Pack Up the Cats
Studio album by
Local H
ReleasedSeptember 1, 1998
RecordedApril–May 1998
GenreGrunge, alternative rock, post-grunge[1]
Length47:38
LabelIsland
ProducerRoy Thomas Baker
Local H chronology
As Good as Dead
(1996)		 Pack Up the Cats
(1998)		 The '92 Demos
(1999)
Singles from Pack Up the Cats
  1. "All the Kids Are Right"
    Released: August 1998
  2. "All-Right (Oh, Yeah)"
    Released: 1998

Pack Up the Cats is the third studio album by American alternative rock band Local H, released on September 1, 1998, through Island Records. This would be their last album released on Island before they split from the label, as well as the last album with original drummer Joe Daniels.[2] Local H described the album as "our little concept record about a shitty mid-level band".[3] The album's working title was That Fucking Cat.[4][5] The album was released around the time when PolyGram, the parent label of Island, merged with Universal, causing the album to be all but forgotten during the transition.

Production

The album was produced by Roy Thomas Baker, who was chosen in part because Local H was listening to classic rock while writing the songs for Pack Up the Cats.[6] The band was hoping for a huge rock sound that wasn't overly polished.[7]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Christgau's Consumer GuideA−[9]
Entertainment WeeklyA−[10]
MusicHound Rock[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Wall of Sound77/100[14]

The Hartford Courant wrote that the band has "lightened their sludgy sound on the surprisingly strong 15-track Pack Up the Cats by emphasizing melodic strength over brute force."[15] The Sydney Morning Herald noted the "air of clipped, hard wariness" and wrote that "Local H's small-sized wall of sound has been marshalled without grandeur."[7] The Morning Call praised the "chunky, jagged, joke's-on-me songs about the psychic dislocation that is part and parcel of the power duo's love affair with rock 'n' roll."[16]

Pack Up the Cats was ranked No. 20 on Spin's list of the 20 best albums of 1998,[17] No. 17 on Robert Christgau's 1998 Dean's List,[18] and No. 2 on Greg Kot's list of the best albums of 1998.[19]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."All-Right (Oh, Yeah)"3:09
2."'Cha!' Said the Kitty"2:57
3."Lucky"0:48
4."Hit the Skids or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Rock"4:38
5."500,000 Scovilles"1:36
6."What Can I Tell You?"4:52
7."Fine and Good"4:08
8."Lead Pipe Cinch"1:04
9."Cool Magnet"4:07
10."She Hates My Job"4:08
11."Stoney"1:41
12."Laminate Man"3:17
13."All the Kids Are Right"3:48
14."Deep Cut"2:26
15."Lucky Time"4:59

Bonus disc

  1. "It's a Long Way to the Top (If You Wanna Rock 'n' Roll)" (AC/DC cover) - 4:52
  2. "Answering Machine" - 7:41

Personnel

Local H
Guest musicians
Production
  • Roy Thomas Baker – producer, mixing
  • Nick DiDia – engineer, mixing
  • Lisa Ellis – assistant
  • George Marino – mastering
  • Eric Hoffman – assistant
  • Ryan Williams – engineer
  • Kevin Allison – assistant

Charts

Chart (1998) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[20] 140
US Heatseekers Albums (Billboard)[20] 7

References

  1. ↑ Martins, Jorge (2023-12-25). "Top 10 Post-Grunge Albums From the '90s That Actually Stood the Test of Time". Ultimate Guitar. Archived from the original on 2023-12-26. Retrieved 2023-12-26.
  2. ↑ "Local H - Here Comes The Zoo - On Second Thought - Stylus Magazine". 2006-03-29. Archived from the original on 2006-03-29. Retrieved 2017-10-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Facebook. Archived from the original on 2021-12-31. Retrieved 2021-12-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ Fischer, Blair R. (April 15, 1998). "Local H Heading Back Into Studio: Local H : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  5. ↑ Layne, Anni (May 14, 1998). "Local H "Pack Up The Cats" For New Album: Local H : Rolling Stone". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2023-03-26.
  6. ↑ Ferguson, Jon (25 Sep 1998). "How does all that splendid noise come from just two guys?". Happenings. Intelligencer Journal. p. 9.
  7. 1 2 Mathieson, Craig (27 Nov 1998). "H Two Go". Metro. The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 5.
  8. ↑ "Pack Up the Cats - Local H". AllMusic.
  9. ↑ "CG: Local H". Robert Christgau.
  10. ↑ Kim, Jae-Ha (September 4, 1998). "Music Review: 'Pack Up the Cats'". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2023-08-28. Retrieved 2023-08-28.
  11. ↑ Fuoco, Christina (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. p. 1127 – via Internet Archive.
  12. ↑ Christgau, Robert (September 17, 1998). "PACK UP THE CATS". Rolling Stone (795): 98, 100 – via ProQuest.
  13. ↑ The new Rolling Stone album guide. Internet Archive. New York : Simon & Schuster. 2004. p. 492. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  14. ↑ Graff, Gary. "Wall of Sound Review: Pack Up the Cats". Wall of Sound. Archived from the original on 2001-02-11. Retrieved 2023-03-11.
  15. ↑ Orefice, Mat (7 Sep 1998). "Pack Up the Cats Local H". Calendar. Hartford Courant. p. 7.
  16. ↑ Righi, Len (2 Jan 1999). "1998: The Year in Review—Pop Music". The Morning Call. p. A29.
  17. ↑ "Rocklist.net...Spin Magazine (USA) End Of Year Lists..." 2013-07-29. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2017-10-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  18. ↑ "Robert Christgau: Pazz & Jop 1998: Dean's List". Robertchristgau.com. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  19. ↑ Kot, Greg (1998-12-06). "Sound Decisions". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2017-10-28.
  20. 1 2 "Local H". Billboard. Archived from the original on March 12, 2023. Retrieved 2022-02-17.
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