The Dirty Boogie

Last updated
The Dirty Boogie
SetzerDirtyBoogie.jpg
Studio album by
ReleasedJune 23, 1998
Studio The Village Recorder, Ocean Way Recording, Los Angeles, CA [1]
Genre
Length49:24
Label Interscope
Producer Peter Collins
The Brian Setzer Orchestra chronology
Guitar Slinger
(1996)
The Dirty Boogie
(1998)
Vavoom!
(2000)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Entertainment Weekly B+ [4]
Los Angeles Times Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [5]
Rolling Stone Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
The Village Voice C− [7]

The Dirty Boogie is the third album from the swing band the Brian Setzer Orchestra. The album is considered as the breakthrough for the band, with their first single being a cover of Louis Prima's "Jump Jive an' Wail", which Prima had made popular in 1956 and included in his album The Wildest! . The release of the single came along after a Gap advertising campaign that featured Prima's original recording of the song. Each helped to propel the larger swing revival throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. Seven of the album's tracks are covers of songs written and originally made popular between 1952 and 1962.

Contents

Structure and release

In addition to Prima's "Jump Jive An' Wail", covers include "This Old House" by Stuart Hamblen, "Since I Don't Have You" by the Skyliners, "Nosey Joe" popularized by Bull Moose Jackson, and "As Long As I'm Singin'" by Bobby Darin. "You're the Boss", penned by Leiber and Stoller in 1961, is the album's seventh track, a duet featuring singer (and labelmate) Gwen Stefani; an earlier popular recording of the tune paired Elvis Presley and Ann-Margret. The eighth track, "Rock This Town", is a cover of a song originally recorded in 1981 by Setzer's previous band, the Stray Cats. "Hollywood Nocturne" was a discarded track from Setzer's previous album, Guitar Slinger .

The album also features a cover of the instrumental "Sleep Walk", made popular originally by songwriters and performers Santo & Johnny Farina in 1959. Setzer's arrangement won a Grammy Award the following year for best pop instrumental recording.

Album art

The illustration and logo for The Dirty Boogie was created by Sir Richard Wentworth, using techniques such as pen and ink linework and cut rubylith sheets. The album cover began life as a show poster designed by Wentworth to advertise a Brian Setzer Orchestra concert at Detroit's State Theater (currently The Fillmore Detroit). After Brian Setzer saw the poster, he commissioned Wentworth to reformat the poster and to create a new logo for the band. The angular, kinetic style employed in Wentworth's illustration sparked a trend of identifying the music of the swing revival with the visual signifiers of the cartoon modern style (a type of dynamic, minimal design commonly used in 1950s and 1960s limited animation). Wentworth's retro logotype is still an essential part of the Brian Setzer Orchestra's brand identity [8] and has inspired a commercial font called "Swinger". Wentworth also illustrated the covers for Setzer's Best of The Big Band (Japan Only CD), Boogie Woogie Christmas and Christmas Rocks! CDs, and designed the logo for The Ultimate Christmas Collection CD.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Brian Setzer, except where noted

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."This Cat's on a Hot Tin Roof" 2:19
2."The Dirty Boogie" 3:13
3."This Old House" Stuart Hamblen 3:06
4."Let's Live It Up" 3:41
5."Sleepwalk" (instrumental) Santo Farina; Johnny Farina; Ann Farina3:49
6."Jump, Jive an' Wail" Louis Prima 2:53
7."You're the Boss" (featuring Gwen Stefani) Jerry Leiber; Mike Stoller 3:43
8."Rock This Town" 6:37
9."Since I Don't Have You"Jimmy Beaumont; Wally Lester; Joe Verscharen; Janet Vogel; Jackie Taylor; Joseph Rock; Lennie Martin4:09
10."Switchblade 327" 3:30
11."Nosey Joe"Jerry Leiber; Mike Stoller2:45
12."Hollywood Nocturne" 5:36
13."As Long as I'm Singin'" Bobby Darin 4:03
Total length:49:24

Personnel

Musicians

Additional Musicians

Technical

Chart positions

YearSingleChartPosition
1998"Jump Jive An' Wail"Billboard Hot 100 Airplay23
1999"Jump Jive An' Wail"UK Top 4034

Notes

  1. "The Dirty Boogie". AllMusic .
  2. 1 2 3 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "The Dirty Boogie - The Brian Setzer Orchestra". AllMusic . Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  3. 1 2 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. The Brian Setzer Orchestra: Vavoom! at AllMusic. Retrieved 2022-07-28.
  4. Farber, Jim (1998-08-03). "The Dirty Boogie". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  5. Heckman, Don (1998-08-02). "Separating the Faddies From the Real Swingin' Daddies". Los Angeles Times . ISSN   0458-3035 . Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  6. Hunter, James (1998-08-20). "Swing This, Baby! / The Dirty Boogie / Perennial Favorites". Rolling Stone .
  7. Christgau, Robert (1998-12-01). "Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice . Retrieved 2018-07-14.
  8. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-01-07. Retrieved 2009-10-25.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Setzer</span> American singer, songwriter (b. 1959)

Brian Robert Setzer is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with his swing revival band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. In 1987, he made a cameo appearance as Eddie Cochran in the film La Bamba.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Brian Setzer Orchestra</span> American band, founded 1990

The Brian Setzer Orchestra is a swing and jump blues band formed in 1990 by Stray Cats frontman Brian Setzer. In 1998, for their breakout album The Dirty Boogie, the group covered Louis Prima's "Jump, Jive an' Wail", which originally appeared on Prima's 1957 album The Wildest!. The BSO's follow up single, appearing on the album Vavoom!, was "Gettin' in the Mood."

The swing revival, also called retro swing and neo-swing, was a renewed interest in swing music and Lindy Hop dance, beginning around 1989 and reaching a peak from the early/mid to late 1990s. The music was generally rooted in the big bands of the swing era of the 1930s and 1940s, but it was also greatly influenced by rockabilly, boogie-woogie, the jump blues of artists such as Louis Prima and Louis Jordan, and the theatrics of Cab Calloway. Many neo-swing bands practiced contemporary fusions of swing, jazz, and jump blues with rock, punk rock, ska, and ska punk music or had roots in punk, ska, ska punk, and alternative rock music.

<i>The Sweet Escape</i> 2006 studio album by Gwen Stefani

The Sweet Escape is the second solo studio album by American singer Gwen Stefani, released on December 1, 2006, by Interscope Records. Having originally intended to return to No Doubt after her debut solo album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004), Stefani decided to record a second album as a way to release some of the material left over from the Love. Angel. Music. Baby. writing sessions. The album musically resembles its predecessor while exploring more modern pop sounds. It was released to generally mixed reviews from contemporary music critics, receiving criticism for its strong similarities to Love. Angel. Music. Baby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gwen Stefani discography</span>

American singer Gwen Stefani has released four studio albums, two extended plays, 34 singles, six promotional singles, one video album, and 28 music videos. She has sold more than nine million albums as a solo artist. Stefani is also the lead singer of the rock band No Doubt, with which she has released several albums.

"Sleigh Ride" is a light orchestra standard composed by Leroy Anderson. He formed the idea for the piece during a heat wave in July 1946, and finished it in February 1948. Its first performance was by the Boston Pops Orchestra, with Arthur Fiedler conducting, on May 4, 1948.

<i>Swing</i> (The Manhattan Transfer album) 1997 studio album by The Manhattan Transfer

Swing is the seventeenth studio album released by The Manhattan Transfer in 1997 on the Atlantic Records label. This album is a collection of 1930s and 1940s swing music with The Manhattan Transfer's jazz twist. The album also features a guest appearance by Stéphane Grappelli, one of his last recordings before his death.

<i>The Wildest!</i> 1956 studio album by Louis Prima

The Wildest! is an album by Louis Prima, first released in 1956. It features singer Keely Smith with saxophonist Sam Butera and the Witnesses. It is considered an innovative mixture of early rock and roll, jump blues and jazz as well as eccentric humor.

<i>Vavoom!</i> 2000 studio album by The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Vavoom! is the fourth studio album by the swing band The Brian Setzer Orchestra. It was released in 2000 on Interscope Records.

<i>Dig That Crazy Christmas</i> 2005 studio album by The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Dig That Crazy Christmas is the second Christmas album by The Brian Setzer Orchestra. Released in 2005 on Surfdog Records, it is a collection of holiday songs performed in big band swing style. Although most of the songs have been previously recorded by other artists, it includes two originals written by Setzer. This album follows up his 2002 Christmas release, Boogie Woogie Christmas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Jive Aces</span> Church of Scientology swing band

The Jive Aces are a six-piece UK-based, swing band that was formed in 1989. They were Britain's Got Talent semi-finalists in 2012. They have released 11 albums, as well as compilations, EPs and singles and have performed at numerous music festivals.

<i>Jumpin East of Java</i> 2001 live album by The Brian Setzer Orchestra

Jumpin' East of Java is the first live album from the American swing revival band The Brian Setzer Orchestra, released on 2001 in Japan only. This recording was also issued as the second disc of The Ultimate Collection. It was recorded at Akasaka Blitz, Tokyo, Japan.

<i>The Ultimate Collection</i> (The Brian Setzer Orchestra album) 2004 live album by The Brian Setzer Orchestra

The Ultimate Collection is a 2-CD live album from the American swing revival band The Brian Setzer Orchestra, released in 2004.

<i>Cheers, Its Christmas</i> 2012 studio album by Blake Shelton

Cheers, It's Christmas is the first Christmas album and seventh studio album by American country music artist Blake Shelton. It was released on October 2, 2012, through Warner Bros. Nashville. Shelton co-wrote three tracks for the album.

"Jump, Jive an' Wail" is a 1956 jazz swing song by Louis Prima. It first appeared on his album The Wildest! and became one of his signature songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christmas Eve (Gwen Stefani song)</span> 2017 song by Gwen Stefani

"Christmas Eve" is a song by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani from her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017). The song was written by Stefani, Justin Tranter, and busbee, with the latter of the three handling production alongside Eric Valentine. It was the first song conceived for the album, and "originated from a run Stefani took in rural Oklahoma. Details about the song first emerged in August 2017, when its title appeared as a registered work on two global music databases. The song a slow-burning Christmas ballad with lyrics that reference the holiday season.

"Under the Christmas Lights" is a song recorded by American singer and songwriter Gwen Stefani for her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017). It was written by Stefani, Justin Tranter, and busbee, who co-produced the song with Eric Valentine. The song was released alongside the rest of the album on October 6, 2017 through Interscope Records. Details about the track first emerged in August 2017, when the song title appeared as a registered work on BMI and GEMA. "Under the Christmas Lights" is a pop and Christmas song with a doo-wop melody and romantic lyrics.

"Secret Santa" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani for the 2018 reissue of her fourth studio album, You Make It Feel Like Christmas (2017). It was written by Stefani, Justin Tranter, and busbee while production was handled by busbee and Eric Valentine. The song was sent to Italian radio stations for airplay on November 30, 2018 as the second single in Italy and the album's third overall. It serves as one of two previously unreleased original tracks on the reissued album. "Secret Santa" is a Christmas pop ballad accompanied by an acoustic guitar and castanets. It contains flirtatious lyrics and metaphors that reference the Christmas tradition of Secret Santa.

Bernard John Dresel Jr. is an American studio drummer and percussionist. He has been with multi-Grammy award-winning artists and recordings; most notably having performed and recorded extensively with The Brian Setzer Orchestra and Gordon Goodwin's Big Phat Band. The BBB Featuring Bernie Dresel has been performing since 2014 in numerous, prominent venues in Los Angeles and has recorded two notable CDs. He has recorded on numerous television shows and close to 60 movie soundtracks to include The Simpsons, Family Guy, King of the Hill, The Sopranos, Incredibles 2, The Bourne Supremacy, Cars 2, Up, Super 8, The Mask and Elf.