Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
A positive argument will always be made that the initial energy that makes up a band, the creative bonding which first brought any group to prominence, can be recaptured given the right set of circumstances and stimuli, the never forgotten beating heart which strode any stage with confidence and perhaps wonderful seamless pride, it all is contained within a tightly corked bottle waiting to release its vintage, even after a few decades since it was last sampled.
A vintage savoured, the anniversary of any bottled dram tinged with a full bodied flavour, it is always enough to make the mouth water at the anticipation of what might slide down the emotional hatchway, and despite the initial concern of immersing one’s self back into the heady beat that the Stray Cats overwhelmingly produce, that taste of drama and cool strut has not diminished, and as 40 flows freely through the ether, the sense of gravity and pulse is positively persuasive.
Brian Setzer, Lee Rocker and Slim Jim Phantom turn the clocks back with style and as the 40th anniversary explodes like a wandering firework in the night sky, unique, colourful, standing out against the darkness and the side show of continuous hot dogs and burgers munched over and digested nearer the ground. In songs such as Cat Fight (Over A Dog Like Me), I’ve Got Love If You Want It, I Attract Trouble, Three Time’s A Charm, Devil Train and Desperado, that uniqueness is once again appreciated, and filled with charm.
40 is a vintage that shows Stray Cats, even after nearly three decades since the original line up set out to free an infectious groove and foot tapping stomp on the public’s imagination, are purring again, loud and clear; 40 is the new number on the block to which to look upon as significant, as a moment when you let go of the conflicts and seek out the passion of youth, to be 40 is infectious, to hear it beat in your soul once more is get up and dance to the greatest of modern rockabilly bands.
Stray Cats release 40 on May 24th via Surfdog Records and distributed by Mascot Label Group.
Ian D. Hall