Crying, Waiting, Hoping - The Head Cat, Holly, Buddy
Love's Made a Fool of You - The Head Cat, Holly
Big River - The Head Cat, Cash
Matchbox - The Head Cat, Perkins
The Head Cat brings together Lemmy (Motörhead), Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats), and guitar wizard Danny B. Harvey (Rockats) for a batch of cover tunes from Buddy Holly ("Tell Me How," "Not Fade Away"), Carl Perkins ("M... more »atchbox"), and Johnny Cash ("Big River"). A longtime rockabilly fan and skilled harmonica player (as evidenced on "You Got Me Dizzy"), Lemmy does at times sound a bit out of place and tentative in a setting stripped of the unmitigated power and unsubtle glory heard on all the best Motörhead albums, but there's a rugged charm hearing him beside Phantom and Harvey, who lend authenticity and spark to the affair. If it all seems improbable, a related live DVD, Rockin' The Cat Club: Live From Sunset Strip , captures the three friends plus ex-Guana Bats bassist Johnny Bowler in action. This won't take anyone involved away from their day job forever, but it is an interesting shift for the mighty Lem and a souvenir that will raise the eyebrows of diehards and the curiosity level of casual fans. --Jedd Beaudoin« less
The Head Cat brings together Lemmy (Motörhead), Slim Jim Phantom (Stray Cats), and guitar wizard Danny B. Harvey (Rockats) for a batch of cover tunes from Buddy Holly ("Tell Me How," "Not Fade Away"), Carl Perkins ("Matchbox"), and Johnny Cash ("Big River"). A longtime rockabilly fan and skilled harmonica player (as evidenced on "You Got Me Dizzy"), Lemmy does at times sound a bit out of place and tentative in a setting stripped of the unmitigated power and unsubtle glory heard on all the best Motörhead albums, but there's a rugged charm hearing him beside Phantom and Harvey, who lend authenticity and spark to the affair. If it all seems improbable, a related live DVD, Rockin' The Cat Club: Live From Sunset Strip , captures the three friends plus ex-Guana Bats bassist Johnny Bowler in action. This won't take anyone involved away from their day job forever, but it is an interesting shift for the mighty Lem and a souvenir that will raise the eyebrows of diehards and the curiosity level of casual fans. --Jedd Beaudoin
"Motorhead's Lemmy Kilmister teams up with Stay Cat's Slim Jim Phantom for a rockabilly side-project. Um, just picture Lemmy singing rockabilly, and that pretty much sums it up. I thought it was going to be disastrous, but it was actually quite surprising and good. You're grandfather might not like it, but it's cool to hear a different and softer side of Lemmy."
Fool's Paradise strange but good fun
M. Wilkinson | England, UK | 02/29/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Lanky drummer, Slim Jim Phantom of 1980s new rockabilly group, "The Stray Cats"; rock and roll guitarist, Danny B Harvey; and the "Everything Louder Than Everything Else" gravel-voiced rock god, Lemmy, present several of Buddy Holly's most sensitive songs. It shouldn't work, but it does.
The album presents songs written by a clean cut young man for a younger audience at a time when kissing in public was sometimes considered lewd. Here, they are sung by a man of nearly 60, who's been around the block many times. In most cases, it works, and Lemmy gives a real depth to lyrics that could easily become sentimental or even soppy.
Instrumentally, it is good old fashioned rock and roll (Lemmy hates genre labels like "rockabilliy") and good fun. A few times, it doesn't quite work, but it is always enjoyable, and always sincere. These are three people who love rock and roll, playing it with affection and respect for the pioneers like Holly, Cochran and Perkins whose songs are featured.
The version of Carl Perkins' classic "Matchbox" provides an excellent climax to an enjoyably eccentric album. Recommended."
Solid but that's about it
Frederick Ortiz | Camden, NJ | 03/25/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"It's a nice little album, but Lemmy is way out of his element trying to sing and perform rockabilly songs. The drum work of Slim Jim is what makes this album worth getting"
Lemmy rules
dog freak | seattle, wa | 08/15/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Some Motorhead fans may disagree, and some rockabilly fans may not like The Head Cat
because of Lemmy's rough voice, but I'm a fan of both of those and LOVED IT. They are fun live too.
I commend Lemmy for going back to roots music and doing a really nice job of it."