Wolfgang's Big Night Out

1	Take the 5th (An Adaptation of Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Symphony No. 5") / Brian Setzer Orchestra 4:24
2	One More Night with You (An Adaptation of Edvard Grieg's "Hall of the M / Brian Setzer Orchestra 3:38
3	Wolfgang's Big Night Out (An Adaptation of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "E / Brian Setzer Orchestra 2:49
4	Honey Man (An Adaptation of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bu / Brian Setzer Orchestra 2:47
5	Yes We Can Can (An Adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's "The Can Can") / Brian Setzer Orchestra 2:51
6	Swingin' Willie (An Adaptation of Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Ove / Brian Setzer Orchestra 4:31
7	Sabre Dance (After Khachaturian) / Brian Setzer Orchestra 3:00
8	For Lisa (An Adaptation of Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Fur Elise") / Brian Setzer Orchestra 3:45
9	Here Comes the Broad (An Adaptation of Richard Wagner's "Lohengrin" & F / Brian Setzer Orchestra 3:43
10	1812 Overdrive (An Adaptation of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture") / Brian Setzer Orchestra 3:46
11	Some River in Europe (An Adaptation of Johann Sebastian Strauss' "Blue / Brian Setzer Orchestra 4:27
12	Take a Break Guys (An Adaptation of the Traditional "God Rest Ye Merry / Brian Setzer Orchestra 4:30

Barnes & Noble

If Brian Setzer is going to play the classics, then why wouldn't he approach them as he does every other style of music he's tackled, with wit and attitude? Welcome to a thoroughly delightful reconsideration of some classical benchmarks, done with raucous abandon but no lack of joie de vivre by Setzer and his all-stops-out Orchestra. In Setzer's hands, "Flight of the Bumblebee" is recast as "Honey Man" and becomes an occasion for the six-string maestro to demonstrate some truly jaw-dropping speed-picking as a flirty female chorus chants, "Busy, busy / busy is he-Go! Honey, honey / Sugar, sugar man-Go!" Composer Rimsky-Korsakov surely would approve. Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture" gets a Latin makeover, opening with clacking castanets and clattering conga riffs before the orchestra swings it to the ballroom floor, paving the way for Setzer's rich hollow-body soloing, a mixture of chordal riffing and single-string punctuations. Despite its wise-guy title, "Some River in Europe," Setzer's take on Strauss's "Blue Danube" is a marvelously realized concept featuring a lush, romantic orchestral introduction, thoughtful single-string soloing from Setzer when the waltz gets into full swing, and a strutting middle section with Setzer and the orchestra double-timing it back into a swaying waltz coda. Rossini, Wagner, Beethoven ("Take the Fifth"), Grieg, Mozart, Offenbach, and Mendelssohn all find their works swinging mightily in these capable hands. In his howling, breakneck version of "Sabre Dance," Setzer pays double homage, to Armenian composer Armen Katchakurian and to Dave Edmonds, who memorably interpreted the same number with Love Sculpture back in the '70s; and on Beethoven's "Für Elise," we hear a rare Setzer acoustic guitar solo in a scintillating Hot Club of Paris rendition also featuring fiddle and clarinet. Great fun all around, this one. David McGee

All Music Guide

Brian Setzer reconvenes his big band for its first non-Christmas-related set since 2000's Vavoom! Here he rearranges well-known classical themes from Beethoven, Strauss, Mozart, Tchaikovsky, and others into Vegas-ized Rat Pack-era swing. It's a fun concept that buys the guitarist time by not having to compose new material, even though these arrangements, many of them quite complex, must have taken a while to construct. Setzer's well-received jump version of "The Nutcracker Suite" from 2002's Boogie Woogie Christmas probably got this ball rolling as Setzer digs the crazy classical beat with a dozen peppy selections that put his impressive guitar skills to use against finger-snapping horn charts. Song titles are slang for the original works ("Flight of the Bumble Bee" becomes "Honey Man," Strauss' "Blue Danube" is reworked into "Some River in Europe," etc.), telescoping the concept of each track. Setzer shifts styles to include jazzy guitar licks for his take on "1812 Overture" and, most creatively, a version of Beethoven's "Fur Elise" ("For Lisa") rearranged into an acoustic Django Reinhardt-styled European Gypsy hot swing number with clarinet and fiddle. Otherwise, it's a fizzy, brassy romp as Setzer dusts off and greases up some stodgy melodies, adding enthusiasm and energy to the proceedings. Some fall on the schlocky side of the bandstand, but that's also part of the charm. The James Bond reverbed guitar in "Take a Break Guys" ("God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen") and its "Caravan" approach of pounding drums are sharp and tight, with time and style changes goosing the charts as Setzer even brings a Clapton/Cream wah-wah psychedelicized kick to the action. Despite a few clichéd moments, this is a rousing success that only occasionally falls victim to its own jive impulses. Hal Horowitz

Philadelphia Inquirer

This big-band recording is a crack-up.... Mozart, Beethoven and Wagner all get worked over into various states of boogaloo. The madcap endings are especially humorous. If this offends you, consider more roughage in the diet. Karl Stark