Bulletproof
Lee Rocker
33rd Street Records
Three stars (out of four)

Lee Rocker (Lee Drucker) began his career as bassist with the early '80s rockabilly trio the Stray Cats. While fellow cats Brian Setzer and Slim Jim Phantom have flirted with other styles of music since breaking up in 1994 (though, admittedly, never straying too far from their former band's sound) Rocker has remained impressively true to his rockabilly roots. One gets the feeling he couldn't even name you another bass player post Bill Black and Dorsey Burnette.

Rocker's latest retro-fest is a vibrant effort that seems less mired in the past than respectful of it. While updating the classic rockabilly sound with tinges of R&B on songs such as the Rocker original Dog Gone Right, 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 but with no less conviction. Other highlights include Rocker and company making the Beatles Memphis influence even more explicit on a take of Lennon-McCartney's (or is that McCartney-Lennon's) I'll Cry Instead, one of many cuts that showcase Rocker's smooth and supple tenor singing voice.