PLEASE COME BACK | Secretly Canadian
By WILL SPITZ | February 7, 2006
.jpg "CATFISH HEAVEN? What the musical lovechild of Sam Cooke and Janis Joplin may have sounded like.")
Ever wonder what it would sound like if the hypothetical lovechild of Sam Cooke and Janis Joplin wrote and sang a souped-up 21st-century version of his daddy’s “Bring It On Home to Me”? “Please Come Back,” which opens Catfish Haven’s new six-song EP (unless you count the six-second intro track), is the heart-breakin’, booty-shakin’answer. Armed with nothing more than an acoustic guitar, bass, and drums, the Chicago three-piece, who are named for the Missouri trailer park in which singer/guitarist/songwriter George Hunter grew up, borrow elements from music that was made before they were born — old R&B, soul, blues — and spice it up with punk-rock vim. The album’s highlight, “Still Hungover,” builds from plaintive acoustic strumming to jaunty 6/8 bounce, and when Hunter instructs his crack rhythm section to “take it home, Chicago,” they do just that, kicking into all-out barnburner mode. The next minute and a half is like the climaxes of “Freebird” and “Born To Run” combined, with tenor sax adding to the harmonic tension and Hunter wailing, “Ain’t gonna slow this freight train down.” He probably couldn’t if he wanted to.
Catfish Haven + Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin + The Receiver | Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston | Feb 13 | 617.734.4502
Related:
Clearly Canadian, Kill The Karaoke, featuring Trainwreck, The roots of rock, More 
- Clearly Canadian
The indie label Secretly Canadian, which is secretly based in Indiana and has put out a number of stellar releases by the likes of Songs: Ohia and Scout Niblett, got a publicity boost when Antony and the Johnsons’ SC release I Am a Bird Now won the prestigious Mercury Music Prize last year.
- Kill The Karaoke, featuring Trainwreck
Since its invention in Japan in the early ’70s, karaoke has become an international pastime.
- The roots of rock
In 1939 Arthur Goldberg went to Hollywood and crowned himself Art Rupe, a suitably slick moniker for an entrepreneur in the booming post-war culture industry.
- Dis-Respect
Toward the end of Respect: A Musical Journey, a revue bringing together some four dozen female-associated pop oldies, comes the big moment that’s supposed to represent American womanhood shaking off its shackles and stepping bravely into the future.
- Break on through (to the other side)
Rachel Perry Welty sees art where many of us see annoying little things to be thrown away or deleted: the funny-shaped plastic tabs cleverly invented to close the bag around a loaf of bread; the identifying stickers found on most fruit; answering-machine messages left at wrong numbers.
- Review: Chelsea on the Rocks
Manhattan’s Chelsea Hotel has been the roost of artists, writers, musicians, actors — and a lot of wanna-bes.
- Those were the daze
He goes by the Mad Peck, Dr. Oldie, and a few other cheeky monikers, depending on his pursuit: making posters, writing record reviews, archiving comics, spinning discs, or selling rare recordings.
- Fearful asymmetry
Carla Bley’s local appearances are so rare that each one is an event.
- Anything and everything
People never like to label themselves. Or, at least they shouldn't.
- Woodstock rock schlock
You've read the papers. They were right when they called the weekend a social success, for 450,000 people in the most wretched if circumstances proved that they were human beings.
- Our kinda Blue
She may currently live outside of Boston, but Diane Blue is, in her heart and on record, an Ocean Stater.
- Less
Topics:
CD Reviews
, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, More
, Entertainment, Music, Pop and Rock Music, Janis Joplin, Soul Music, Sam Cooke, Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin, George Hunter, Less
