The Cat Empire - Live on Earth (2009)

By Jonno Seidler

If the rumours are true (and this current "around the country" stint is the last for Melbourne's Cat Empire) then Australia is about to lose one of its most cruelly undervalued exports of all time.

Over the last decade there has not been one person in any city (regional, metropolitan or international) who has not been touched by the merry bunch of former jazz musicians.

Relentless tour junkies, energetic performers and phenomenal song writers, The Cat Empire is the kind of band you are going to use to illustrate to your kids that there was a time "when music was good".

"Live On Earth" could easily be seen as the Cat Empire's swan song; it is a huge double disc featuring live renditions and reinterpretations of their favourite tracks spanning the globe.

With recordings from Europe and Canada through to a number of local wowsers (like their eight night residency in Sydney), this album is nothing short of amazing.

In most cases; gig tapes suck - the vocals are too loud, there is no crowd mix and all the instruments are out of whack.

It is to their credit, then, that front men Felix and Harry have spent hours combing through what must be weeks worth of recordings to find the best take of each song.

Add that to the fact that they hae mixed the whole thing up to sound like one continuous concert - and you have got the perfect way to forget about traffic for two hours.

At the heart of Cat Empire's appeal is their continual resistance to being pigeon holed.

Whether it is funk, jazz, dub, reggae, pop or even traditional folk music, the outfit generously borrows from a huge variety of genres, crafting what my brother astutely labeled a "non-definable sound".

But he is wrong, because you can very easily pick this up as "Fantastic" and just proceed from there.

Boasting one of the best rhythm sections in popular memory, including the completely spazzed out keys player Olly, The Cat Empire are so tight and so cool that you just want to hang with them all day.

With Felix's European lilt and Harry's joyous high pitched delivery - The Cat Empire attack on all fronts and no stone is left unturned.

Shit, they play a reggae cover of The Eagles Hotel California - in French!

I have seen this band perform live about six times since they first started, and I can honestly say that they sound as phenomenal now (with their permanent Empire horns and DJ in tow) as they did at Homebake back when I hadn't hit puberty yet.

This record just reaffirms their complete dedication to their craft and tireless ability to please even the most jaded music reviewer such as myself.

It is utterly faultless, just like they are, and I can well see myself dancing to a number of their songs at my wedding.

The end, hokay?

RATING: 5 out of 5

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