"Choo Choo Hot Fish" can be seen as the successful version of "Let's Go Faster". It is innovative but still with a feet in the tradition and is their most ambitious effort to date. It also sees the return of Dave Edmunds behind the glass. The opening track is representative of that mood, pumping sound, modern drums mixed with rockabilly elements for a tribute to Elvis. "Cry Baby", a non retro melodic rockabilly tune, is an instant Stray Cats classic and has that timeless sound that makes the trio so special. And with Edmunds on second guitar and on duet vocal it reminds the good old days of "The Race Is On". Johnny Kidd's Please Don't Touch rocks like hell. Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk" appears here for the first time, long before the orchestra and the Grammy Award. Though I grew rapidly tired of the heavy orchestra version, this one still sounds fresh today. "Lust'n'Love" and "Can't Go Back To Memphis" harden the sound with heavy guitar and Jim hittin' the drums as hard as he can. "Lust'n' Love" keeps the backbone of rockabilly while "Can't Go Back..." is not that far from ZZ Top and it's very interesting to listen to this album today and compare it with Setzer's most recent albums ("Nitro Burnin' Funny Daddy" and "13"). Many elements were already presents 15 years earlier. I suppose that Setzer saw a potential in "Cross Of Love" as he recorded it twice before this album (on "Let's Go Faster" and also during his first solo stint between 86-88). The best song to appear on "Choo Choo Hot Fish" is "Beautiful Blues" co-written with Larson Paine. It's a splendid jazzy song with rich gipsy chords, astounding solo and superb brushwork from Slim Jim. 
Don't be fooled by the apparent simplicity of his drumkit this guy can really play. "Jade Idol" proves it too. This is a stunning atmospheric instrumental that would fit a James Bond movie to perfection. My definition for this kind of tune is "Music to drink Martini with...". "My Heart Is A Liar" is a fine acoustic ballad in the vein of Chris Isaak with once again a rich assortment of percussion. The last two numbers are solid rockers. A new version of "Let's Go Faster" far better and richer than the one that appeared on the album of the same name (courtesy of Dave Edmunds and his good sound) and a "Hey we have 5 minutes left in the studio how about doing a Elvis song?" version of Mystery Train. They clearly recorded this one live and it perfectly captures the feel and the excitement of the band. It also features a yodel part from Mr Setzer. Funny to see an album opening on Elvis On Velvet and ending on Mystery Train. Sadly, "Choo Choo Hot Fish didn't reach a large audience. [F.Turgis]A real "Comeback" Lp for Cats, after couple of lame slabs. This pretty overlooked gem and easily one of their best, will throw you into a Rockabilly frenzy."Please don't touch I shake so much" Dig!!!
