Customer Reviews

Pack Up the Cats

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a surprisingly great CD, in part because it's all blended together like one giant song. This is one of the few CDs that does a good job of this, and you can't help but listen to the entire CD over and over. The lyrics to 'All the Kids are Right' are great, and every song on here is catchy. Forget drab monotonous garbage like Blink 182 and Lit and the pre-pubescent sound of Korn, Kid Rock, Limp Bizkit et al... Pack Up The Cats is a REAL rock album.

"The soundtrack of youthful aggression." That's rock music right there, and if a story of meteoric rise to fame followed by a harrowing plummet into obscurity and disintegration doesn't strike you as rock 'n' roll, you probably still listen to Michael Bolton.

Grimly prophetic -- "Pack Up the Cats" could have been Local H's breakout record, but hopes were dashed by corporate tomfoolery, and a lack of promotion sent these cats packing back to Illinois to regroup -- this is the H's best record to date, no contest.

Stack it next to "Dark Side of the Moon" -- "Pack Up the Cats" is among the greatest concept albums ever made. It's that simple. The songs bleed into one another via unexpected bursts of guitar squelch, recorded phone conversation, and other bits of found sound that add to the cohesively unusual feel of this album. It's something familiar and far out at the same time.

Tracks like "She Hates My Job" are enhanced by simple yet expertly placed blues slide guitar, and there are a couple riffs, such as the opening electric guitar hit of "Fine and Good," that rank among the best moments in rock guitar for sheer head-nodding power.

Even transition pieces, like the slow burning "Stoney," which takes on a cool, sinister vibe before seguing into the Sex Pistols-by-way-of-"Back in the USSR" clang of "Laminate Man," are, for once, an indispensible component of this album. Rather than mere throwaway "breaks," they're an integral part of what ends up being one long and excellent song. Once the brazen whollop of "All Right (Oh Yeah)" hits your ears, you'll be hard-pressed to want to turn this record off.

Great party record. LOCAL H rocks with a spirited enthusiasm that hits the mark by not taking themselves as seriously as they take their music. This album is chock full of hard kicking beats, crunchy guitars, and good, clean hook. Cool band and a great recording that plays well (and LOUD) on fridays at quitting time.

I can't get bored of this CD. I really hope more people get into this band. Local H is like listening to five albums in one, the slow stuff sounds like Elliott Smith while the rest of it makes me think of Screaming Trees, Cheap Trick, Nirvana, Lemonheads, Urge Overkill, Replacements etc... Check it out.

After picking up and thoroughly listening to Local H's 1996 album, 'As Good As Dead,' I had to pick up 'Pack Up The Cats' as well. Frankly, my expectations weren't that high. As good of a grunge record AGAD may be, it is rather inconsistent in terms of sound. I expected the same here.

Boy, was I wrong.

'Pack Up The Cats' far exceeds it. It's 48 minutes and 15 songs full of listening entertainment. The music is fun yet pure grunge in the vein of Cobain. Local H also displays their ability to create somewhat slower, more melancholy music, as can be heard in "Fine & Good." The most positive, and perhaps its worst factor, is the album is much more unified than AGAD. 'Cats' really isn't a singles album and it wound up hurting Local H in the end, as they were dropped from their record label. It is only too bad that this record did not get the attention it deserved.

Why am I giving this record such praise and yet not giving it five stars? Well, I see potential in this band that has not been tapped to this point. I still need to pick up their new record (which is on an indie label, btw) and hear it out to be certain. But, clearly, this band deserves whatever attention it isn't getting, for whatever reason.

In short: "Pack Up the Cats" combines Local H's familiar thundering grunge rock with just enough experimentation to make the album vaguely 'artsy,' without losing any accessibility.

You want rock? You got it. Songs like "All-Right (Oh Yeah)," "Hit the Skids...," and "Deep Cut" (and others, of course) are just as loud [rear-end]-kickin' as anything else the band has released. And of course, the lyrics are full of Scott Lucas' simple-but-smart sarcasm - "All the Kids Are Right" is a prime example.

But when "Pack Up the Cats" truly becomes a great album - not just by H standards, but by ANY standards - is when it diversifies. "Fine and Good" and "Lucky Time" are far more quiet/melodic than is typical of Local H, and they pull it off brilliantly. What's more, the album feels totally unified, both musically and thematically. Songs flow into one another in such a way that it's incredibly easy to lose track of time and listen to the entire album - even when you intended to sit down for just one song. And the lyrics throughout the album work so well together that many consider "Pack Up the Cats" a concept album, telling a single cohesive story.

To sum it up, "Pack Up the Cats" is one of those genre-busting albums that I think ALL rock music listeners - not just grunge fans - should check out.

Long, long ago, for no real reason, I decided to purchase this CD by Local H. At my first listening, I was dumbfounded. I thought,"Hmm, this is odd. No real singles except for 'All the kids are Right'. I think I'll ignore it." But, after many listenings, and a few years of evolution in my musical taste, I realized that I love this CD. Its one of the only CDs I've ever sat down and listened to, straight through, without doing anything else; I have a very short attention span, though I love music, and its rare that I can do such a thing. But that's what this CD is all about. Each track flows into the next, and some re-appear later in the disc for a brief moment before or after another track; you can hear several similar tones and riffs flowing into other songs. I think its just one long story about a man's journey into and out of Super Rock-Stardom. It don't matter, anyway. Each track is so unique and yet tied to previous ones. Tracks like, "Lucky" and "Lucky Time" relate very strongly, and yet they say something different about how the guy feels and all. There's a lot of strange variation in the background music; you can listen to the background of, "How I learned..." and hear all kinds of great stuff: Crazy beepings, muted covnersation, etc. Simply put, this CD is really awesome. In a time when artists are known for their singles, this album makes you really listen to what an experimental rock album can sound like with a little creativity. Word of Warning: "As Good As Dead" is not nearly as artistic.

This album has some great individual songs on it, but it's just nowhere near as cutting or emotional as the last record. This is a kinder, gentler Local H, no longer afraid of experimenting with more diverse kinds of songs but without the fury to back it up. Still well worth the time of any fan of the band.

I am from the Chicagoland area so it makes it pretty easy to be a Local H fan. On this album they definitely bring the heavy rock and roll. The opening track, "All Right (Oh Yeah!), starts things off with a hard rocking song, with a catchy chorus that will get trapped in your head. The next song "Cha, Said the Kitty" is a solid rocker as well, with the guitar and drums building to an explosive ending. The album continues to shine with tracks such as, "What can I Tell You" and "Hit the Skid or How I learned to Stop Worrying and love the Rock" continuing to mold this album into a very solid release. In my opinion, the best songs come near the end of the album with "Cool Magnet" "Laminate Man" and "Deep Cut" being absolutely stellar. Local H has been overlooked their whole career and I think that has been a good thing for them, when they first came out they were too much linked to Nirvana, but now they have found their own niche and continue to make solid releases and great music. If you ever get the chance to see them live take advantage, they put on a wonderful and energized show.

Is it possible for one band to hold the torch for Nirvana, AC/DC and Cheap Trick all at the same time? Yes, and they are Local H. They aren't original, but Scott Lucas can turn out hooks like you couldn't believe. 5 stars to this one because there is not a bad song on it