Search - Cats & The Fiddle :: We Cats Will Swing for You

Loads of Fun!

Andre M. | Mt. Pleasant, SC United States | 04/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The Cats and the Fiddle was an interesting precursor to uptempo doo-wop and even rap groups. Sort of an ensemble version of what the great Louis Jordan was doing at the time, these guys (mostly) combined wildly comical lyrics with percussion-styled string instrumentation. "Killing Jive" is a wonderful, fun-filled classic. If you listen very carefully, you'll see that it's a wild coded ode to marijuana smoking. "Thursday Evening Swing" is a pleasant tune about some maids and porters who get together on a party on their night off. "Gang Busters," "That's On Jack That's On" are other hilarious and entertaining tunes that does not necessarily require that one understands 1930s Harlem jive slang to understand. But try to put yourself in the spirit of the times and you'll enjoy it. Slower tunes such as "I Miss You So" are in the vein of the Ink Spots and a bit dry today, but there is so much good stuff here that it doesn't devalue this as an excellent purchase."