Bloggerhythms

This article was first published on November 4, 2010. It's been updated and reposted today with its original comments.      Almost seventy years after rock 'n roll revolutionized popular music there isn't a whole lot of excitement left in the classic guitar-bass-drums-piano formula popularized by Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, Bill Haley, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and a host of other pioneers. I still love rock music but many times when I crave more than what the basic rock band lineup has to offer I start searching for something a little more substantial, and often I’ll find what I’m looking for in bands with horn sections. Horn bands can make some colorful music so it's a shame there aren't more of them. Is it because fledgling artists can't absorb the additional expenses of a larger group without promoters shelling out more cash to compensate them? Are many of the small clubs that new artists depend on for gigs not big enough to house ...

The ska music and the party vibe are a little less prevalent than on previous releases and the lyrics are a bit more serious on Cinema , the latest CD from The Cat Empire. On "Reasonably Fine" they offer the following thoughts, "I lost my shoes, I lost my wife, I lost my keys, I lost my kite, and though I'm young at heart I'm so much older." However, don’t let lyrics such as these prevent you from stomping your feet or singing along with the Aussie horn band at your next Saturday night keg tapping because the combination of a scratchy turntable, a percussionist, and a drummer can make any set of lyrics danceable. The eccentric lead vocals of Felix Riebl and Harry Angus are still pleasing, the rhythm section continues to burn, and the keyboard work of Olliver McGill is outstanding once again, especially on the coda to "Shoulders" and on the electronics that dominate "Only Light." Of course, great musicianship rarely matters if the ...

Last week Bloggerhythms posted the first part of the top 10 CDs of the decade and counted down numbers 10 through 6. In case you missed it here is part 1 . Today we continue with the final 5. 5. The Corrs - Home (2006) Nothing I'm writing here about The Corrs is new. I've said before the band would have done far better artistically if they had stuck to their roots and played what is obviously their first love, Celtic folk music, but then they probably wouldn't be millionaires. Here, as a tribute to Jean Corr, their late mother, they celebrate both her memory and their heritage. The siblings took the songbook of Jean's band and added their trademark sound to the twelve tracks (most of them in an acoustic setting) to record Home , the best work in their catalog. 4. The Cat Empire - Two Shoes (2005) There isn't another band in the world as unusual as The Cat Empire. Bloggerhythms always gives points for uniqueness, especially if it's well done, and Two Shoe...

Those Australian mates known as The Cat Empire are a hard bunch to categorize because there is nothing traditional about their rock n' roll. The band's best known CD, Two Shoes , did not have a single guitar lick on the entire sixty minute disc. A solo trumpet is one of their featured lead instruments, and on their latest CD, So Many Nights , they may be the only band featuring a turntable accompanied by a string section. They also are lucky to have keyboardist Oliver McGill who is possibly the best unknown jazz-rock pianist in the business. Every solo he plays is absolutely amazing. So Many Nights is a party disc that is just as much fun as the sextet's earlier work. It's also a little more traditional in both its songwriting and arranging without sacrificing any originality or quality. There are even a couple of tunes that someone may want to classify as ballads. The band offers us a taste from a full buffet of musical genres, including pop, rock, funk, jaz...

The Cat Empire , from Melbourne, Australia is currently all the rage in their homeland. Two Shoes , which went double platinum in the land down under, was recorded in Havana, Cuba in late 2004 at the famous Estudio Egrem where The Buena Vista Social Club laid down many of their tracks. It's not easy to label The Cat Empire. The band plays a lot of ska and reggae, a little hip-hop, and they even work a turntable into their act, but where Two Shoes really shines is with their excellent Latin jazz arrangements. If you must apply a label to the Aussie sextet call them a rock band even though there is nothing traditionally rock 'n roll about them. There is no guitarist on the album but there is a three piece Cuban horn section. The Cat Empire are not only versatile composers they also write imaginative lyrics. The CD opens with these great lines from the song "Sly": If frizzy hair was a metaphor for festival time/Then this woman is a goddess of that festival shrine....