The Walkmen

During John Lennon's separation from Yoko Ono in 1974 (the several month long period known as the "lost weekend") Lennon romped around L.A. with his new buddy, Harry Nilsson—drinking brandy, causing trouble and getting thrown out of nightclubs. In the midst of the party Lennon and Nilsson, along with friends Ringo Starr, Keith Moon and a rag-tag gang of others, headed into the studio with Lennon as producer. The result was Pussy Cats -- a fascinating and often misunderstood album featuring a mix of classics and originals rearranged by Nilsson and Lennon to suit the wild mood of those most infamous days.

In January 2006, finishing the final mix for their new record A Hundred Miles Off, The Walkmen started talking about how it would be fun to try to recreate Pussy Cats. They were half joking at first but with their recording studio a month from closing and touring for the new record a month from beginning it seemed oddly like the right thing to do. They had always loved Pussy Cats -- listening to it almost incessantly in their travels together and feeling something mysterious and magical with each listen. In a great, hilarious and rollicking way the album expresses feelings about musical and personal camaraderie that hit very close to the hearts of the Walkmen. After all Pussy Cats is the great “buddy” record of the seventies.

They enlisted the help of Kevin MacMahon, the wildest and most unpredictable engineer in Manhattan, and started recording two days later. While most of the recording was done live and fast, the presence of so many new musicians in the studio inspired a quality of musicianship rarely seen before in the Walkmen. On hand throughout the sessions to document the proceedings on film was the band’s dear friend and Marcata veteran, Norman Coady—who went on to make “In Loving Recollection,” a 20 minute psychedelic film about the making of the album. The film is included on the CD and with DVD in limited editions.