At this time of year, there is never a shortage of “Holiday Albums” and 56-year-old Brian Setzer is certainly very experienced in this popular sub-genre, having released a number of Christmas collections previously – all with his supremely talented 18-piece orchestra.
Rockin’ Rudolph was produced by Peter Collins (Bon Jovi, Alice Cooper, Rush, etc.) and came out on October 16. As well as the standard 12-track CD, it is also available on vinyl and as a limited edition deluxe box set. To further celebrate the season, Brian and co. will also be visiting 31 cities on their 12th annual Christmas Rocks! Tour.
Opening track “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” has obviously been covered by numerous artists over the years, but one can’t help but smile hearing it done in Setzer’s inimitable style. “Yabba-Dabba Yuletide” is a Christmas version of the theme tune to The Flintstones, again giving these musicians the chance to show off their sublime skills.
“Rockabilly Rudolph,” essentially a groovy, rather more menacing take on “Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer,” is the first song I had never heard before and it’s pretty good, even managing to incorporate part of “The James Bond Theme” into it.
One of the more uptempo gems is “Here Comes Santa Claus,” written by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman and probably the best version of this song I’ve heard since Elvis Presley included it on his Elvis’ Christmas Album way back in 1957.
In short, while there are certainly some memorable moments here, choosing more songs that haven’t been done so many times before and including more Setzer vocal performances would have made this album far more enjoyable.
Rockin’ Rudolph is out now on Surfdog Records and can be downloaded here.
The Brian Setzer Orchestra’s tour kicks off in Minneapolis on November 14.
For more information, check out Setzer’s official website.
