took many decades and new young listeners to hotwire Benny Goodman to Eddie Cochran. That was neat, those first couple of BSO albums are great.

Being steeped in old stuff in the modern day is tricky. You have people who slavishly recreate things that have come before with the intention of creating the impression that they are time travelers or something. That's not usually interesting to me, because it will never top the original and will always be an affectation. The best example is the Blues. The Blues is over. It cannot ever be recreated, because the Delta is different. Chicago and Memphis are different. There can be reenactments, but putting Kevin Moore (he actually has the nerve to professionally go by "Keb Mo") in the same breath as Howlin' Wolf is embarrassing. It's an affectation and it's pretentious, borderline insulting.   

Then there's the old chestnut about the "retro with a modern spin." Which can be great. When it hits the right spot, you've got something that will make a person like me feel like there was a reason to be born after 1940, that there's still some shit to kick. This is the Afghan Whigs doing Motown covers, Quentin Tarantino, Star Wars, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, Darwyn Cooke. It takes a certain artistry and flourish, but what's perhaps more key is a certain respect for the medium. That's why Amy Winehouse was a big deal. Her approach to the Girl Group sounds that was integral to her sound was greater than anyone involved in those groups ever had for themselves in the first place. You have to imagine that when Lucas was putting Star Wars together in his head, he thought about it much more than the guys who made the Flash Gordon serials ever did. Because George and Amy grew up with the shit. It was there and important to them from childhood, and that can lead to legitimate artistic steps forward, and it can elevate the "lowbrow" and accent the brilliance even more. You can look at Darwyn Cooke and then look at Alex Toth and see how that influence and appreciate them both for their merits. You can say those names in one breath and feel glad to be alive in the 21st Century.

But if it's not done correctly, if there's not the correct measure of an eye towards development of the form along with reverence, it's a caricature. That's Grease, Sha Na Na, every live action version of Batman until Nolan. Is it all shit? Well, no. But it is frequently embarrassing if you're into the old/real shit.   

All of the above is particularly true with Rockabilly Revivalist. Setzer for me absolutely falls in that last category. He's a clown. A cartoon. I met Billy Lee Riley, I saw him perform. He was not a cartoon, I assure you. No schtick, no kitsch, no camp, no cheese, no shit. There's a branch of the Modern Rockabilly scene that's nothing I want any association with. It's dice, flames, playing cards, switchblades, just like the most obvious meatheaded stuff you can imagine. The comic equivalent would be a Rob Liefeld situation, where the rest of us all kind of have a smug superior attitude about it, but it's mixed with real pain at the attention paid to it instead of to those more deserving and less miserable.

And that's where Setzer stings. He knows his shit and he's very talented. He could really pull off some shit, but he lets himself be this goofball. It was one thing when it was the 80s and he was in his 20s, but at this point? I just wish he would cut the shit.

[StrayCatBlues]

Great reading again Marv!

[Marv-El]

I realize that Setzer is covered in tats that include the very images cited: flames, dice, the Stray Cat head. Of course, he's had them a while, and maybe there's a case to be made that they weren't such a cliche when he started getting them. Maybe not. I really think he's sincere, for what that's worth; I don't think he would have spent so much of his career in rockabilly, returning to it again and again, if he didn't truly love it. If the manifestation of that love seems too superficial or cartoony, maybe that argument fits the comic canon vs. Super Friends mold. Does it make someone's love for a subject less authentic if he comes at it from a different angle? There is a passage in this album where Setzer lifts one of rockabilly's most famous solos. On one hand, you might say it's an easy nod or a blatant steal; on the other, the fact that he did it may lead others to find it again later and have that eye-opening moment that I did when I heard the Beatles lift an Elvis lyric whole for one of their songs. Is it lazy plagiarism or heartfelt homage? I believe Setzer genuinely loves what he's doing. As Rocko said, he put together a grand experiment not knowing if it would survive. It was a pleasant surprise when people welcomed it, and have let it continue to thrive, even opening the door for further experimentation like the classical music via BSO album Wolfgang's Night Out.

Setzer's work stands as a testimony to the greatness of his heroes, like the way Tommy Emmanuel and Mark Knopfler and Jeff Beck keep their heroes' work alive. Setzer's presentation is much flashier than those guys', but I don't think that makes it less viable. I never saw Les Paul perform live, certainly not when he was a young man, but I've seen Chet Atkins plenty of times and the low-key presentation he offered is reflected in Emmanuel's and Knopfler's performance style, when they are doing that type of material.

Since we've kind of branched out from discussing just this album, I'll point out that Setzer sometimes acts as an advocate for some other styles, reinvigorating or preserving them. It's not a stretch when he performs Stood Up or Waitin' in School, because Ricky Nelson was a real rockabilly at heart too, but Setzer has also written doo-wop originals and covered non-rockabilly Elvis cuts, jazz, and Beach Boys numbers. Critics would say that's losing focus; I think it shows an intention to draw fans together, show common ground, and invite potential listeners to find other styles they may like.

I'm not arguing with you, Rocko, because you know I have too much respect for you and your opinions for that. 

[Rocko]

No, it's not an argument, it's a conversation. One thing about me in this conversation is that I come at the subject from a position that will automatically make me a snob and adds an extra layer of obnoxiousness, just like with comics. The Superfriends analogy is apt; if someone who wasn't a toy collector who owns thousands of comic books like we do said "Oh, I love the Superfriends" and one of us tried to denigrate that and poke holes, it's similar to what I'm doing here.

I have some pretty embarrassing Rockabilly tattoos that harken back to when I was a young "Rebel" that I'm not going to flash around anymore. That's part of the thing with me, here. I like it when artists grow up a little bit and knock off the kid shit. They call the Rockabilly scene the "Punk Rock retirement plan," where people who were textbook generic Punks decide that's too corny for their mid 30's and start dressing and acting like teenagers in the 50's instead. I dressed like a kid in the 50's when I really was a kid, and I associate a good chunk of the music I liked then as juvenile. Which is great, I also read comics and fucking collect toys, but it's all relative to other stuff I do and consume.

There's just something a bit grating about a guy in his 40s singing about school. Which is what's troubling also, and where Setzer lets me down a bit. Those first couple BSO albums where he was doing stuff like Nightingale Sang In Barkley Square and things like that, it was like "Allright, he's really growing up, here." I also don't mind Rod Stewart or any of those guys doing albums of standards. As much as I love Rock & Roll, it's set us back in too many examples. I read an article about the Rat Pack once and the writer had a great phrase- "Back then, true adults walked the earth."

I don't doubt that Setzer is 100% a devoted true believer, devoid of irony and cynicism, and that is glorious. He also started a very particular kind of trend, also something admirable. But that trend now annoys the shit out of me.

[Marv-El]

Yeah, I knew we were on the same page to some extent. It's surprising to me socially that the Beach Boys can continue to sing about being true to your school and watching surfer girls without people rising up against the dirty old men (well, Rev. Donald probably does, but that's his problem.) It may have been thinking about this over the weekend, but I recalled Grace Slick's statement when she retired from Jefferson Airplane, that rock and roll is a young person's game and it's embarassing to be 60 singing rock. I don't go along with that sentiment completely--I'd still love to see Dion or Paul or the Everlys (again), but it's one thing to be singing the songs from your youth and another to behave like (or pretend) you're still 14. I realize it's not just about age, but it seems you're addressing maturity, real and perceived, both of performers and their audience. I think Setzer has shown his maturity in song selection and performance style, but he still chooses to embrace that lighter persona at times as well.

[measle]

Fantastic read and discussion gents.  This article has really piqued my interest.  I liked the SCBs and the BSO well enough but really never came to appreciate the talent and devotion of the artist in this case...

[Marv-El]

You should see us in person. 

[measle]

You should see us in person. 

I'm guessing it would be the closest thing to seeing Roger Whittaker at the local indian casino as you could get.   

[Rocko]

You should see us in person. 

We were on the phone for what, like 3 hours once? And I own a briefcase designed for cassette tapes that belonged to Marv, I've given a second life in the Rockomobile.

Yeah, I knew we were on the same page to some extent. It's surprising to me socially that the Beach Boys can continue to sing about being true to your school and watching surfer girls without people rising up against the dirty old men (well, Rev. Donald probably does, but that's his problem.) It may have been thinking about this over the weekend, but I recalled Grace Slick's statement when she retired from Jefferson Airplane, that rock and roll is a young person's game and it's embarassing to be 60 singing rock. I don't go along with that sentiment completely--I'd still love to see Dion or Paul or the Everlys (again), but it's one thing to be singing the songs from your youth and another to behave like (or pretend) you're still 14. I realize it's not just about age, but it seems you're addressing maturity, real and perceived, both of performers and their audience. I think Setzer has shown his maturity in song selection and performance style, but he still chooses to embrace that lighter persona at times as well.

When he does something I find dopey it's like your drunk uncle or something, like I'll facepalm a little bit, because he still represents me out there. I'm not so invested in guitar stunts and histrionics, so when he goes into all that stuff, he's kind of lost me. And that's 60% of what he is in the first place.

Speaking of performers growing old, I once saw what's left of the Comets and what's left of the Crickets in one day. While my Rockabilly friends were almost universally more invested in the Comets, old men dancing in their matching powder blue velveteen suits acting like it was still '58 and Bill Haley's just in the john right now, I was more into the Crickets, who were well dressed but not in costume, who acknowledged that their leader was long gone and they had developed into something else in the time between. Much more interesting to me.

Another great example is Elvis Costello, who is now a very mellow character. The spazz who illegally sang Radio Radio on SNL is long gone, replaced by a sort of elder statesman who hangs with Burt Bacharach.

[Rocko]

Here's a guy who kicked some ass:

http://www.salisburysnake.com/2011/04/atomics-and-sterling-park-accent.html

[Rocko]

Further listening:

http://www.salisburysnake.com/2011/10/jd-mcpherson-and-histyle-records.html

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