Blast Off! (Stray Cats album)

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Blast Off!
Blast Off! (Stray Cats album).jpg
Studio album by
Stray Cats
Released1989
Genre Rock, rockabilly, pop
Label EMI America [1]
Producer Dave Edmunds
Stray Cats chronology
Rock Therapy
(1986)		Blast Off!
(1989)		Rock This Town: Best of the Stray Cats
(1990)

Blast Off! is the fifth studio album by the American rockabilly revivalist band Stray Cats, released in 1989. [2] [3] It marked a reunion of the band, after three years of solo endeavors; the band's previous album, 1986's Rock Therapy , was produced to fulfill a record contract. [4] [5]

Contents

The album peaked at No. 111 on the Billboard 200. [6] It peaked at No. 58 on the UK Albums Chart. [7] The first single was "Bring It Back Again". [8]

The band supported Blast Off! by touring with Stevie Ray Vaughan. [2]

Production

The album was produced by Dave Edmunds, who recorded it in two weeks. [9] [10] The band began work on the songs at Brian Setzer's house, in the summer of 1988. [11] "Gene and Eddie" is a tribute to Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran. [12]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [14]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Ottawa Citizen Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [17]
Record Collector Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [18]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [19]
San Jose Mercury News Star full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [20]
The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [21]

Spin thought that the album "sounds even more half-hearted than the Stray Cats original (so to speak) take on the rockabilly revival." [22] The Boston Globe determined that "Setzer can still play rave-up guitar with the best of them, though this album has time warp written all over it." [23] The Ottawa Citizen noted that "the humor is there; they give Mr. Spock a pompadour during a ride around the galaxy, then walk on the moon in blue suede shoes." [17] The San Jose Mercury News wrote that "if the way in which the Cats once played with and to nostalgia was original—in a secondhand sense—it now seems only dreary and rehashed." [20]

The Orlando Sentinel stated that "Edmunds gives the Cats a new lease by rekindling the fire that dimmed after their debut album." [16] The Calgary Herald declared that "it rocks and that's why Blast Off is a fun rerun of the party-hearty sound that saw the Stray Cats top the charts in 1982–'83." [24] The Los Angeles Times panned the album, writing that "these un-cool Cats should feel lucky they even get a second chance—especially since they show no sign of being more than a one-dimensional act." [14] The Gazette opined that "the Stray Cats have returned to their original launching point—as a good club band with no real vision." [25]

AllMusic wrote: "Featuring a set of pleasant, but unexciting, songs, Blast Off indicated that the Stray Cats' revved-up rockabilly ran out of gas quickly." [13] Record Collector concluded that "there’s a fiery venom to the galloping title track ... and then there’s way too much filler." [18] MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide called the album "unjustly ignored." [15]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Blast Off" 
2."Gina" 
3."Everybody Needs Rock 'N' Roll" 
4."Gene and Eddie" 
5."Rockabilly Rules" 
6."Bring It Back Again" 
7."Slip, Slip, Slippin' In" 
8."Rockabilly World" 
9."Rockin' All Over the Place" 
10."Nine Lives" 

Charts

Chart (1989)Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA) [26] 90
Canada Top Albums/CDs ( RPM ) [27] 80
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) [28] 7
French Albums (SNEP) [29] 45
UK Albums (OCC) [30] 58
US Billboard 200 [31] 111

References

  1. ↑ "Stray Cats". Trouser Press. Retrieved November 23, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Stray Cats Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ↑ Morrison, Craig (November 23, 1996). "Go Cat Go!: Rockabilly Music and Its Makers". University of Illinois Press – via Google Books.
  4. 1 2 Popson, Tom (April 27, 1989). "Recordings". Chicago Tribune. p. 15A.
  5. ↑ Graff, Gary (August 25, 1989). "REUNITED STRAY CATS PUT OLD CONFLICTS BEHIND THEM". Lexington Herald-Leader. Knight Ridder. p. B6.
  6. ↑ "Stray Cats". Billboard.
  7. ↑ "STRAY CATS | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  8. ↑ Jaeger, Barbara (May 4, 1989). "STRAY CATS RETURN IN TOP FORM". The Record. p. F21.
  9. ↑ Thompson, Dave (November 23, 2000). "Alternative Rock". Hal Leonard Corporation – via Google Books.
  10. ↑ Mackie, John (June 24, 1989). "Recordings". Vancouver Sun. p. D2.
  11. ↑ Williams, Stephen (May 12, 1989). "After a Split, They've Rounded Up Stray Cats". Newsday. Weekend. p. 15.
  12. ↑ Burliuk, Greg (May 20, 1989). "Blast Off Stray Cats". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Magazine. p. 1.
  13. 1 2 "Blast Off - Stray Cats | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  14. 1 2 Hochman, Steve (May 14, 1989). "POP STARS". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. p. 86.
  15. 1 2 MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1100.
  16. 1 2 Henderson, Bill (May 14, 1989). "STRAY CATS". Orlando Sentinel. Calendar. p. 6.
  17. 1 2 Erskine, Evelyn (April 28, 1989). "The Stray Cats Blast Off!". Ottawa Citizen. p. D6.
  18. 1 2 "Blast Off! - Record Collector Magazine".
  19. ↑ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 678.
  20. 1 2 Sumrall, Harry (April 30, 1989). "STRAY CATS' TAILS ARE DRAGGING". San Jose Mercury News. Arts. p. 9.
  21. ↑ Larkin, Colin (1997). The Virgin Encyclopedia of Eighties Music. Virgin. p. 426.
  22. ↑ Sprague, David (May 1989). "Spins". Spin. 5 (2): 85.
  23. ↑ Morse, Steve (March 23, 1989). "NEW LP PICKS UP WHERE CATS LEFT OFF". The Boston Globe. Calendar. p. 6.
  24. ↑ Muretich, James (April 20, 1989). "Disc". Calgary Herald. p. G6.
  25. ↑ Lepage, Mark (June 1, 1989). "STRAY CATS - Blast Off". The Gazette. p. F4.
  26. ↑ Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
  27. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 6337". RPM . Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  28. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN   978-951-1-21053-5.
  29. ↑ "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – S". Infodisc.fr (in French). Retrieved January 18, 2025.Select Stray Cats from the menu, then press OK.
  30. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  31. ↑ "Stray Cats Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
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