The first and defining album by the Stray Cats, released in 1981, although I didn’t get to hear it until 1982. Upon hearing it I was instantly a convert and I had found the band that I loved and this quickly became my favourite supplanting Shakin Stevens who was my musical first love. Coming in at just over thirty minutes this album is all killer no filler. Produced by Rockpile’s Dave Edmunds who allegedly pleaded with the band to let him produce the album so that nobody else messed up the sound. The musicianship is absolutely outstanding, this is all the more remarkable, bearing in mind that the band was still in their teens. From the descending bass line of the opening track ‘Runaway Boys’ it is apparent that these were no pale imitators of the original 50s rockabilly. Drenched in reverb, with the Gretsch and Bigsby tremelo to the fore and a superb guitar solo, this is a simply wonderful song about teenage rebellion.

Next is the self-penned ‘Fishnet Stockings’. Brian is all over the fretboard demonstrating his extraordinary prowess on the instrument. Next is the ska-infused version of Warren Smith’s ‘Ubangi Stomp’. The song provides ample room for a splendid masterclass of guitar playing by Brian that goes beyond anything seen or heard in rockabilly. Next is a stupendous cover of Eddie Cochran’s ‘Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie’, that dare I say it, eclipses the fabulous Cochran version and the vocals are absolutely sublime with Brian really going for it. ’Storm the Embassy’ is a new wave classic, that stands out like a sore thumb in the Stray Cat’s catalogue, but it is a remarkably good hidden gem. From the serious political bent of this song, it is then the party song par excellence of ‘Rock this Town’ replete with screams and a wonderful riff and solos – it is an absolute joy. ‘Rumble In Brighton’ with an extended intro that is as much post punk as it is rockabilly, tells the story of a punch-up on the beach in Brighton and it is absolutely marvellous, with Brian even getting some feedback from his guitar, it is no wonder that the band was considered too punk by many rockabilly purists. Stray Cat Strut, may sound a bit like ‘Relentless’ but it is a wonderful song with the most extraordinary guitar solo. It is a ten out of ten song that has become a fixture in both the Stray Cats live set as well as all of Brian Setzer’s solo projects including the Brian Setzer orchestra.

Next is ‘Crawl Up and Die’ which is essentially ‘Please Give Me Something’ with new words and features some blissful guitar histrionics.‘Double Talkin’ Baby’ sees Brian make a Gene Vincent song his own. Alongside some superb bass slapping from Lee, Brian’s guitar is all over this song – it is truly extraordinary. ‘My One Desire’ written by Dorsey Burnette and made famous by Ricky Nelson, is a ballad of sorts that grooves along nicely with some excellent guitar lines. The vocal performance by Brian is also exemplary. It’s a winner of a song. Next is ‘Wild Saxophone’ that sees Brian take charge of a Cab Calloway number, with extraordinary guitar playing.

The album spawned three singles in the shape of Runaway Boys’ which peaked at number 9 in the charts, ‘Rock This Town’ which also made it to number 9. ‘Stray Cat Strut’ peaked at number 11, with its video providing plenty of fuel to the fledgling MTV, desperate for videos. All in all, this is a quite remarkable record that seems utterly timeless and sounds as fresh today as it did 45 years ago. The album peaked at number 6 in the UK charts and was on the chart for some 22 weeks. It is a monumental classic of an album – a veritable rockabilly behemoth.

Nick Kemp