Rockabilly Riot! Volume One: A Tribute to Sun Records

On the surface, it seems like a no-brainer—Brian Setzer plus classic rockabilly songs equals good rockin’ tonight. Unfortunately, the idea is better than the execution on this tribute to the beloved Sun Records label. Brian Setzer, former frontman of the Stray Cats, occasional solo artist and sometimes frontman of the neo-swing orchestra bearing his name, would seem a natural choice for this ambitious project. And he gives it a good shot, tearing through 22 tracks made famous by artists such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. But the end result is too polished, too rote and too restrained to be truly worthy of the original raucous recordings released by the legendary label. In the end, I find myself reaching for the originals when I feel like boppin’ the blues and this tepid tribute ends up spending many lonely weekends on the shelf; but that’s alright, mama.