Rockabilly legend Brian Setzer has announced a new solo album Gotta Have The Rumble. It’s his first in over 7 years and will be released on August 27, 2021 on Surfdog Records. The album was produced by Julian Raymond (Glen Campbell, Cheap Trick) and all songs were written or co-written by Setzer. It will feature 11 tracks. The new single, “Checkered Flag” was also released.
The music video is fun; it’s directed by graphic designer Juan Pinto. The animation begins with a clearly animated Setzer building his hot rod (the song is about a checkered flag, so you know this will be about racing) – later, Setzer goes to race his top competition: Cool Cat and Hound Dog (it’s rockabilly, just go with it). Setzer has some tricks up his sleeve though and cheats his way to winning.
Despite the fun cartoon; the song is more about having a cool muscle car and getting that girl you want – despite it bothering her father. Classic rockabilly tropes, it reminisce of John Waters’ Cry Baby. Setzer sings, “can’t be humble/gotta have the rumble.”
“Obviously, it’s a reference to my motorcycles and hot rods, something that hasn’t changed since I was 15 years old. I still have the same passion for going fast and adrenaline. But it’s also about my hearing problem with tinnitus–the ringing of the ear. It was pretty bad, and I realized that I couldn’t play the way I wanted to. As I recovered, standing in front of a small amplifier just didn’t cut it. The sound from my big amp makes the guitar rumble. Which is a big part of my sound. I was really despondent for a while because I thought I wouldn’t be able to do that again. So, ‘Gotta Have The Rumble’ refers to both of those things,” said Setzer about the album title.
Gotta Have The Rumble tracklist:
1. Checkered Flag
2. Smash Up On Highway One
3. Stack My Money
4. The Wrong Side Of The Tracks
5. Drip Drop
6. The Cat With 9 Wives
7. Turn You On, Turn Me On
8. Rockabilly Riot
9. Off Your Rocker
10. One Bad Habit
11. Rockabilly Banjo
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