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What the press is saying about  Black Cat Bone

Vintage Guitar
January, 2008

"...If you want solid roots rock and roll, you can't beat this." (read review)

Chicago Sun-Times
August 12, 2007
(3.5 Stars)

"Sometimes you lose and sometimes you win ... sometimes you win," Lee Rocker sings on "Black Cat Bone." The rockabilly ace has plenty of reasons to accentuate the positive. Rocker is on the road with the reunited Stray Cats, but that's more about paying bills than artistic expression.His second album for Chicago's Alligator Records is the real cause celebre. The slap bassist mines his rockabilly roots, but there's a sophistication in the songwriting that draws as much from Brill Building pop and Delta blues as hillbilly rock.

The backing band is tight and talented, and the 10 Rocker originals are the perfect vehicle for the quartet. The covers include a reworking of Bob Dylan's "One More Night"; a rocking version of "Lost Highway," the Hank Williams hit by Leon Payne, and a novelty number called "Crazy When She Drinks" by Rocker's guitarist Buzz Campbell. And then there's the cool title song, which draws on every blues myth you could conjure. Rev it up and go, indeed. --- Jeff Johnson

All Music Guide

If history teaches us that unless you're Paul McCartney or Sting, if you play bass in a well-known rock band you generally can't count on a spectacular solo career after they break up, and in typical fashion Brian Setzer was the man from the Stray Cats who went on to score the hits after the rockabilly revivalists finally called it quits. But if bassist Lee Rocker's solo work hasn't connected with as large an audience, he's quietly made a handful of fine albums, and Black Cat Bone is as strong and confident a set as anything Setzer has recorded since 1996. Rocker's songwriting is in fine form on this set, ranging from the lonesome wail of "Gone" and the busted romance of "What I Don't Know" to the subtle but clear antiwar stance of "Sold Us Down the River" and the love/hate paean to touring of "The Highway Is My Home" (and if "Rebel" is made up of wall-to-wall clichés, at least Rocker seems to slyly acknowledge it). Rocker also has a strong, masculine voice to go along with his tunes, and he's got a cookin' band, with guitarist Buzz Campbell, slide man Brophy Dale and drummer Jimmy Sage laying out some fine rockabilly with flashes of blues, country and old-school pop. There's plenty on Black Cat Bone to appeal to rockabilly purists, but Rocker and company offer more than enough variety to keep this set lively throughout, and this is roots-friendly rock & roll with muscle, sass and something to say that should come as a pleasant surprise to anyone who still thinks of Rocker as second bass fiddle to Brian Setzer. ~ Mark Deming

Folk & Acoustic Music Exchange

This is Lee Rocker's second disc on Alligator and though it rocks as hard as the first one, there are moments when this disc shows that there is an occasional slower tempoed cut (What I Don't Know, is a true belly rubber) or two in this rocker known more for his vibrant energy and straight ahead all out punk rockabilly. Don't think he has forsaken his full speed ahead style but he is just as adept when he does slow it down to a less frenetic pace than his usual. This disc has ten of the thirteen songs penned or co-written by Rocker and the covers are of One More Night by Bob Dylan (quite a nice cover), Crazy When She Drinks, by one of his guitarists, Buzz Campbell, and Leon Payne's, Lost Highway. The songs are all done with just he and his road band which has been together for awhile and is as road tested and as tight as he could want. The band is made up of; Buzz Campbell, guitar, Brophy Dale, slide guitar and vocals, Jimmy Sage on drums and of course Rocker, playing his upright bass, vocals and acoustic guitar.

This disc is an extension of the work he was doing with the Stray Cats, a Rockabilly band he formed with High School friends Brian Setzer, and Slim Jim Phantom in the early 80s on Long Island, NY, that eventually had to go to England to get a break. The band split up a few years later and they each went their own way, Rocker continuing to explore the Rockabilly field and doing a good job of expanding its parameters. This is an excellent disc by this extremely talented bassist (if you want to hear some excellent upright bass playing there are few better to learn from) and Alligator Records has done a good job getting his music out there for the public. -- Bob Gottlieb

Journal Star
L. KENT WOLGAMOTT / GZO
Friday, Aug 17, 2007

Lee Rocker has never moved far beyond the rockabilly that gave the Stray Cats its hits back in the ’80s. And that’s still the case on “Black Cat Bone,” his second disc for Alligator Records and the most solidly consistent record of his solo career.

With the record-on-turntable sound starting the drum click and shimmer in “Gone,” Rocker lyrically claims that nothing lasts forever, then across the rest of the record shows that the ’50s-rooted hillbilly rock ’n’ roll sound and attitude is still alive and well. Covering the range of rockabilly, the disc moves from the jumpin’ “Crazy When She Drinks” and the bluesy backstreet slink of “Black Cat Bone” to country balladry of “What I Don’t Know” to the romantic shimmer of “Sometimes You Win” — all of which bring back familiar themes. But Rocker, an under-rated songwriter who wrote or co-wrote 10 of the disc’s 13 songs, gets a little unexpectedly political on the bouncy “Sold Us Down the River,” intoning: “Too many people dying in the sand/too many people want to hear a marching band.”

But “Black Cat Bone” isn’t a topical album. Quite the contrary.

“Rebel” recycles the ’50s rock ’n’ roll cliches — a leather-jacketed Johnny with his Betty Page-lookalike girlfriend in his fast flat-black car. Robbie Fulks calls those folks “roots rock weirdos,” but in Rocker’s world, there’s nothing weird about them. They get it, and so does he.

The thumping, ripping “The Highway is My Home” and “String Bass, Guitar and a Drum” are autobiographical as Rocker describes the traveling life, then lays out his stripped-down rockabilly ethos, rumbling and stomping and raving about the Sun Records sound.

The biggest surprise on the disc is a laidback, airy version of “One More Night” which captures the soul and romance of Bob Dylan’s song. The record’s other cover is more iconic, but Rocker manages to put some driving wheels on “Lost Highway,” the Leon Payne-penned tune made famous by Hank Williams.

From start to finish, “Black Cat Bone” is muscular and moving, smartly played by Rocker, guitarists Buzz Campbell and Brophy Dale and drummer Jimmy Sage. If you like rockbilly, this is the good stuff.

Mix Online

Ride this ghost train back to the Sun Records days: Former Stray Cats bassist Lee Rocker begins his latest CD with a bit of scratch and hiss, a la old vinyl, and then launches into the dark, Western-influenced, rockabilly-crazed “Gone.” While his more famous bandmate Brian Setzer continues to apply his art to one genre after another (look for Setzer’s “classical” album Wolfgang’s Big Night Out next month), Rocker’s roots remain firmly planted in old-style rock ’n’ roll. On Black Cat Bone, the sounds are classic, along with that slight punk edge that set the Stray Cats apart from straight revival bands, but minus some of that ’80s brightness. It’s funny the twists and turns this musician has taken—bringing these sounds from the ’50s to the new-wave era, and beyond to this faithful “new” genre we call Americana. This album isn’t necessarily anything new, but Rocker and band give his songs all they’ve got, and it’s so good. Any rockabilly fan will celebrate this release, and head out to see Rocker in clubs this summer, and in sheds with the reunited Stray Cats. --- Barbara Schultz

What the press is saying about Racin' The Devil

...Racin' the Devil is essentially the apex of [rockabilly]. This disc is pure ducktails and bobby sox, replete with twang-rich guitars, doghouse bass and hard-rocking tunes."
Billboard
(read review)

"The music thumps hard and stays remarkably affectation-free. Rocker has fresh ideas for the oft-revived genre."
USA Today
(read review)

"Racin' The Devil is Lee Rocker's strongest solo outing to date. One of the first truly great albums of 2006...Remarkable. Rocker's voice has never sounded better and his is surrounded by a band equally up to the task of finding new territory to explore."
Orange County Register
(read review)

"Rockabilly lives"
Orlando CityBeat
(read review)

"Three Stars"
Chicago Sun Times
(read review)

"heart, soul and conviction...Racin the Devil finds Rocker racin' at full throttle through such numbers as "Race Track Blues" and "Ramblin."
OC Weekly
(read review)

"With Racin' The Devil, Lee Rocker continues to put a more satisfying spin of this twang-fueled rock than the Cats ever did in their studio work."
Philadelphia Enquirer
(read review)

"The bassist certainly learned one thing during his time with the Cats -- and that was how to strut."
Live Daily
(read review)

"This is perhaps the best disc that Rocker has done, including his work with the Stray Cats"
Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange
(read review)

"A tour-de-force. Hard-core rockabilly and high energy roots rock."
Chicago Sun-Times

"A rollicking roots rock disc...hardcore rockabilly and country...Rocker has a terrific singing voice, perfect for his roughed-up style of roots music. Combines country twang with rock and roll, ...originals as memorable as anything from the Stray Cats. ...Rocker refuses to be constricted by a specific genre, nudging the boundaries of rockabilly to produce music just as exciting.
Allmusic.com

"Lee Rocker forges enduring tunes on Racin' The Devil....propulsive slap bass and the reverberating twang of guitarists Brophy Dale and Buzz Campbell. A success from start to finish."
Living Blues

"The party gets off to a brilliant start and rarely falters."
Pittsburgh Post Gazette

"What's most satisfying about Racin' The Devil is Lee Rocker's ability to graft classic Sun licks and shuffles onto Americana. He bridges the gap between Springsteen and Hank Sr."
OffBeat

"What's most appealing is Rocker's ability to write memorable songs. Lee Rocker makes music as vital, as exciting, and as propulsive as a shiny new sports coup."
Blues Revue

"Armed with a love of rockabilly and blues, Rocker schooled a rising generation in the art of slap-bass and the sage strut that goes with it."
Cleveland Scene

"A gritty neo-rockabilly album, welcome and delightful. Rocker's sound is heavy, with a groove that falls just short of the brazenly punky onslaught of outfits such as the Reverend Horton Heat and Social distortion. It's tough and tasty, with a sense-of-humor chaser."
Pioneer Press

"On Racin' The Devil, Lee Rocker and his band capture the spirit of Sun Records on a dozen originals and covers. Rocker proves he's a fine singer who easily could have been the front man for the Stray Cats. They more than give the devil his due on this hard-rockin' set."
Boulder Daily Camera

Hard-hitting rockabilly-fueled roots rock....Rocker absolutely kills with his upright slap lines.
Bass Player

Lee Rocker cranks it up as a punkier, grittier rockabilly hound. Racin' The Devil is a real hoot, wicked and rowdy.
Minneapolis Star Tribune

Rocker's enthusiasm for the old school is infections, and his songwriting is creative.
Chicago Tribune

What the press is saying about Bulletproof (read full list)

"Bulletproof is a rocking roots effort."
San Antonio Express News

"A great steak needs no garnish. That culinary wisdom comes to mind when listening to Lee Rocker's new CD, Bulletproof."
Chicago Tribune

"Most impressive"
Washington Post

"... indelible."
Detroit Metro Times

"His rowdy, barn-burning rockabilly is full of the kind of energy that makes you slam your drink on the bar and jump up and groove"
Des Moines Cityview

"The Cat is back!"
Contra Costa Times

"on fire"....."smoldering"......"rock and roll at its finest"
Good Times

"Almost midway through 2003, it's already clear that Lee Rocker has released one of the year's best rock albums.
Orange County Register

"Unlike Mike Ness or Horton Heat, Rocker is a purest. He revived rockabilly, and he may be its last true champion. He is one of the best slap bassists working, let alone living."
--- San Diego Reader

“This one is a barnburner.”
Vintage Guitar magazine

"A thudding rockabilly masterpiece",......"an early candidate for album of the year, regardless of genre"
San Diego Union Tribune

"Bulletproof is a high-caliber good time, from a honky-tonkin' take of the Beatles "I'll Cry Instead" to a jazzy "Blue Suede Nights."
Minneapolis Star Tribune

"Hot-rodded blend of rockabilly and rock & roll."
Bass Player Magazine

"A thudding rockabilly masterpiece."
San Jose Mercury News

“a quality collection of rave-ups and weepers that easily rivals anything that band [Stray Cats] did.”
Village Voice

"The guitar playing and drumming are fine,"..."the bass playing is solid as they come,"..." Stray Cat fans will enjoy the hell out of this one!"
Blue Suede News

"The bassist and his band tear through classics such as Carl Perkins's One More Shot or Johnny Cash's Johnny, Frankie's Man with a slickness their forbears may have lacked…"
---Memphis Commercial Appeal

"a grand achievement, one could consider it the revelatory statement of his entire career...at least the equal, perhaps more, than any music made by the Stray Cats"
O.C. Weekly

4 STARS........."Rockabilly for the 21st Century"
Lincoln Star Journal

"An explosive album that shows the excitement of rockabilly."
Kane County Chronicle

"High octane and passionate as it [his music] has been for the past 23 years."
Post-Bulletin (Rochester, MN)

What the press is saying about Lee Rocker: Live

"The best solo album any of the cats have ever made...Rocker hits us right between the eyes with this storming self-produced live set, full of raunchy rockabilly."
Rockabilly Hall of Fame

"This is the way it was meant to be, the way it's supposed to be and the way it ought to be."
Southland Blues

"Rocker leads his crack band through a tough and tight live set of Rockabilly and roots-rock classics."
Bass Player

"Lee Rocker Live is a uniquely American tour de force"
N.Y. Rock

"Rocker is more than a retro act... his music exudes cutting edge style and, coupled with his unique signature on the bass, is a staple of
American music." -
--- Good Times Santa Cruz

"This CD is something you will want to pick up for sure"
Rock and Roll Truck Sto

"It's a jumping testament to Rocker's vision of the music that his rockabilly is fresh, not sounding like a tongue and cheek 50's retro project, but as vital as just having been invented on the bandstand."
Corpus Christi Caller Times

"Clearly the genuine article, with no trace of nostalgic imitation.
Tucson Weekly