Stray Cats – Built For Speed

Over here in Canada, well, all of North America, Built for Speed was the "debut" album by Stray Cats. Back in England, the band had released two fairly successful albums in 1981, and they generated enough interest to warrant a release over here. Cobbling together eleven tracks from Stray Cats and Gonna Ball, along with the title track "Built for Speed," hit at just the right time, and the band's raw rockabilly and '50s vibe caught on like wildfire.

Propelled by Brian Setzer's jaw-dropping guitar work, along with the one-two punch of Slim Jim Phantom on his stand-up kit and Lee Rocker on the giant double bass, the band channelled the raw, unbridled energy of a punk band with their old-fashioned rock and roll.

For most people, me included, this was where things started and stopped with respect to Stray Cats. While this didn't fit the definition of being a novelty act, the shtick wore thin pretty quick. When they dropped the follow-up in the summer of '83, it managed to go gold, but the band would splinter after this release. Brian would try his hand at a solo career, and Phantom and Rocker would team up with guitarist Earl Slick for a couple of albums. Stray Cats would put out a couple more records, each less successful than the other, and the once-rich vein of nostalgia and wild abandon were tapped out.

All of which has nothing to do with Built for Speed. When this came out, it was a shot in the arm and was right at home with the other artists that were ruling the roost. There was room for everybody, and it was good. While I never had the album when it came out, which always sort of surprised me, I loved the songs on the radio and was enraptured by Brian's playing. The guy was truly a monster, and he seemed to effortlessly pull off runs and riffs that made it seem easy.

There was also more variety here than I had expected. It wasn't just rockabilly; there were some straight-ahead rockers that felt like kissin' cousins to songs by The Stones. Those were among my favourites. There weren't many hiccups either, which sort of makes sense, as the songs here were specifically culled to be the best songs from their two previous releases. That said, the '50s pop with the sax was probably the only stuff I personally didn't care for, and in that regard I'm sure I am in the minority. The two big hits, "Rock This Town" and "Stray Cat Strut," were produced by Dave Edmunds, a man who was no stranger to roots rock.

The album lived up to its name, and the dozen songs seemed to race by. Lucky records are round, so I just let it speed around in circles a few times while I sat back and enjoyed the trip down memory lane.

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