Blast Off! (Stray Cats album)

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Blast Off!
Studio album by
Stray Cats
Released1989
GenreRock, rockabilly, pop
LabelEMI America[1]
ProducerDave Edmunds
Stray Cats chronology
Rock Therapy
(1986) 		Blast Off!
(1989) 		Rock This Town: Best of the Stray Cats
(1990)

Blast Off! is an 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]

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[edit]

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[edit]

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

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" 

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Stray Cats". Trouser Press. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b "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. ^ a b Popson, Tom (27 Apr 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 (24 June 1989). "Recordings". Vancouver Sun. p. D2.
  11. ^ Williams, Stephen (12 May 1989). "After a Split, They've Rounded Up Stray Cats". Newsday. Weekend. p. 15.
  12. ^ Burliuk, Greg (20 May 1989). "Blast Off Stray Cats". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Magazine. p. 1.
  13. ^ a b "Blast Off - Stray Cats | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  14. ^ a b Hochman, Steve (14 May 1989). "POP STARS". Los Angeles Times. Calendar. p. 86.
  15. ^ a b MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 1100.
  16. ^ a b Henderson, Bill (14 May 1989). "STRAY CATS". Orlando Sentinel. Calendar. p. 6.
  17. ^ a b Erskine, Evelyn (28 Apr 1989). "The Stray Cats Blast Off!". Ottawa Citizen. p. D6.
  18. ^ a b "Blast Off! - Record Collector Magazine".
  19. ^ The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 678.
  20. ^ a b 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 (23 Mar 1989). "NEW LP PICKS UP WHERE CATS LEFT OFF". The Boston Globe. Calendar. p. 6.
  24. ^ Muretich, James (20 Apr 1989). "Disc". Calgary Herald. p. G6.
  25. ^ Lepage, Mark (1 June 1989). "STRAY CATS - Blast Off". The Gazette. p. F4.
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