The Walkmen

"Pussy Cats" Starring The Walkmen

Record Collection/Warner

David Hilson (CHARTattack)

11/28/2006 6:45pm

It's not difficult to understand why The Walkmen wanted to cover eccentric pop troubadour Harry Nilsson and John Lennon's booze-fuelled 1974 cult classic, Pussy Cats. The New York indie rockers, vocal fans of Nilsson, wanted to blow off a little steam while completing their third album, A Hundred Miles Off, and couldn't think of a better way to do it. The original, which itself consists largely of covers, was recorded during Lennon's infamous "lost weekend" in Los Angeles, with Nilsson taking on vocal duties and the former Beatle producing. The Walkmen have lovingly recreated, almost note-for-note, the ragged glory of that reckless collaboration. The tattered meanderings on Jimmy Cliff's "Many Rivers To Cross" and the shuffling rhythm and infectious chanting on Bob Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" are both standouts. The quintet are equally true to a quartet of Nilsson songs, including the forlorn piano ballad "Don't Forget Me," and cabaret lament "Old Forgotten Soldier." Covers of '50s number "Rock Around The Clock" and early '60s song "Loop De Loop" are less tolerable. But the question remains: why would anyone, except diehard Walkmen fans, buy this version — which comes with a DVD — when they could own the original?