Reviews
The Walkmen
Pussy Cats: Starring The Walkmen
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Add to del.ico.us.Review Date: 2007-01-22
Sometimes a title says very little about an album’s substance – but other times, that same title says it all. Take the The Walkmen, for instance, and their track-by-track cover of the immortal John Lennon/Harry Nilsson Pussy Cats album of 1974 – recorded during the “Lost Weekend” phase. The drug-and-alcohol filled results, which caused Nilsson to rupture a vocal chord – was regarded as mediocre at the time.
But even an average record by two music legends is a pinnacle to which many a musician would strive for.
Covering such an album therefore is a challenge – since it invites, nay, requires comparison with the two original artists.
But give credit to The Walkmen in their decision to cover Pussy Cats, with faithfulness and love for the original. The band obviously admires both musical greats and bring freshness and vitality to a cover album – a group of modern, indie rockers partying with their friends… making an album about two drinking buddies from the 70s.
It’s best that the word ‘starring’ is included in the title, however, because when you’re a young, up-and-coming indie band, recording one of the 70s pre-eminent albums, humility is a good idea.
The word faithfully was used above – and that’s true. It’s clear The Walkmen love and respect both Nilsson and Lennon for their contributions. But for this album, perhaps faithfully doesn’t go far enough. How bout exactly replicating their album? It’d be interesting to discover how many bands have decided to completely re-record a classic album. Only a handful because, I would argue, if it’s a classic album, how much more can a band really add to it?
There’s also the inevitable challenge of covering an album that was, essentially, a cover album to begin with. Look at the song writing credits – Nilsson wrote four and Lennon one track on the original CD. But there are also contributions from Bob Dylan and Jimmy Cliff, among others. It certainly must have been challenging to cover a previous cover song.
And, of course, we have the question of WHY the Walkmen would choose this album. On the relatively self-serving documentary provided with Pussy Cats, they say the record was made to appease someone named Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn borough president, who was miffed at the Walkmen’s previous album One Hundred Miles. Whether there’s truth in that statement is impossible to tell – but the answer isn’t quite adequate. There are hundreds of classic albums to choose from – why this?
Listen to the production quality of Pussy Cats and the answer will emerge. It has the sonic quality of a drunken weekend with your friends – save that, in this case, a microphone was involved. Take, for example, “Loop the Loop.” While it’s the albums funnest track, it was essentially recorded at a party the band threw near the end of production – and the drunken chorus, dubbed “The Saturday Night Marcata ‘BBQ’ Chorus,” are a bunch of party guests.
But there’s also a great deal of reverence as well. Listen to “Many Rivers to Cross,” the album’s pre-eminent track. Walkmen lead singer Hamilton Leithauser, accompanied by nine other musicians, has produced a track that is not only faithful, but beautiful as well. And then there’s Dylan’s famous “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” also handled with requisite skill.
There’s also a certainly liveliness with the material, a joie de vivre that obviously shares a close connection with the original album. Yet it still sounds fresh here, too. Probably because, like the original Pussy Cats, The Walkmen brought a group of friends together for some partying, camaraderie and, of course, recording some music. If the production suffers for their efforts, oh well – you can’t help but notice when a band has fun recording their album.
Returning to their DVD documentary, the band thinks Lennon and Nilsson, were they still alive, would enjoy their remake of Pussy Cats. While its impossible to say whether this would be the case, I’m sure the pair would admire the joy and fun had in recording this cover album. After all, what’s the point of music if you don’t’ have fun making it?
Songs to Check Out: Many Rivers to Cross and Loop the Loop, for their quality and vitality.
Songs to Avoid: Rock Around the Clock – it’s just not a great remix
Score: 8
- Kyle Rea