Nine Lives

Sacramento-based blues, swing and jump masters Little Charlie & The Nightcats have much in common with their feline counterparts. They take great (musical) leaps and always land on their feet, they're constantly on the prowl (gigging all over the world), and, with all of the various styles of music they play, they seem to have many lives. Their new CD, NINE LIVES, is the ninth album of their remarkable career. As on their previous recordings, they combine unsurpassed musicianship and inventive lyrical vision with their deep understanding of blues and jazz traditions to produce music that is both technically brilliant and soulfully streetwise. "Endlessly impressive," raves the Associated Press. "Marvelously entertaining and brilliantly played," agrees the San Francisco Examiner.

Most would say Nine Lives, the clever title of the first Aerosmith album in four years, is an understatement – this band has been through so much trouble it's quite surprising that this album was even released at all. Originally titled Vindaloo and set for a July 1996 release date, the album was pushed back time and time again after the band failed to meet Columbia Records' standards. Kevin Shirley replaced Glen Ballard in the producer's seat, and the band re-recorded every song until the album was as perfect as it could get. Well, frankly, it is. When the title track begins with the sounds of meowing mixed in with Steven Tyler's well-known screams, it is so shocking that the listener might suddenly turn it off.

REO Speedwagon gets slagged regularly, but they always deliver in concert and the freewheelin' Nine Lives, their (natch) ninth, sports one cool sleeve: tight leather, suspenders, fishnets, and cat chicks. The black circle inside rocks mightily also. Bassman Bruce Hall steps up to the plate with "Back on the Road Again," a stadium stage staple that kept these Illinois boys makin' noise on the radio. The Caribbean vibe in the hard luck "Easy Money" can't touch the Scorpions' 1979 foray into reggae ("Is There Anybody There?"), but old reliable axeman Gary Richrath keeps the number burning. The obligatory ballad, "I Need You Tonight," is one of REO's best cuts ever with priceless piano from Neal Doughty, the most unsung keyboardist alive.

Atack’s founder member and lead guitarist Keith Atack has a long pedigree in the rock music scene. He grew up during the sixties and was influenced from an early age by bands like The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Yardbirds and then on to Jimmy Page and Ritchie Blackmore. He has also toured with many pop acts like Bonnie Tyler, Rick Astley and many others. He has a rock / funk / soul style as well as a jazz and blues influence. He is joined by band members that also have strong roots in the rock scene such as Bob Richards on drums who has rubbed shoulders with members of bands like Iron Maiden, Survivor, Asia and Shy.