The Brian Setzer Orchestra - Wolfgang's Big Night Out (2007)

Take the biggest hit songs on the planet, add some rockin’ swing, scorching electric guitar, put it into a blender with an 18-piece Big Band and you have something pretty mind-blowing. Classical music is the fertile ground of the greatest melodies ever written, and you will know every single one on this CD (even if you don’t recognize the titles). As great as these classical melodies are, however, when presented in their original context among long and drawn out movements, they’re often very hard for most people to digest. As a result, the majority of music fans don’t own any of it. With Wolfgang’s Big Night Out Setzer has embarked on the most ambitious undertaking of his career in re-arranging and orchestrating these classical pieces into streamlined hit melodies that are nothing short of WOW!


As the man who made rockabilly popular with the big-haired, synth-soaked '80s New Wave crowd, and then helped pioneer a big-band swing revival in the grunge-ridden '90s, Brian Setzer is the Miracle Man of American music. This makes it possible to understand how he can pull off rockin', jump-blues-tinged, big-band versions of famous themes by venerated classical composers on WOLFGANG'S BIG NIGHT OUT. In yet another unprecedented move, Setzer and his orchestra lend big brassy horn riffs, swinging grooves, and of course plenty of death-defying jazz/blues guitar licks to the works of Mozart, Beethoven, et al. Neither classical music nor swing are ever likely to be the same again, and that probably suits Setzer just fine.

Tracklist:

01. Take the 5th - (based on Ludwig Van Beethoven's "5th Symphony")
02. One More Night with You - (based on Edvard Grieg's "Hall of the Mountain King")
03. Wolfgang's Big Night Out - (based on Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Eine Kleine Nachtmusic")
04. Honey Man - (based on Nikolai Rimskey-Korsakov’s "Flight of the Bumblebee")
05. Yes We Can Can - (based on Jacques Offenbach's "Can Can")
06. Swingin' Willie - (based on Gioachino Rossini's "William Tell Overture")
07. Sabre Dance - (based on Arthur Khachaturian's "Sabre Dance")
08. For Lisa - (based on Ludwig Van Beethoven's "Fur Elise")
09. Here Comes the Broad - (based on Wagner's "Lohengrin" and Mendelssohn's "A Midsummer Night's Dream")
10. 1812 Overdrive - (based on Pyotr Tchaikovsky's "1812 Overture")
11. Some River in Europe - (based on Johann Sebastian Strauss's "Blue Danube")
12. Take a Break Guys - (based on the Traditional "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen")

Arrangements by Brian Setzer, Frank Comstock and Mark Jones except "12" by Willie Murillo

Produced by Dave Darling and Brian Setzer
Engineered & Mixed by John Holbrook
Recorded at Capitol Studios, Hollywood, CA & Flowers Studio, Minneapolis, MN.

Brian Setzer - guitar, banjo, vocals; Bernie Dressel - drums, percussion; John Hatton - bass; Tim Messina - tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute; Jim Youngstrom - tenor saxophone, clarinet, flute, bass clarinet; Charlie Peterson - baritone saxophone, clarinet, flute; Vince Trombetta - alto saxophone, clarinet, flute; Jason Thor - trombone; Mark Visher - alto saxophone, clarinet, flute, picollo; Robbie Hioki - bass trombone; Jeremy Levy - trombone; Greg Varlotta - trombone; Kevin Norton - trumpet; Dennis Farias - trumpet; Steve Reid - trumpet; Sal Cracchiolo - trumpet; Sid Page - violin; Leslie Spencer-Smith -vocals; Julie Reiten-Setzer - vocals.

Release Date: September 25, 2007
Label: Surfdog Records