The Brian Setzer Orchestra It's Gonna Rock 'cause That's What I Do (2010)

Brian Setzer, in a career entering its fifth decade as of 2023, has restored not one Americana genre to popularity, but two: During the '80s with the chart-topping Stray Cats, he revived rockabilly (it was only marginally popular in the '50s). In the '90s he formed the Brian Setzer Orchestra, spreading big-band jump and swing to the alt rock generation. In the 21st century, he's recorded live more often than in the studio. Following a 2019 Stray Cats reunion, he issued the excellent Gotta Have the Rumble in 2021 after a seven-year studio hiatus. The Devil Always Collects was recorded at The Terrarium in Minneapolis, and co-produed by Setzer and Julian Raymond. The 11-song set contains eight Setzer originals: Five co-written with Mike Himelstein, one with spouse Julie Setzer, and three covers.

Evidently, Brian Setzer doesn't take the jump blues and swing of the Brian Setzer Orchestra as a joke. Dirty Boogie is his third album with his large band, and instead of sounding tired, the record is the group's best effort yet. Setzer rocks the band hard, tearing through blues and rock & roll covers with vigor, and delivering made-to-order originals that are surprisingly well crafted and memorable. Much attention will be paid to "You're the Boss," a cover of the Elvis Presley/Ann Margaret staple from Viva Las Vegas, performed as a duet with No Doubt's Gwen Stefani, but that's hardly the only highlight here – it's a swinging, rocking record that suggests Setzer's skills are only improving with time.

Brian Setzer is one of the leaders of the big-band swing revival, and this program presents a terrific one hour and 40-minute Christmas concert in its entirety, featuring fun hits like "This Cat's on a Hot Tin Roof", "Jump Jive an' Wail", and "Run Rudolph Run", plus behind the scenes b-roll footage, including a first-time look at Brian Setzer and his orchestrator composing a chart from scratch. Filmed December 18, 2004 at L.A's sold-out Universal Amphitheatre, its is easily the best video presentation of the Brian Setzer Orchestra ever.

Brian Setzer reconvenes his big band for its first non-Christmas-related set since 2000's Vavoom! Here he rearranges well-known classical themes from Beethoven, Strauss, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and others into Vegas-ized Rat Pack-era swing. It's a fun concept that buys the guitarist time by not having to compose new material, even though these arrangements, many of them quite complex, must have taken a while to construct. Setzer's well-received jump version of The Nutcracker Suite from 2002's Boogie Woogie Christmas probably got this ball rolling as Setzer digs the crazy classical beat with a dozen peppy selections that put his impressive guitar skills to use against finger-snapping horn charts.