I finally got around to watching this DVD on my surround system, and it’s a keeper! Rumble In Brixton is a video presentation of one concert on a reunion tour of the Stray Cats with the original lineup of Slim Jim Phantom, Lee Rocker and Brian Setzer. The DVD includes a lot of concert footage, plus some bonus extras that are entertaining.

First of all, the video and audio quality are quite good. For audio, you have a choice of PCM stereo, and Dolby Digital surround. The surround presentation is environmental in nature–you get some “room sound” along with crowd noises in the rear channels. Pretty good, and enveloping.

The music spans their most popular albums, including some older tunes from their first two albums that originally appeared in the UK, such as “Fishnet Stockings” (which is whipped into a frenetic pace by the band). A lot of familiar Stray Cats hits and album cuts are brought out here (“Stray Cat Strut”, “Rock This Town”, “Sexy and 17”, “Runaway Boys”, “Ubangi Stomp”), along with a few new cover versions of 50s rock songs. Lee Rocker takes a fine vocal turn on an Elvis classic, “My Baby Left Me”. It’s a great retrospective of the band’s songs and performances.

The band is in fine form–these aren’t aging rockers tossed together for a reunion, but instead, they’re now advanced professionals getting together to make some great music. Since the Stray Cats, Setzer has been on a few different musical tangents that have broadened his skills–from his own rockabilly projects to his rockin’ big band, the Brian Setzer Orchestra. Lee Rocker, since the Stray Cat days, has not only fronted his own excellent bands (check out his “Bulletproof” album–it’s fantastic!), he has also become one of the foremost authorities and proponents of slap bass technique in the industry. Slim Jim Phantom owns his own club and is currently touring as part of the group Dead Men Walking, which features Mike Peters of The Alarm, Captain Sensible of The Damned, and Kirk Brandon from Spear Of Destiny.

For bonus tracks, you have a behind-the-scenes look at the tour, which includes rehearsals, setups and crowd reactions. You also get a small sample of Lee Rocker’s excellent slap bass technique, and Slim Jim’s humourous comment about having the same drum set and same “four licks” he knew back then. The second bonus is a video retrospective of the band over the years, playing “Stray Cat Strut”. Finally, a new Stray Cats recording is featured, from run-down and rehearsal to playback of the mixed recording; “Mystery Train Kept A-Rollin'” is one of Setzer’s tribute songs, which name drops a lot of early rockers against a rollicking beat.

Overall it’s a great set!