rascal (11/01/82)
The Cats passed through Portland about a month and a half ago and gave one hell of a show. Same deal as in Toronto: about three hours and a lot of sound, all pretty amazing for a snare drum, an upright bass and an electric guitar. The crowd loved them too. The Cats don't get much air play on radio, but MTV plays their stuff and at least two local (and popular) rockabilly bands cover their stuff. One thing I find strange about the band is that they are Americans pretending to be British pretending to be Americans. I've heard of Americans playing British and vice versa, but never this. I mean these guys even moved to England.
reid (11/06/82)
The Stray Cats moved to England because they couldn't quite make it in New York City, but they were an instant success in England, whereupon they let their success propagate back here. Their album 'Built for Speed' is out- rageously hot, and it gets pretty much air play here in Madison, Wisconsin. The only objection to their music I have ever heard was from a musician, who complained that their rockabilly was just "too damn good," and that it might have been a little more interpretive or something. I say BOSH. I love Gene Vincent and early rockabilly, and these guys are much better in a lot of ways (recording quality, guitar playing, etc.). Unfortunately, nobody sings like Gene Vincent, not even the King.... Glenn Reid
dce (11/06/82)
I've been wondering about how the Stray Cat's must feel about their newfound success in the US. Their big hits over here are two songs from their first album, "Stray Cat Strut" and "Rock This Town", the latter of which was their first UK single. Now this means that they have to play songs from their first album, which was released about 1.5-2 years ago (I think I bought it in December 1980). Who decides whether the first US album from a popular UK group (I mean popular in England before coming (back) to America) will be a compilation of UK albums or new stuff released in both countries? I'll bet those guys are really tired of playing the same versions of songs they've been playing for three or four years. As a musician, I know it's easy to get tired of a song after playing it 200 times, and most of the time I change the song around. The problem with that is that the Cats have to play the songs like they are in the record so the audiences will like them (I'm not talking about old fans like myself, but about the robot followers of hit songs who never heard of the Stray Cats until the US album came out). Did anyone out there see them before the US release? What songs did they play? Did they play the two abovementioned hits? Did they play them the same as the album? Any feelings on why their hits aren't ones from the second album, and why the second album was really wimpy compared to the first? Not afraid to be a snob when it comes to music, David Elliott
djo (11/12/82)
speaking of americans pretending to be british pretending to be americans... why do you think they're pretending??? they are no different than Jimi Hendrix or Chrissie Hynde. all three of them are fine performers!