Norm Hacking has been reviewed in these pages before. He is a big guy, with a big beard, and a big heart. People like him. He plays acoustic guitar and writes some of the best songs you're ever likely to hear. This time he has provided us with something you don't see much anymore... a concept album! Orange Cats (make the very best friends) is a collection of eleven songs about cats! If you ever lived with a cat, you'll know that they are the most independent pets one can have. In fact, you don't "own" a cat, you share their space. Norm and his associate (multi-instrumentalist) Kirk Elliott understand this very well; but they also know that it's worth the effort. Cats do make very good friends.

I had a big old tabby cat that I rescued from the Humane Society. Aggie (short for Agamemnon) used to sit quietly in his chair when I came home from work. Maybe he'd give me a glance, over the shoulder, you know the drill. Then, in a few minutes he'd come over to where I had sat, and climb up on my lap, happy to be petted, drooling, purring, rubbing his muzzle into my chest. This distinctive personality, totally unlike Zoot (the white one that would sit on my shoulder), or Dweezil (the spotty one someone had thrown out their car window), or Bogie and Camille (the twin Siamese that ran down the hall and slid into the wall) is what makes each cat so special. Kirk and Norm know this, and their songs reflect this knowledge.

The songs are catchy, cute, sometimes thoughtful. "Syd and the Flea" is the story of, well, a cat named Syd and... you get the idea. "Cats Everywhere" describes a house -- maybe Norm's house. "This One's the Dreamer" begins with that, and then follows a list of those known over the years. "This one sits at the supper table... this one's the Canadian... this one's like a wild stallion..." They might be cats, might be people. That's the thing about cats. A duet on the old standard "Side By Side" with Norm's son Ben has some new lyrics about "Syd and the flea, Daddy and me... side by side" that's cute and over quick, with a nice line about Ben playing Nintendo: "he gets the big scores, while my Daddy snores..."

The instrumentation is your basic folky affair. Acoustic guitars, bass, maybe a little banjo, slide guitar, and accordion; for rhythm there's just the odd tambourine shake. It's the feel, the tone that matters here. This is homey, friendly music, just right for Norm's warm cozy voice. The production is lively with a rich guitar sound... very nice. This album is not a ground-breaker -- no deep philosophy or virtuosic performances here. But if you're looking for a something to play for the kids that won't drive you up the wall, don't look any further than Orange Cats (make the very best friends). And don't miss "When Cats Go Wrong," a catalog of "life with a naughty kitty."

[David Kidney]