CATS IN SPACE - DAY TRIP TO NARNIA

Review by; DeeDee

 

The music world has been waiting for CATS IN SPACE for a long time. I remember

watching Supertramp and The Enid at the Reading Festivals in the 70’s, singing along to

those Arty, Avant Garde groups. It was when rock music was more defined and although I

loved Heavy Rock, I also had a penchant for the Canterbury sect, especially when I was sat

in a field in Berkshire, I loved discovering something new that had a symphonic and

experimental edge. The CATS bring us similar vibes, with Queen, ELO, John Miles,

Supertramp and 10cc listed as influences, these guys have plugged the hole that was left

open all those years ago. Comprised of experienced musicians who have all been there and

got the Platinum disc, CATS IN SPACE are turning heads and have been in high demand as

support slots for Phil Collins, Deep Purple and Status Quo. 

 

The start of the album is the sound of footsteps going through a door, it’s to ‘Narnia’! With the story unfolding, we are given a cheerful, musical type of entrance, with happiness bubbling all around. A chorus of extreme simplicity that is complete brilliance. ’She Talks Too Much’ is over in less than 2 minutes and a trace of 10cc can be heard. A dig at the current state of affairs in the music world, ‘Hologram Man’ is a calm enough ride. Following that is ’Tragic Alter Ego’ another aimed towards performers. ’Silver and Gold’ just breezes along, fantastic harmonies throughout this record and superb music, it’s so original. 

 

‘Chasing Diamonds’ goes into first gear, we have a ballad with Synthesiser cool keyboards. It builds up and a crescendo with epic proportions, brings it to a finale. The 7th song ‘Unicorn’ is pretty rocky, speed driven and it has a bucketful of spirit. Love Paul Manzi’s voice, its so smooth and he’s faultless on every track. Seeing as 5 out of 6 of the band are credited with vocals, you can imagine the effect, the backing elements just melt into every rendition. 

 

OK, so this is where the CATS turn the remaining 7 songs into a mini opus. An overture and a 6 part ’Story Of Johnny Rocket’ a boy who has dreams of space travel. The songs fuse and create an unusual tale. However, I’m not sure this additional project hits the mark after such an outstanding beginning to DAY TRIP TO NARIA. Perhaps it would have had more of an impact being a concept record in its own right. Its a bit of a dampener to what is an amazing trip. Although, now that CATS IN SPACE have landed on planet Earth, thankfully there is no sign of them returning to the outer cosmos. Yay, more please! 

 

4.5/5

 

CATS IN SPACE ARE;

PAUL MANZI- Lead Vocals

GREG HART-Guitars, Vocals

STEEVI BACON-Drums, Percussion, Vocals 

DEAN HOWARD-Guitars, Vocals

JEFF BROWN-Bass, Vocals

ANDY STEWART-Piano's, Synthesiser