The New Oldies: #3 Album of the Year 2023: Brian Setzer – The Devil Always Collects

Something seems to be missing these days. It seems that record companies, radio stations, and streaming services are pushing some the great established musicians to the background. As a result these veteran artists are not getting the attention they deserve. Enter the Top 10 Album Countdown: The New Oldies. The main point is simple – to make this list you must have at least 20 years of producing established music. The album by the artist must have been released between November 1st, 2022 and October 31st, 2023.

#3 Brian Setzer – The Devil Always Collects

Coming in at Number 3 on the 2023 New Oldies Countdown is Brian Setzer’s The Devil Always Collects. Setzer has had a long career – first doing Rockabilly with the Stray Cats, then Swing Revival with the Brian Setzer Orchestra. With The Devil Aways Collects, it’s the Rockabilly sound he focuses on – and he delivers with final colors.

One thing that I really was impressed with was the instrumentation. Setzer delivers fast and vibrant guitar rifts throughout this album. The raspy style vocals of Setzer layer over these guitar rifts beautifully. This album has a high energy feel from the first track right to the last one.

There wasn’t any filler on this album as all of the tracks really shine on their own. The track A Dude’ll Do definitely took me back to the days of the Stray Cats. The track Girl on the Billboard is the perfect song for a road trip. Finally the track Rock Boy Rock has a retro-vibe going back to the early days of Rock and Roll.

Setzer’s The Devil Aways Collects was the revelation of the year in terms of a veteran artist releasing new material. Whether you are a Rockabilly fan or not, this is a must check out album.