The Artist - Rat Bat Blue
The Song - "Out With My Friends"
Rat Bat Blue was an LA band that was signed to Atlantic Records in 1999. But when a major consolidation happened in the record industry at the time, they were dropped from the label and their finished album was shelved.
Thanks to MP3.com, Rat Bat Blue was available for download (for a limited time) and could be heard for the first time since Atlantic Records dropped them.
Rat Bat Blue is Produced by Rupert Hine and Engineered by Stephen W. Tayler.
"Out With My Friends" fits the punchy Alternative genre quite well with a busy bass line, pretty piano accompaniment, and 'take that' power chord fills. A song about the typical young male being out with his friends while the control freak girlfriend is "ticked off" about the situation, I can relate, and I'm sure millions of other young men can as well.
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Read on for a full review of the album...
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Rat Bat Blue is...
Ace Baker - vocals, guitars
Alan Okuye - keyboards
Jeanne Thomason - drums
Dave Abrahams - guitars
Teddy Bello - bass
Atlantic Records really missed the boat by passing on these guys during consolidation.
Rat Bat Blue is a talented bunch with catch hook phrases, funny lyrics, a
full accompaniment, and a famed Producer/Engineer team. Rat Bat Blue is kind
of The Presidents Of The United States Of America
only more mature with greater lyrical depth, more witty humor, and a more
balanced spread of instrumentation. So infectious is this music it would be
destined to spend weeks in many a player had it been released proper.
Page, Score, Home, High tosses in brass with a bass and electric guitar funk groove as a driving force.
Radio Friendly could easily have been a big hit. Very memorable with a fun Ska attitude. The construction of this song is amusing with the seemingly dueling organ and guitar carefully panned opposite each other and adding bounce to the Ska beat. I've got a ten year old who loves to sing along to the harmonies of Radio Friendly.
Rock Star is a ballad type song that demonstrates Rat Bat Blues attendance at the Pink Floyd school of harmonizing, echo, and effects (or was that the Producer/Engineer team's idea). It works well in Rock Star adding a necessary serious tone to the album.
The Good Life is immediately infectious with driving drums and an effects enhanced chant. The lyrics are an absolute riot. The guitar solo a good demonstration of the range of these boys' talents.
It's My Life Not My Habit is perhaps the most "concept album" type of song present here. One of my favorites, Habit is a carefully constructed tune built around a pretty piano arrangement, reinforced with a strong drum and bass drive and candy coated with subtle synths.
Missouri Joe starts with the tone and beat that Habit ends with. Again we hear the clever insertion of Floydisms and cool lyrics like "...everything that's loose just rolls across the states and into California bars".
Strip can be an arousing tune if you listen up and let it jog your own memory. A complex tune with speed changes, Rat Bat Blue pulls it off without tripping up.
God Strike Down would have been a great tune to open an album with. Cool beginning, funny lyrics, memorable melody. So crafty in the arrangement of keys, guitars, and carefully panned background vocals. God Strike Down is about all the people that had done the songwriter wrong, strike 'em down. A great tune.
If you've ever had a boss you despised you'll love Sleeping On The Job, it's the "hope your happy now trip" with plenty of ideas of how to get even with your despised boss. The mix is really good with killer synth strings and crystal clear ride. There's even an angry guitar solo. Another great Rat Bat Blue tune! Oh, did I mention that it's funny too?
Lastly we have a somewhat interesting piece Wine, It's Shopping Time. Don't let the seemingly chaotic beginning scare you off. It slides into a pretty piano number accented with Italian charm. A brief a'capella part is followed by more chaotic funk but wraps up, after a Beatlesesque tribute to "Hello Good-bye", into a pretty and melodic number with melancholy harmonies.
In a nutshell, Rat Bat Blue is missed opportunity for Atlantic Records. This is a great album despite being unavailable to buy on the retail market. These guys could easily have been HUGE with proper marketing. Atlantic Records sure dropped a big ball, too bad it didn't land on their big toe. After the Atlantic Records debacle, Rat Bat Blue changed their name to Pi Gamma and released an album in 2000 called 'Love Your TV, Kill Your Radio' on an indie label.
Steve Pariseau
with special thanks to Michael Roden