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Pack Up the Cats

Local H - Pack Up the Cats Audio CD

A fair review of the Local H "Pack Up the Cats" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Local H reviews here, or go back to the Local H tabs.

Band: Local H
Title: Pack Up the Cats
Rating:

Release Date: 1998-09-01
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: All-Right (Oh, Yeah) 2: "Cha! " Said the Kitty 3: Lucky 4: Hit the Skids or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Lovethe Rock 5: 500,000 Scovilles 6: What Can I Tell You? 7: Fine and Good 8: Lead Pipe Cinch 9: Cool Magnet 10: She Hates My Job 11: Stoney 12: Laminate Man 13: All the Kids Are Right 14: Deep Cut 15: Lucky Time

Local H...one of my favorite bands that no one knows about
All of their songs are full of energy they are one of the few rock bands that haven't sold out. I love this band so much. This cd proves that they are definitely more than their one-hit-wonder "Bound for the Floor".

Pack up the cats pick up the guitars
On this album they definitely bring the heavy rock and roll. I am from the Chicagoland area so it makes it pretty easy to be a Local H fan. The opening track, "All Right (Oh Yeah!), starts things off with a hard rocking song, with a catchy chorus that will get trapped in your head. The next song "Cha, Said the Kitty" is a solid rocker as well, with the guitar and drums building to an explosive ending. The album continues to shine with tracks such as, "What can I Tell You" and "Hit the Skid or How I learned to Stop Worrying and love the Rock" continuing to mold this album into a very solid release. In my opinion, the best songs come near the end of the album with "Cool Magnet" "Laminate Man" and "Deep Cut" being absolutely stellar. Local H has been overlooked their whole career and I think that has been a good thing for them, when they first came out they were too much linked to Nirvana, but now they have found their own niche and continue to make solid releases and great music. If you ever get the chance to see them live take advantage, they put on a wonderful and energized show.

A Well-Produced Album
With "Hamfisted" they proved they could rock hard; with "As Good As Dead" they demonstrated their ability to write some very catchy tunes. Local H extended their versatility with this album. With this album, "Pack up the Cats," they exceeded all expectations. Due to this masterpiece of their career, I tend to dislike any of Local H's later works. This album is simply unable to be outdone.
Each song on this album is perfectly placed in a sequence that evokes dynamic emotions that greatly enhance the effect of each song on the listener. Sound effects such as cats meowing are utilized, but not overused, to tie the songs together; many times the tracks have changed without the listener knowing it. The focus is put on the album as a whole, and not on any specific 'singles' as is so prevalent with the popular artists of today.
And yet this album rocks hard as well. The listeners who appreciated "Hamfisted" will enjoy the opening track with the lyrics "All right, Oh yeah" repeated to the constant thump of the beat. For the listeners who prefer the poppy singles of "As Good As Dead," meshed in amongst the wonders of the album are gems such as "All the Kids are Right," and "Fine and Good. "
Every song on this album is wonderful in its own right; the amazing feat of this album is not that it is a pleasure to listen to the songs, but that it is possible to listen to it over and over again, without any desire to remove it from your player.

The best album by the most unabashed ROCK band ever.
" That's rock music right there, and if a story of meteoric rise to fame followed by a harrowing plummet into obscurity and disintegration doesn't strike you as rock 'n' roll, you probably still listen to Michael Bolton. "The soundtrack of youthful aggression.

Grimly prophetic -- "Pack Up the Cats" could have been Local H's breakout record, but hopes were dashed by corporate tomfoolery, and a lack of promotion sent these cats packing back to Illinois to regroup -- this is the H's best record to date, no contest.

Stack it next to "Dark Side of the Moon" -- "Pack Up the Cats" is among the greatest concept albums ever made. It's that simple. The songs bleed into one another via unexpected bursts of guitar squelch, recorded phone conversation, and other bits of found sound that add to the cohesively unusual feel of this album. It's something familiar and far out at the same time.

Tracks like "She Hates My Job" are enhanced by simple yet expertly placed blues slide guitar, and there are a couple riffs, such as the opening electric guitar hit of "Fine and Good," that rank among the best moments in rock guitar for sheer head-nodding power.

Even transition pieces, like the slow burning "Stoney," which takes on a cool, sinister vibe before seguing into the Sex Pistols-by-way-of-"Back in the USSR" clang of "Laminate Man," are, for once, an indispensible component of this album. Rather than mere throwaway "breaks," they're an integral part of what ends up being one long and excellent song. Once the brazen whollop of "All Right (Oh Yeah)" hits your ears, you'll be hard-pressed to want to turn this record off.

Ahhhh.....Local H's finest.
I'm a little torn between this one and As Good as Dead, but I think I'm gonna have to go with this one. In my opinion, this is probably the best Local H album. This cd is probably the best produced and has the most mature sound out of all the albums. The songs are real catchy and they aren't serious which is great. So many bands get too deep, but not Local H. As others have mentioned, it's more of a party album, or just one to put in when your in a good mood.

The first time I listened to this, I didn't like the way a few of the songs started so I would pass through them. But after letting it play the songs actually get very good. One of them that I thought I hated wound up being one of my favorite songs after listening to it the whole way through. The very first song gets a little bit repetative towards the middle so I usually only listen to the first half of it. 'What can I tell you' is probably my favorite song on here although I have a lot of favorites.

I would recommend this cd to anyone who likes rock music, that is 'real' rock. Not commercial rock. Out of all the Local H's cd's, I would probably recommend this one first. Either this or As Good as Dead. .

You can see a complete list of all Local H discography, or go back to the Local H tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.