Cat Talk

Lew Williams | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 26, 1999)
• Original Release Date: October 26, 1999
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Beam Productions
• ASIN: B0000206BI
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,355,085 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop

2. Cat Talk

3. I Saw You Crying in the Show

4. Centipede

5. My New Pink Suedes

6. I'll Play Your Game

7. All Through the Night

8. Something I Said

9. Gone Ape Man

10. Rock 'N' Roll School

11. Cat Talk [Original Demo]

12. Abracadabra

13. Teenagers Talkin' on the Telephone

14. Don't Mention My Name

15. The Girl I Saw on Bandstand

16. I Saw Your Crying in the Show

17. Between Classes

18. I'm the Manager of the Flying Purple People Eater

19. Ba-Ba-Baby

20. Teenage Tears

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm Telling You Dad, It's The Best We Ever Had!, April 4, 2000

By 

"jmacbops" (Dallas, Texas USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cat Talk (Audio CD)

Rockabilly fans have been enjoying Lew Williams' recordings on Imperial compilations for years but this CD gathers all the released sides along with demos, alternate versions, and unreleased takes. If you like "Something I Said", "Cat Talk", "Centipede", and "Bop Bop Ba Doo Bop" this CD will knock you out! Lew's version of "New Pink Suedes" would have been a killer if Carl Perkin's Sun recording hadn't made it to market first. The CD includes extensive liner notes too. Lew Williams is alive and well and living in the Dallas area. He will be headlining at Viva Las Vegas on April 22, 2000. This CD is a "must have" for any serious fan of 50's Rockabilly & Rock 'n' Roll.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cat Talk Still Fresh Today, June 21, 2005

By 

JMAC "JMAC" (Denton, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cat Talk (Audio CD)

My rockabilly band had been covering 4 or 5 of Lew Williams' songs when, quite by chance, I was introduced to him through a friend just before this album came out. Lew is an absolutely delightful man and we have become good friends. It was a treat and an education to hear him tell of his experiences in the early days of rock 'n' roll. I was honored when Lew took the stage for the first time in 41 years and asked my band to back him.

This CD includes the released recordings that have been wildly popular with collectors and rockabilly fans for decades as well as well unreleased demos of songs Lew wrote in the 50's. All are lively and fresh today despite being recorded more than 40 years ago. Lew's songs perfectly capture a bit of what it was like to be a Texas teenager in the days when rock 'n' roll was exciting and new.

Some interesting trivia: Lew's song "My New Pink Suedes" was inspired by the wild clothes popular with teenage rock 'n' roll fans back in the day. And Lew wrote it well before Carl Perkins' rockabilly anthem "Blue Suede Shoes" hit the charts. Great minds do think alike! While Carl's song became a classic, Lew's song remained an unknown demo until now. I am honored that my band was the first one to publically perform "My New Pink Suedes" for Lew.

Lew's songs "Centipede," "Cat Talk," "Something I Said," and others released by Imperial have shown up on several compilations. But this CD is the first collection of all of Lew's released material and all of his previous unreleased 1950's demos. Unlike many demo recordings, Lew took pains to get the best musicians and cut quality demos. Most of them could have been released as-is back in the day. Bear Family's mastering and production is, as always, outstanding.

If you want a great sounding peak into exuberant 50's Texas Rockabilly, the real thing, I highly recommend this CD.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Rock 'n' Roll School!, June 15, 2004

By 

Martin 13 (Slovenia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Cat Talk (Audio CD)

A Legendary rock 'n' roll performer. A lot of his songs were covered or plagiarized. This is dirty rock 'n' roll with a little jazzy feel. The collection is featuring 29 songs that were recorded between 1953 and 1958. Some songs are issued here for the first time ("My New Pink Suedes", "Rock 'n' Roll School",...).