BSO vs. Stray Cats

This ought to be fun. Which do you prefer: the BSO or Stray Cats?

Personally, I got into swing before I really got into rockabilly. I love the Cats, but if forced to choose, I'd have to take the swingin'est band since the Count Basie big band backed up Sinatra.

All right. Take out the switchblades and hair grease and let me have it.

ratpack wrote:

This ought to be fun. Which do you prefer: the BSO or Stray Cats?

Personally, I got into swing before I really got into rockabilly. I love the Cats, but if forced to choose, I'd have to take the swingin'est band since the Count Basie big band backed up Sinatra.

All right. Take out the switchblades and hair grease and let me have it.

Well, ratpack as a matter of fact, there is just some sort of magic when that hot rod guitar leads a swingin' big band that just can't be topped. Call me a heretic, but a little heresy never hurt anyone. Except all those people that got killed for heresy, it did hurt them.......

for me it has to be the stray cats or any of the setzer rockabilly projects over the bso everytime. i think the bso has a lot of great moments but for me there is nothing like the pure raw rockabilly thing that you get with the cats or say ignition or the rockabilly riot stuff. whilst there is nothing i dislike whatsoever in the cats and solo setzer canon - I can't get to grips with some of the more MOR covers that the orchestra do sometimes. i just can't reconcile stuff like mack the knife etc with rock'n'roll. I think it depends where you came in - I was a fan from the very first gigs in the UK back in the early 80's so that is my point of entry - I suppose if you came from the BSO first you have a different perspective. I still like the majority of the orchestra suff and indeed have every official release brian has ever been on plus many, many more 'unofficial' cd's - the ones that I always come back to are the cats and the solo stuff.

Stray Cats - no competition. I don't really like BSO. I've got all their material, but only because Brian was a Stray Cat

OH MY GOD, Stray Cats BY FAR. TOTAL ICONS ! No one , and nothing can top the Stray Cats . PURE GENIUS ! They are so original in thier own way. MAN ! I dont really know what they were thinking when they decided to come out & give it a try but what ever it was is freakin worked ! STRAY CATS A FRIGGIN AWSOME ! I dont think that music from BSO has the capability to TOUCH, or EFFECT , and move people, make them feel a certain way that is obvious that the Stray Cats were able to do. The band is in a class all Its own ! STRAY CATS ! HANDS DOWN !

The answer to this question will always depend on when you were first introduced to each of these extraordinary bands.

I'm 24, so I really wasn't introduced to the Stray Cats until after I went and saw my first BSO concert. For me, the BSO will always be extra special to me, because I grew up listening to 'em. Just as I'm sure the Stray Cats are extra special to those who grew up listening to them!

To say that one is better than the other though, that's ridiculous. They're two completely different scopes of music.

Andy

I was blown away the other day listening to the Guitar Slinger Version of Rumble In Brighton. It is always going to be associated first with Stray Cats, but I find the BSO version un-toppable.

I love them both. The choice is not even remotely easy to make. And the six albums Brian recorded without the BSO or Stray Cats aren't even considered in the equation.

Which BSO? The one from the first album, without a true slap bass, that had a Basie Band feel to it? Or the fully-formed rock-a-swing-a-surf-a-lounge-a-croon-a-doo-wop-a-billy outfit found on Dirty Boogie and Vavoom? Stray Cats from 1980-84, or the Let's Go Faster Cats?

At the height of their creative powers, I would lean toward the BSO by a whisker, although at the moment, I'm partial to the Nashvillains. The BSO has a bit of an unfair advantage in the ability to break down into smaller groups and cover small-combo jazz as well as the rockabilly. I'm sure once I put on I Won't Stand In Your Way and soak in those soaring vocals, tight harmonies, and perfect economy of a guitar solo, I'll probably flip-flop.

Waffle-billy

dont care as long as brian setzers involved
simple as that


M

Would help if the BSO were able to afford to play in the UK...

But in the end...Stray Cats.

damn... talk about your Sophie's Choice!

I have to say that I am more psyched to see the Cats now than the BSO, but only because I've seen the BSO about 20-25 times since 1994 and I've only seen the Cats once.

But, all other things being equal, I think I prefer the LARGENESS of the big band sound. I like the complexity and the interplay of the horn sections. Also, I think Brian has become a much better song writer as he's matured. So discounting the "Absence makes the heart grow fonder" factor, I'd have to say that I prefer the BSO.

BTW, I was a Cats fan long before the BSO. Saw my first Cats show in 1982.

If someone was twisting my arm, I would have to go with the BSO. Don't get me wrong, I love the Cats but I am a huge jazz fan and the BSO sound is a little jazzier for the most part. I have only seen each once and the Cats were the better show... I guess it just depends on the day haha!

Love them both but I choose the Cats!

stray matt wrote:

dont care as long as brian setzers involved
simple as that


M

When all is said and done, this quote sums it up.

Even though I started this nonsense, I've had the Nashvillains' live cd in my car for a couple months now without taking it out. That version of "Rock This Town" is the best! And, I've watched the Cats' "Rumble in Brixton" dvd so many times that my two-year-old boy is hooked on "Gene and Eddie". Last night, I showed him a video of Gene Vincent on YouTube doing "Be Bop A Lula" - he loved it! I guess I'm becoming equally a fan of rockabilly and swing and their various mixtures. BTW, it cracks me up that many of the original rock-n-roll fans considered swing to be only for squares and yet, Brian made them both cool again!

So, hepcats and greasers, may I say, in the words of Tiny Tim, "God bless us everyone!"

Tough choice but I'm going to have to go with the BSO. I have unfortunately yet to see the Cats live even though I've been a fan since the early 80s. The BSO I've seen more than a few times though and as much as I love them, I can't imagine them topping that punch that the big band gives to the songs both old and new. Also hate to say it but I think the BSO had a better rhythm section.

STRAY CATS FOREVER

I give my vote for Setzer/Winchester/Dresel but everything with Setzer work for me.

I love them BOTH!!
But mainly Stray Cats,because of Brian Setzer,Slim Jim, Lee Rocker, (Those three,ROCK!! together!!!)
Brian Setzer MAKES THINGS HAPPEN!!! with everything he does,He's a GENIUS!!! and I would love to meet any of these guy's,They are all superb artist's
Rock On!!!
Carbon Cat UK

Hey Gang,
Every single past and present member of any of Brian's bands/project deserves great admiration, but since the Cats where the ones that started it all for me way back in the day, I gotta admit that they're my choice.
And by that I mean, Lee, Jim and Brian, as they have a chemistry that can't be duplicated by anyone else.
Cheers Pete.

STRAY CATS STRAY CATS STRAY CATS STRAY CATS STRAY CATS STRAY CATS STRAY CATS

I still waiting for the polkapunk album

I'll say Stray Cats, by a whisker. I had the chance to see both, within about 7 months of each other, so the memory of the BSO was fresh when I saw Stray Cats. I think the trio did only one or two "off-package" shows during the Jack FM tour last summer, which meant I got to see a longer show than most from that tour. The energy level all the way through the show was just off the charts. I really got a sense of these three guys, with whatever good and bad stuff may have gone on between them over the years, just getting back to how it all started for them. But it all seemed so fresh - like they weren't doing it for the 10,000th time, but like they were doing the coolest, most exciting thing they could possibly choose to do at that moment in their lives. They were definitely not going through the motions to get a paycheck!

The above analysis isn't intended as a contrast with BSO - that show was also very enthusiastic...a very close second on my list of all-time live shows. I guess I was really comparing Stray Cats to 'revival' acts that seemed more like museum pieces. Stray Cats are able to rise above their history while still embracing it. I mean, they played "Rock This Town", but it wasn't like that was the only song the crowd wanted to hear. You hope (and sort of expect) they're gonna play it, and they did, and it was awesome. By comparison, I saw Little Richard last spring, and by about 10 minutes into the show, you start thinking, "Just play 'Tutti Frutti' already and get it over with!" Then when he finally did...it just wasn't very satisfying.

(Sorry - guess that turned into an off-topic ramble!)

Rock on,
Bear85

I say Setzer Orchestra with a trio intermission. It's the best of both worlds. Especially with Rock This Town. Everyone is so divided between the cats version and the orchestra. When he started out as trio and then the orchestra jumped in that was a great way to please everyone. I hope he does that again this year. But really this is like comparing gin with vodka. You just can't do it, and you shouldn't!

sidelakebob wrote:

I give my vote for Setzer/Winchester/Dresel but everything with Setzer work for me.

I LOVE the Cats, the BSO is fantastic but I have to agree with SideLakeBob that the Setzer/Winchester/Dresel combination was the best.

Their gig at Shepherds Bush in 2001 to support the Ignition album was amazing

The cats at Brixton in 2004 were great but not as good as the "68 Comeback" trio

Eh,i cant beleive this topic,as Rick said,there is diffrent era's of Brian's music.We all have our favorite songs,or albums.
As mentioned,we love brians work,what ever music genere it may be.
The bit i like,is Brian on stage in front you twanging that big old gretsch!

We love music,played by Brian.

Like Rick i take turns,as to what i listen to.

Go listen,and enjoy.

Mark.

I'm glad I never have to choose. I just got back from a drive and Built for Speed and Little Miss Prissy came up back to back, and it was like running into a long, lost friend. I'd been listening to Nashvillains, Choo Choo, BSO, and hadn't been back to classic Cats in over a month. Hard to top in terms of the immediate, visceral reaction I had upon hearing these songs.

So today, it's Stray Cats all the way!

Flip Flop-a-billy