What they're saying about . . . |
“This CD, Herdin' Cats, is first-rate Western Swing. “Bob Wills would have loved it -- just as I do. It is pure Western Swing. No compromises.” – Charles Townsend, author of San Antonio Rose, the definitive biography of Bob Wills
“In the form of new CDs I often get nice surprises through the mail. Sometimes it's a new discovery, and other times it's just simply Xmas. I knew what to expect when I found the Saddle Cats' new CD in one of the packages, but I still felt like hanging ornaments. “Just how effortless can brilliant musicians make jazzy Western Swing seem to be?? . . . The Saddle Cats' precision is breathtaking. Sly passages from other famous songs occasionally flit by in the arrangements bringing a smile. There's a mellow intimacy in the sound as top pros and legends work magic in a salute to the West Coast swing classics . . . “Herd Herdin' Cats into your collection. This pristine CD is as close to purr-fect as you'll find!” – Rick Huff, Best of the West reviews
“It’s
worth taking note when music journalist Rich Kienzle cites a
relatively new Western-swing group in the same breath as Asleep at the
Wheel and Hot Club of Cowtown in the liner notes of the recently
reissued Bob Wills Tiffany Transcriptions. Indeed, the Bay Area-based
Saddle Cats is not only worth a little eyebrow-raising, but you can
also expect to be blown away by the quartet’s brilliant instrumental
virtuosity. “This
group of towering titans is centered around Bobby Black, a phenomenal
steel guitarist who (as a teenager) declined invitations to tour
behind Hank Williams and Patsy Cline. Later, Black became an integral
cog in Commander Cody’s Lost Planet Airmen and did stints in Asleep
at the Wheel, the Sir Douglas Quintet, and with Barbara Mandrell.
Black comes from the old school of steel guitarists: He plays the
pedal-less variety with imaginative harmonies and alternative tunings
that result from slanting the cylindrical steel bar in various
positions. “Though
Richard Chon is a pleasant and sometimes magical (“Along the Navajo
Trail”) vocalist, as a fiddler, he’s as hot as they come and makes
his expressively played instrument sing to the high heavens
(“Stardust”). “Additionally,
the Saddle Cats provide a living link to California’s Western-swing
legacy. . . . Many
Western Swing pundits contend that Wills’ best-recorded work came as
a California resident — specifically with the Tiffanys — which
explains the significance of several of the selections heard here.
Also strengthening that California Western swing/Bob Wills link is the
Saddle Cats’ enlistment of former Texas Playboys drummer, the
amazing 92-year-old Johnny Cuviello, to be their session drummer.
(Live, the quartet plays sans drums.) The glory days of Western swing
may be long gone, but at least with the Saddle Cats riding the range,
it’s the real thing being recreated. — Dan Willging Dirty
Linen
“So
let’s face it, there isn’t much humming and bumbling about the new
“fiddle and steel guitar” driven swing records out there. But as
estranged as the genre can be, these guys do a great job of making
themselves accessible to some kind of popular audience. In the obvious
spirit of Bob Wills’ style, this mostly four-piece crew stomps out a
high energy, uncluttered sound, with the charm of your favorite
barbershop fellows and the precision of the hot shot jazz virtuoso,
all taking place inside the old west saloon. “Swing has always had one thing going for it, with the seesaw tipped to one side: easy to listen to, hard to play. It demands good playing in order to be interesting, and the Saddle Cats impress. You can take or leave the singing, but Richard Chon’s fiddling is undeniably razor sharp, and just as charismatic is Bobby Black’s two neck Fender steel work. They even bring in the legendary drummer Johnny Cuviello, a face from the glory days of the Texas Playboys, for a touch of historical authenticity. The whole record has a touch of humor, shown visually in its cartoon-kitty cover art. “Enjoy
them for the air-tight fancy playing, the relaxing and simple blend of
the mostly acoustic ensemble or for the simple fact that you are a
proud American music fan and may not have any good western swing
records lying around on your shelf.” – Al Wiseman, Elmore magazine
“It was easy to highlight your CD. My difficulty was picking just seven cuts from this outstanding collection of Western Swing numbers. Good job, hats off to all!”
–
Chuckaroo the Buckaroo, KPOV, Bend, OR
“This very talented San Francisco Bay area group has just released their first full CD and it is simply awesome.”
–
Mike Gross, Western Swing Monthly
“Hailing from the Bay Area, the Saddle Cats devote themselves to keeping Western swing alive while championing the West Coast's role in shaping music more often associated with Texas and Oklahoma. They make a pretty lively case on 'Herdin' Cats' ... “[Steel guitarist Bobby Black and fiddler Richard Chon] take the lead in defining an ensemble whose playing is hot and virtuosic but never flashy. Chon's tenor, meanwhile, lends an additional warmth to the vocal numbers, especially the slower selections, such as "Along the Navajo Trail" and "I've Got a Woman Crazy for Me (She's Funny That Way)." – Nick Cristiano, Philadelphia Inquirer
Editor's Pick“This collection of iconic western swing tunes has roots in that unlikely wild West town of Oakland, California, home in the 1940s to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys. The material is culled from the legendary Tiffany Transcriptions, a set of recently reissued 1940s radio broadcasts featuring Wills and his fabled band. Anyone who’s heard Chon on his other main gig — as the fiddler for the eclectic folk-swing artist Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks — knows that Chon has chops galore. He has western swing and Gypsy jazz down cold, sounding at times like a young Stéphane Grappelli. Nathan is a rock-steady player who’s anchored a host of Bay Area rockabilly bands over the years.” — Greg Cahill, Strings magazine
“On
a recent drive, while listening to a CD with a cool retro design, I
was transported back to the golden days of Western swing. Herdin’
Cats, by the San Francisco Bay area Saddle Cats, celebrates
California’s contributions to Western swing. Far from a simple
matter of artwork or song selection, it feels as if the four-piece
band is channeling the up-tempo beat that evolved in the 1920s and
faded with America’s involvement in WWII. . . . “The group’s stated goal is “to celebrate the
swing tradition of Bob Wills, Milton Brown and Spade Cooley with
abandon, finesse and exuberant spirits.” I’d say they’re right
on target.
” – Jeri Dobrowski, Western Culture News & Reviews
“Mention Western Swing and most will think of Bob Wills, Texas or Oklahoma, but what about California? Few realize that Western Swing was regional music until the Golden State got hold of it. Bob Wills moved to Californy in 1943 to join the 2.5 million (a heap o' folks back then) who'd already escaped the Dust Bowl. It was SoCal's radio, music and movies that repackaged and sold the cowboy, singing or otherwise, to the world. “Richard
Chon (Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks, Sons of the San Joaquin) is the
Saddle Cats' fearless leader, a hecka fine fiddle player, and a
California music historian. (He's
credited in Gerald Haslam's Workin' Man Blues: Country Music in
California, Univ. of California Press, 1999.)
He's also got himself a fine bunch o' musicians with pedal
steel player Bobby Black (Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen,
Asleep at the Wheel), geetar picker Gordon Clegg and bassist Bing
Nathan, and together they've made Herdin' Cats, a tribute to
California's Western Swing legacy. “The
CD is divided between standards and not-so-standard western swing
tracks: all California born and bred.
"Roly Poly" is a Fred Rose song that's been covered
by hundreds of bands yet it was a first for Wills and California in
'46. The perennially
popular "What's the Matter with the Mill" is a veiled song,
as music like this had to be back in the day, about the closing of a
house of ill repute. "Who
Walks in when I Walk Out" is about cheatin'.
"You've Got the Right Key Baby, but the Wrong
Keyhole" is about greener pastures.
Yep, all these themes were in Western Swing well before
honky-tonk found them. “Instrumentals,
which were popular back in the day, get their play too, and who'd have
thought that a classic like "Oklahoma Stomp" was California-born? “At its best this music flows and flows, and with four crack musicians, plus Chon himself getting a fine country croon on, the Herdin' Cats CD flows like the Big Muddy. This is music for sittin' a spell, sippin' a little and watchin' the sun go down; and the history lesson comes at no extra charge.” – Jose Segue, Hicks with Sticks
“A quartet featuring the skillful Western Swing fiddling and warm tenor vocals of Richard Chon alongside the astounding steel guitar virtuosity of Bobby Black . . . . If you are simply into a tight, hot-picking string band, then The Saddle Cats come highly recommended . . . extremely entertaining, historically educational and capable of producing gorgeous music with jaw-dropping skill and great taste.” – Ted Silverman, Bluegrass by the Bay
– Sourdough Slim
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