Nine Lives

Little Charlie & The Nightcats | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 26, 2005)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Alligator Records
• ASIN: B00080Z5S4
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #73,072 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The San Francisco Examiner

Marvelously entertaining and brilliantly played.

Product Description

Sacramento-based blues, swing and jump masters Little Charlie & The Nightcats have much in common with their feline counterparts. They take great (musical) leaps and always land on their feet, they’re constantly on the prowl (gigging all over the world), and, with all of the various styles of music they play, they seem to have many lives. Their new CD, NINE LIVES, is the ninth album of their remarkable career.

It’s been over 30 years since world-class musicians guitarist Little Charlie Baty and harmonicist/vocalist/songwriter Rick Estrin first teamed up and took hard Chicago blues, jump, Texas swing and jazz and mixed it with rockabilly, proto-rock’n’roll, jumping jive, bebop and Estrin’s sharply original lyrics, creating a sound one critic described as "Charlie Christian playing in Little Walter’s band." Their utter mastery of American roots music is fueled by Baty’s jaw-dropping guitar acrobatics and driven by Estrin’s captivating original songs, cutting vocals and brilliant harmonica playing. The new CD, NINE LIVES, features 13 original songs—including three smoking instrumentals—and showcases the band’s constantly growing repertoire and chops.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic blues display, January 28, 2006

By 

James Quinn "The Bearded Wonder" (California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nine Lives (Audio CD)

After seeing this rated in the top ten blues releases for 2005 in a local blues magazine I purchased this in a promo bin and gave it a spin.
I've listened to Little Charlie and the Nightcats since 1986 when Aligator Records was starting to establish itself and all I can say is without even looking at their catalog Little Charlie has to be their biggest seller year in and year out.
This Cd is as good as it gets,not a clunker in the bunch and please don't get me started on the sound,it is big and bassy. This offering is right up there neck and neck with "Night Vision" and "Straight Up" for the best they have done. I'm not saying their other CD's are not good because trust me each one has some great stuff on it but these two are exceptional, the kind of stuff you want to tell people to buy when they say "I just don't see what people see in the blues." In life what you do for a living it's all about consitencey,being able to produce day in and day out ,year in and year out and how the hell Rick Estrin comes up with this stuff year after year is a mystery maybe he and Robert Johnson share with many other musicians.
But for now buy this CD and see what good blues is all about. How good is this CD? I would pay full price for it,and I never pay full price for anything.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Little Charlie delivers a big punch, October 2, 2005

By 

Scott M. Mishoe "Scooter Blues" (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Nine Lives (Audio CD)

The Nightcats deliver a strong performance on this bluesy, swing album. The humor is present throughout with a great vibe.

8 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Nine Lives/ Little Charlie & the Nightcats, June 21, 2005

By 

Richard E. Murphree "bluesfeelin" (GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Nine Lives (Audio CD)

Great Music from one of my favorite Jump Blues Bands!!!Go seeUm Live!!