Two Shoes

The Cat Empire

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 6, 2007)
• Original Release Date: October 10, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Velour Recordings
• ASIN: B000LPS4F2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #54,901 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

For six guys from Melbourne, Australia, to travel half the world to record their second record indicates titanic success for their first. And that's what led the jazzed-up, funked-out popsters Cat Empire to a studio in Havana, Cuba, to follow up that million-selling debut. Here, the band takes its Latin leanings a step farther, creating room for what is billed as the Empire Horns--trombone, trumpet, and sax--in its driving, thriving beat. Lead vocalist Felix Riebl's witty intellect and dripping Aussie twang are the Cat's most distinguishing merits (see the Bob Marley love-fest of a title track and the first line of the offbeat "Sly": "If frizzy hair was a metaphor for festival time/Then this woman is a goddess of that festival shrine"). Yet compatriot Harry James Angus demands equal billing here, with contributions like the ska rave "Saltwater," the punkish memoir "The Car Song," and "Protons, Neutrons, Electrons"--an uproarious showtune of a song complete with delightful piano break and "zip-a-dee-doo" chorus. Still, co-stars aside, this is a complementary sextet that's seemingly comfortable with nearly any style of music--and willing to circle the globe to prove it. --Scott Holter

Product Description

The Cat Empire's Two Shoes -- their second consecutive double platinum LP in their native Australia -- brings Australia's most dynamic musical export to the the US. Live music fans (and anyone at Bonnaroo this year) may already have had the opportunity to catch one of the band's legendary shows -- but until now recorded material was as hard to find as Vegemite. Looking for inspiration beyond the beaches of Melbourne, TCE journeyed to Havana, Cuba to record Two Shoes with producer/engineer Jerry Boys (R.E.M., Rolling Stones) in the studio where the Ry Cooder's Buena Vista Social Club LP was recorded. The result was a record that captures all the energy of a live band at its peak, but also sacrifices nothing in the way of songcraft. Compared to everything from Cake to Madness to Sublime, The Cat Empire's genre-bending is a trademark of the music scene in Melbourne. The band was founded in 1999 by vocalist/percussionist Felix Riebl and bassist Ryan Monro and quickly built up a massive following down under with its incendiary live shows, leading within two years to two double platinum releases on Virgin/EMI. Fueled by the internet word-of-mouth, the band has already sold out venues from Irving Plaza to the Troubadour. The band will headline an 11 date US tour in support of this LP at 500 -1000 cap venues.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Romans, Ottomans, Cats, June 22, 2005

By	B. Hunt "raccoonteur" (LA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

My experience with the Cat Empire is mostly taken up with their magnificent live shows. When these guys throw down it's magnetic; they're one of those bands who, as much as you may like their recorded stuff, are a totally different proposition onstage. There are a lot of bands like that; many of them never equal their live greatness on record.

"Two Shoes" ensures that The Cat Empire can be exlcuded from the latter group. It is funky, it is sweet, it is top-to-bottom great and it is flat-out them, just the cats bein' the Cats.

It's tempting to write 10,000 words of ponderouos, strangling praise, but why be pretentious when the album ain't? Let me just hip you to some key facts. Of particular note is that this album was recorded in the same studio as the Buena Vista Social Club album. You can hear it in the brass and the general sense of festivity. It was a great choice.

Of further interest is that these songs are fanf***ingtastic. The title track in particular is a great example of what they do so well in their live shows; they groove you, then they rock you, then let you go, then you're napping, then they wake you up, then they bring you back, now you're rocking harder than you were in the first place. All in one song.

Every once in a while you have to take The Risk On The Band Of Whom You've Never Heard. Might as well be them.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Their David Letterman appearance, February 15, 2007

By	Steven Pugliese - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Try try try to find their appearance on David Letterman in mid Feb doing "Sly." What a performance. Irresistible. Better than the CD version.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely Amazing, February 14, 2007

By	D. Poole (Tacoma, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is one of my favorite albums. Cat Empire is a fantastic band with a powerful sound, and this album is no exception. They've got a blend of reggae, funk, latin, and jazz that is totally addictive - in a good way.