Cats in Boots - Kicked & Klawed

 

Here's part II in my "Why glam metal doesn't always suck" ethos.

So, I've almost certainly got AD/HD-- I almost never listen to an entire tune on iTunes.

Cats in Boots? I always listen, to the whole thing. I have to. It makes me. It rocks that hard. The riffs are that great. The lyrics are that clever. The vocal melodies are that infectious.

And seriously-- the fucking band name is "Cats in Boots!" The album is called "Kicked and Klawed!"

It's like they really, REALLY didn't want anyone to take this record seriously-- and the damn thing came out in 1989, and still haunts me....

Anyway, from what I remember, there's a white American singer and drummer and a Japanese guitarist and bassist. Again, if I remember correctly, the two "sides" couldn't really communicate through language and used mostly gestures during the recording of Kicked & Klawed.

I don't know how, but that method totally, completely worked.

The riffs, and the solos (my God, the solos) on this bad boy are genuinely great-- the solo in "Shotgun Sally" is, no shit, one of my top 10 of all time. Just a great, bluesy-yet-rocking, lyrically-memorable solo/ piece of music.

Highlights: "Shotgun Sally," "9 Lives," and "Her Monkey,"

The records gets less-necessary as the tracks pass by, but they're all still great....

--Horn