East meets west is only one of the unique pairings that give Shady Cats its approachable, signature sound.  Guitarist, vocalist and songwriter Grady Crumpler hails from North Carolina while drummer Bill Eagen sought his musical dreams in California.  Both musicians share a mutual love for classic rock.  Top shelf of course being the tunes heard on vintage vinyl and not the digitally compressed versions overplayed on commercial radio.
Crumpler has a knack for not just channeling a particular artist but capturing the musical genre’s energy.  “You Got A Way” takes the mid-60s full studio sound revolutionized by The Beach Boys Pet Sounds album and creates a great blend of guitars and multi-layered vocals with a call and response motif in the chorus.  The instruments fade out in the coda leaving the harmonizing vocals a cappella and there is a faint hint of a sailing “waa-ooo” floating over top ala Brian Wilson.  “Take Me” has more of a bluesy feel with the rock organ adding dimension to the sound as was prominent in many of the British Invasion bands of the time.  
With his extensive musical skills, Crumpler is more than capable of embellishing upon the normal rock combo instrumentation.  In the samba style “All the Way” a marimba played by Chad Barger. is heard keeping time with the drums.  The dramatic song “In the Moment” opens with a worldly percussion mix before cleaning fading away as the electric guitar sneaks in and the high-hat takes control of the beat.
“She Kisses Me With Her Eyes” is more of a pop/punk number with the fast repetitive crunch guitars and the vocals sliding over top.  Crumpler sings in a slightly lower range than previously heard on the album up to this point.  His voice sounds natural and full as he cruises through the lyrics with a Bob Dylan type panache.   The guitar solo is well done with tasteful effects.
“I Want Independence” has another quick guitar solo and is the shortest track on the album, clocking in less than two minutes.  This tune is a blatant digression from rock past and clearly exudes a more modern rock sound with its overblown guitars and growling lyrics.  Crumpler’s voice, though, is not gritty enough to pull it off and, try as he might, he sounds too reserved despite the vocal effects.
The best vocal performance of Love Callin’ is heard on the last track “Desperation.”  The melancholy piano sets the mood for this ultimate hard knock life song as the drums and crash cymbal roll into the second verse.  Crumpler really allows himself to cut loose with his voice despite almost squeaking on one of the big, long held notes in the chorus.  As always, he makes excellent use of his background vocals and wailing electric guitar solo.  The energy is maintained throughout the extended instrumental ending before the ominous final vocals are uttered.
Love Callin’ has been in the making for over ten years.  This time span has allowed Crumpler and Eagen countless hours to rehearse, experiment and ultimately maintain the confidence to play comfortably.  No two songs on the album are alike; rather each one boasts its own unique likable listen-ability.    Crumpler’s songs are all very well structured and the production on the entire album is superb.  If the lead vocals overall would just get a bit more gutsy it would make a grand debut even grander.

Review by Kelly O’Neil
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Love Callin' is an album about raw emotion and how we are all slaves to its unyielding will. Be it love, anger, or addiction, we have all felt it at one time or another, but Shady Cats knows how to make you feel it for the very first time again and again. The album comprises mainly of tracks of the pop/rock genre, but flirts often with country, southern rock and soul. On the surface this may seem a bit manic, but Shady Cats weaves these styles flawlessly into a tapestry that is a unique experience rich with life’s universal tales.

The first track on the album is its namesake, “Love Callin’.” Immediately this song draws you in with its soft-spoken melody and 60’s era hooks. This 60’s vibe is a reoccurring influence felt throughout the album. Vocally, lead singer Grady Crumpler is a bit reminiscent of Rob Thomas, particularly with this track. His voice has a southern quality that demands attention and a harmony that hits every note with ease. When combined with Shady Cats’s solid lyrics of how love can turn you life upside down, “Love Callin’” gives the perfect introduction to this album.

The second track, “Lost Myself,” sounds like the Beach Boys with a southern edge. The song is about losing yourself to anger, the denial of it and eventual acceptance. The track is extremely well produced. With soul plucking rhythms, this is the kind of song you'll find yourself humming days later. 

“She Kisses Me With Her Eyes” has single written all over it. It’s the Beatles jamming with New Found Glory while Roy Orbison acts as their muse. The lyrics tell a story that has been told in song throughout the ages. It’s a tale of longing, love at first sight, and that head-over-feet feeling that a complete stranger can give you without speaking a single word. Everyone has experienced this euphoric feeling at some point in his or her life, that’s why this song isn't just a potential single, it's a potential chart-topping hit!

“In The Moment” is a bit disappointing. It’s not bad, but it just doesn’t hold up to the quality of the rest of the album. Throughout the song the chorus builds but never delivers. Maybe it's supposed to come off rough, but in the end it simply comes off as sloppy.

“You Got A Way” has some of the best guitar riffs off of Love Callin’. The best way to describe it is that it sounds like Clearance Clearwater Revival with a psychedelic twist. The lyrics cover a lot of the same ground as “She Kisses Me With Her Eyes.” It's about how someone can have an unbelievable affect on you without ever even knowing your name.

“Lines” marks the point in Love Callin’ where Shady Cats begins experimenting with various genres of music–in this cases country. The change in genre is a bit jarring at first, but over all it works. It’s a country song about a life on the road and on drugs. While this theme is usually reserved for rock, Shady Cats makes it work.

With “I Want Independence,” Shady Cats ventures into a heavier form of rock. The change fits the tone of the lyrics perfectly as they touch on feelings of being smothered and trapped. This is a song about the burning desire to break free, and the near hard rock edge of this song swiftly delivers that feeling of a beast that craves to be unleashed.

Shady Cats sings the gospel of love with “Take Me.” It’s an extraordinarily soulful track about a longing for days gone by, and begging your girl to take you back. This track has the absolute best vocals off of Love Callin’, and should be the second main single released off this album–“She Kisses Me With Her Eyes” being the first.

If the Beatles were French they may have recorded a song like “All The Way.” It’s a moody laid back song that swims with a 60’s era influence. The track can be a bit boring, but it’s perfect relaxing on the beach music.

With “Till The Rain Comes” Shady Cats returns to their own sound. It's songs like this that Shady Cats seems the most comfortable in their skin. It just feels like the melody comes easy to them. Lyrically the song is simple. It’s about a rain that washes away the dirt that builds over a lifetime. Smell the symbolism?

The last track off of Love Callin’ is “Desperation.” It's a piano rock balled that certainty acts as a show stopping number. The vocals are haunting. The piano sets an intimate tone. The bang of the drums acts as a pulse, racing the heart of the story along. It's about life. It's about trying to stay afloat during the turmoil of life and how futile it can be, especially when you don't realize what's really going on around you. The story that this song spins is deep, gripping and powerful. Shady Cats definitely saved the best for last.

Love Callin’ is a testament to human nature’s more impulsive aspects. It’s delivered through smooth melodies, strong vocals and impressive arrangements. While the genres explored are many, it the pop/rock tracks with a 60’s era influence that allow Shady Cats to truly shine. It’s not a perfect album, but it’s damn close.

Review by Zack Daggy
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Looking much like a rockabilly performer, singer/songwriter Grady Crumpler with his band Shady Cats, delivers great alt pop/rock in his tightly constructed debut album, Love Callin'. The eleven songs here had been languishing in their original demo recordings until Crumpler brought in three producers who whipped these bar-friendly tunes into radio-friendly masterworks. Though it is common in hip-hop circles to use more than one producer, it is rare in rock or pop. But here, Crumpler showed genius in doing so.

John Custer produced the first three tracks, one somewhere in the middle, and the last cut. Dick Hodgin produced three songs that are sprinkled around the central song: “All the Way,” “Take Me,” and “You Got a Way.” John Plymale, who produced Squirrel Nut Zippers and Meat Puppets (some very different material from each other and Crumpler's Shady Cats work), also does three: “Lines,” “Till the Rains Comes,” and “In the Moment.” Though shaped by three very different hands, the album has a cohesiveness that brings out the best in Crumpler's songs and his vocals, as well as the skills of the Shady Cats musicians. 

Long time bandmate, Bill Eagen offers support on drums on all cuts in the album. He and Crumpler are the two consistent threads here with a sprinkling of other musicians who lend support. Crumpler himself lays out guitar, sitar, synth, and even takes a stint behind a Hammond B-3 and a Fender Rhodes. There is a whole stable of bass players on this work and a number of other instrumentalists. 

The title track, “Love Callin',” is also the initial track, which breaks with standard album track placement. This is usually the track that will get the most airplay. The title cut is usually left for the third slot, which here is a rock love song, “She Kisses Me with Her Eyes,” where Crumpler adds a tasty bit of guitar blaze along with John Wade's bass.  “Love Callin',” though, sets the tone of the album, generating a high energy rock ballad that is reminiscent of G B Leighton's rendering of “Love For Sale”. It is supported by Derek Arnold on bass and producer John Custer himself, adding guitar synth to this mix. 

Custer continues that on the second cut, “Lost Myself.” Here Crumpler backs himself on vocals with John Wade again on bass. 

John Plymale's first producer offering on Love Callin' is “In the Moment,” which showcases guest Don Dixon on lead vocals. Dixon is a noted producer himself who spearheaded the jangle pop movement of the 1980s. His vocals add a raw edge to Crumpler's more polished voice, even on background vocals. This cut also showcases Crumpler's versatility with many instruments. Here he not only plays guitar but shows his chops on organ. Both add zest to Wade's bass. 

Another guest vocalist, Phil Spence, handles lead on “Take Me.” Rob Clay takes up bass duties here and is assisted by Chad Barger on the Hammond B-3 and Jason Schmidt on percussion. Again, Crumpler adds backup vocals and guitar. 

Dick Hodgin's production of  “You Got Away” and “Take Me” have a more rocking drive than some of the other tracks. But his work with “All the Way” instills a classic Beatles meets island music rendering. Clay, Barger, and Schmidt once again return to support Crumpler here. 

“Till the Rain Comes” once more showcases Crumpler on many instruments. Eagan and Clay back him up. Plymale, here, couches Crumpler's vocals in a distorted verse, a la Beatles' “I Am the Walrus”.

Stuck in the middle of all this is “Lines,” the only southern rock number of the lot. It's a really different look at trucking. Mike Krause adds some sweet guitar work to Clay's bass and Wes Lachot's Hammond B-3. 

The album ends with “Desperation,” a piano-driven vocal piece that is pure moody rock about infidelity from a woman's point of view. Jon Heames adds bass to Darren Mitchell's piano work and Crumpler's guitar and Eagen's drums. It's sort of a downer to the rest of the work contained on the CD, but it is an exquisite song that reveals the depth of Crumpler's ability to write a great song. This one and “Lines” are exceptional pieces of songwriting. 

Love Callin' shows listeners just the tip of what Crumpler's songwriting and performing vision is. Hopefully, Grady Crumpler and Shady Cats will offer us much more in the future. 

Review by Janie Franz
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Right off the bat, one look at the liner notes for this release tells the story of an interesting dichotomy to this album, the debut from the band Shady Cats.  Though there's no mistaking that guitarist/multi-instrumentalist/singer/songwriter Grady Crumpler is the de facto leader of the band, on certain songs he almost seems like a guest artist on his own band's album.   Take for example the guest lead vocal from the esteemed popster Don Dixon, of the '70's pop/rock band Arrogance and the early '80's MTV hit Praying Mantis.  How often have you heard of a band calling in a better vocalist than the leader to take the helm on a song?  I can't speak for every album ever released but one would guess never.   It's almost an unspoken rule never to show up the regular singer as he's the one the band's gotta live and die with from song to song and gig to gig.  However,  it happens here with Dixon.  A singer by the name of Phil Spence takes a lead vocal on the album as well.  Not sure if he's a "name" vocalist of not, but he sings better than both Crumpler and Dixon.

The band itself sounds like a tight unit, and it should be. Together since the late '90's after meeting at a private party in which a Crumpler solo set was the entertainment, the band once was named Grady Crumpler and Last Call before selecting their current moniker and began recording this record back in 2001. Calling in several skilled producers to helm the boards including Chapel Hill NC legend John Plymale, Crumpler gives the impression that this album has been an ongoing effort with many starts and stops.  Even so, you aren’t able to tell from listening, which is a definite sign Crumpler hired the right producers for the job.  

The first song, “Love Callin'”, sounds like a male version of Rosanne Cash's old hit “Seven Year Ache” in that it combines rock, country, and a four-on-the-floor dance beat together to come up with a pure pop confection that transcends genres.  Crumpler's vocals are very solid here and this is a great start for the record as it gets everything going at a fast clip with a great song that sure sounds as if it belongs on radio.  The next song, “Lost Myself”, has a solid roots feel and is a bit more rock-oriented than the first cut, with Crumpler's plantive vocals and Ennio Morricone-sounding guitar lines.  There is a pattern here: Crumpler's songs have a ton of hooks and are relatively short, sticking with a philosophy of getting in, making an impact and getting out so the listener wants more.

“She Kisses Me With Her Eyes” comes next and Crumpler and the band turn the guitars and the tempo loose and hit the song like a floorboarded Ferrari hits the street.  It features a great pseudo-metal guitar solo from Crumpler who manages to keep it short-and-sweet.  The following song, “In The Moment”, is the anomaly in the rock world I have referred to earlier.  Here the lead singer takes a back seat to let someone else sing.  However, when someone of the caliber of Don Dixon shows up, it's warranted, though I am surprised the esteemed Dixon did not also choose to play bass.  The song is produced by Chapel Hill vet Plymale and Dixon sounds ten years younger with a lot of the gruffness removed from his voice in favor of a smooth, youthful sounding rock vocal performance.  The band is as tight as ever on this track.  

For the next song, “You Got A Way”, the band is reduced to a power trio for this slightly jazzier number until the solid wall of rock guitars kick in at the start of the chorus and the song becomes a full-throttle stomper.  “Lines” is the next song and features a guest appearance by Gladhand Wes Lachot playing the B-3 on a great roots rock song reminiscent of Eric Ambel or Duane Jarvis' best work.  “Lines” is another catchy song that ought to be a decent sized country hit.  

“I Want Independence” takes the proceedings a little to the left as the song is almost metal, making it the odd one out.  Then again, it's not bad, so if nothing else, it shows the band as very versatile.  While Crumpler's vocals don't scream metal, he does a serviceable job that may have sounded better with a different producer and better production values.  “Take Me” comes next and is a blazing riff rocker that sounds like early Tom Petty right down to the swirling organ.  Here again, a guest vocal from Phil Spence has him sounding like he belongs in the spot.  There is nothing wrong with Crumpler's vocals so far, but Spence has a better voice and presence than Crumpler on this harder-edged rock song.  

Following is the much-mellower “All The Way”.  This is a great "come-down" song after the rock of the previous cut.  The song has a great synth hook, also played by Crumpler, and sounds like something out of the late-'70's with a danceable beat tailor-made for The Hustle.  The next song is “Till The Rain Comes” and shows Crumpler handling all instruments except bass and drums. The vocals are decidedly better on this Plymale-produced cut, and the song has a nice summery hook to it.  This would be a great song for the radio about, say, late April.  The final song, “Desperation”, starts with dirge-like piano by Darren Mitchell and slowly starts to get more bombastic with the drums, bass, and some heavy guitar hitting at the start of the second verse as well as some sweet layered background vocals.  A little bit of Led Zep's piano from “All of My Love” is heard at the end of the song.

Though Love Callin’ is a bit lo-fi, the production is as top-notch as one could expect.  The use of three producers does not detract from this album as Crumpler and Shady Cats have managed to hone their own country-tinged pub-rock sound.  While some songs have obviously big, sing-along hooks, Crumpler has the knack of also penning songs that subtly lull you until the hook works its way into your brain.  As his songwriting matures another notch or two, he should become a real force in the music world.  Between now and then, I will be listening to this album quite often.

Review by Scott Homewood
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