Brian Setzer

The whiplash backbeat of "Rock This Town," the sweet sass 'n' swagger of "Jump, Jive an' Wail," the knuckle-dusting rockabilly avalanche of "Runaway Boys" — Brian Setzer's roots are the roots of rock 'n' roll itself, whether he's fronting his eponymous swingin' orchestra or early-'80s rockabilly revivalists, the Stray Cats. More than a quarter-century after he began, his high-octane numbers and way of milking a gorgeous Gretsch for all it's worth keep us coming back for more. Setzer doffs his quiff to Sinatra, and lights a rockabilly firestorm, in Next Steps.

Fifteen cuts into Brian Setzer's best, and we're just getting started. Sure, we've all heard the Chairman of the Board sing "Luck Be a Lady" — not to mention Marlon Brando in Guys and Dolls — but until you've heard the Setzer version, you've never really swung, baby! This fulsome cover never sounded better than right up against classic Stray Cats album track "Rev It Up & Go," fierce Gene Vincent cover "Race With the Devil," and tequila-slammin' live cut "Fishnet Stockings." A couple of famous theme tunes get the full Setzer treatment in Deep Cuts.

Brian Setzer's Deep Cuts are where the man unleashes a six-string spectacular on personal favorites like the Ventures' "Hawaii Five-O" and the classic "James Bond Theme," which he manages to make even more slinky and sexy than the original. And if you've ever witnessed him work a crowd, you know that a live cut like "Too Hip Gotta Go" — from 2004's The Very Best of the Stray Cats: Rumble In Brixton album — is worth the price of admission alone. Whether he's swingin' or rockin', Setzer still has the fastest fingers in the West.

In the early '80s, when punks were being overhauled by goths and the rest of the new wave nation was turning to synthesizers in search of the sound of the future, a pompadoured, tattooed hell-raiser from Massapequa, New York, was resurrecting the rockabilly rave-up, dragging rock 'n' roll back to its bare-knuckled, bad-boy roots. First with the Stray Cats (who broke through in the U.K. before returning to the U.S. in 1982), and later on his monster solo outings and fronting a 17-piece swing orchestra, Setzer has magnificently reminded us of all that is great about real American music. Once he's buried his Gretsch in your ears, you'll never pry it loose.