By ROBERT KINSLER
Special to the Register

Lee Rocker, "Racin' the Devil" (Alligator Records)

One of the first truly great albums of 2006 has come from a seemingly unlikely corner of the musical universe.

Laguna Beach resident Lee Rocker's "Racin' the Devil" boasts the strongest set of rockabilly-tinged blues since his former outfit the Stray Cats released its seminal debut in 1981.

Up-tempo rockers ("The Girl From Hell"), introspective midtempo material ("The River Runs," "Ramblin'") and an unforgettable instrumental ("Swing This") add up to something remarkable across the 12-song disc.

And while clearly able to command his own journey via new material and a reworked version of the Stray Cats' "Rock This Town," tracks such as "Runnin' From the Hounds" and "Funny Car Graveyard" masterfully revisit the Carl Perkins-style 1950s sonic turf that gave rise to the genre. Rocker's voice has never sounded better and he is surrounded by a band equally up to the task of finding new territory to explore.