Customer Reviews

Who Let the Cats Out

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

After a two CD flirtation with Methenyesque vocal-driven jazz, Mike Stern goes back to basics with this release, and what a welcome return. Featuring such luminaries as Victor Wooten, Dave Weckl, Richard Bona, and Roy Hargrove as sidemen, "Who Let the Cats Out" is probably Stern's strongest outing since "Play." It's a shame Mike Brecker could not play on this CD, but "We're With You," the tender ballad co-dedicated to Mr. Brecker is the next best thing.

The compositions are nicely varied and cover the stylistic map, and it's interesting to hear him add some new harmonic coloring, working with trumpet and harmonica on this recording. But the real reason anyone listens to Mike Stern is to hear him burning through changes, and his chops are as impressive as ever. He even kicks in the distoration on occasion, as if finally realizing that nasty edge to his sound was part of what made him great. Highly recommended.

Mike Stern is a near-perfect guitarist: a jazz vocabulary with the heart of a funk-metalhead. I've been a fan for more than 20 years, seen him perform with Miles, Michael Brecker, Dennis Chambers, Alain Caron; can't wait to see him in Seattle in December. One of my all-time favorites.
I didn't care for the last two CDs, which were I felt leaned too heavily on the vocals. Richard Bona is a brilliant musician, but I prefer his work on bass. Stern's a monster player who surrounds himself with fantastic, innovative musicians. This is a great CD from start to finish; highly recommended.

Mike Stern is a killer guitarist and this CD shows off his skills wonderfully. Great melodies, burning solos, and inspired instrumentation make this a must buy. Great job, Mike!!

Mike Stern has solidified himself in the top echelon of jazz/blues/fusion guitarists. Who Let the Cats Out is a varied disc that shows off what he can do when supported by a top notch band, each with something to add. Mike knows how to vary the mix enough so that he doesn't become predictable.. there is always an edge of newness to his playing and this album doesn't disappoint. While I would not hold out "Who Let the Cats Out" as the quintessential Stern recording, it surely belongs in your collection of you appreciate his styling, chops, and musicality.

Mike Stern plays jazz with a rock players abandon, it's a VERY satisfying mix...His heavily chorused, clean guitar tones take a bit of acclimating too, but once you do, this disc rocks and percolates along like few other jazz guitar discs...It's like the best moments Jeff Becks Blow by Blow or Wired
or a harder edged Pat Metheny. Love it! Great playing and compositional sophistication, and some truely amazing rhthym section stuff going on...There are moments like on Tumble Home, where Stern's too-cool-for-school melodies play in tandem with a sax, and it is just a killer blend...Haven't heard anything that cool in a long time, and every track is a keeper to boot. Money WELL spent on this CD!

I don't buy alot of guitar instrumental CDs. In fact, I only bought two in thelast 12 months.... this and Frampton's Fingerprints.

Mike Stern, after having heard clips over the years and owning his "Standards" CD, is as fresh and new-sounding as he is honed on his style he has played for decades. Unlike some straight-up jazz players, Mike liberally blends blues and rock (inflections only, but effective) into his playing. And I LOVE the tone!!!!!!

BUY IT!!! You will not be disappointed!

I've been a fan of Mike Stern for many years. Who Let The Cats Out is easily one of his best releases to date. The production quality is excellent. The drum tones alone should be studied by anyone interested in this genre. The guest musicians are outstanding and play an integral part of the recording as a whole. This is not a one man show, as Stern lets his guests cut loose and share the spotlight. How many Jazz Cds have slide guitar or harmonica? This one does!

Coryell recently remarked that Abercrombie is a man who'll do anything to avoid a cliche; Stern's the reverse. Here's a man who juggles every cliche there is with such joyful abandon you can't help but crack up laughing at the impishly brainy fun he has pushing your buttons relentlessly. Specifically, how anyone can mix Roy Buchanan's blues chops with Jim Hall's bop chops, then stick the whole mess into Weather Report-ish compositions and keep getting away with it, is truly amazing. He's about the only man who's still doing REAL fusion.

Some high points: "KT," written for his drummer Kim Thompson, who, as Stern rightly remarks in the liner notes, really IS cuter than Dennis Chambers. This piece starts out as high-art reggae -- that's reggae without the two-chord boredom -- and meanders into a massive metal riff that'll force you to play air-guitar. "Texas" would have made a GREAT bit of background for the John Sayles film "Lone Star." (Whenever I hear this I visualize Kris Kristofferson taking a billet in the back in a bar.) It starts out as a quiet, ominously spooky Billy Gibbons boogie (?!?!?!), then swings into some Tex-Mex a la middle-period Ry Cooder, then cuts loose with one of the NASTIEST Buchanan tributes Stern's done yet.

The finest piece here, IMO, is "We're With You," an elegy both for Michael Brecker and band-mate Bob Franceschini's wife; tunes like this can fall instantly into personal bathos (did we really need a song about Conor Clapton?) but this solves the problem by taking the stance the title implies -- it's about the living, not the dead. The tune itself is equally diplomatic. Stern's one of the few fusioneers who knows that the acoustic is different from the electric. Tone, not flashy technique, is the point. He doesn't even try to express his own emotions here. He leaves it up to the listener to fill the spaces between the notes with his OWN emotions. Brilliant.

A great place to start for the neophyte Stern acolyte, because it gives you some of everything Stern can do, and gobs of what he does best. Just follow the advice in one of the titles here -- "Roll With It."

Mike Stern has got to be one of the Tastiest Cats out there in the music scene today. He defenitly has his own sound going, which is so great to hear these days. This is a great cd. Every song kills....I own all Mike's stuff, and seems to me, each one he puts out just keeps on getting better and better....

THIS is fantastic!!!! Master Stern seems to have gotten "it" right. He has found such "groove" and ,yes, that TONE!!! That chorus-y ,echo-y thing.. Yup. Love it. And that is all I have to say about that..
Nicely done...