''Puss 'N' Boots'' is the sixth studio album by

Crash Test Dummies Crash Test Dummies are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Anchored by Brad Roberts (vocals, guitar) and his distinctive bass-baritone voice, the other band members have fluctuated over the years. Its most prominent line-up consist ...

, released in 2003. The album began life as a Brad Roberts solo project. While the lyrics were written by Brad Roberts, most of the music was written by Stuart Cameron. Ellen Reid sang backing vocals and Dan Roberts played bass, though much of the music was performed by other musicians.

Reception

The album received generally mixed reviews.

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

writer James Christopher Monger gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and states that "the smoky rhythms and wah-wah guitar that permeate Puss 'n' Boots reflect Roberts' willingness to experience a place – he currently resides in Harlem – and to covet and use those experiences in his writing. However, it's the simple, sparse, and honest ''It'll Never Leave You Alone'', a winking look at the pros and cons of chemical indulgence, that leaves the listener with the clearest window into this shape-shifting jester's soul.". In addition, Darryl Sterdan of the ''

Winnipeg Sun The ''Winnipeg Sun'' is a daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. It is owned by The Klein Group circa 2024.Following its acquisition of Sun Media, opinion plus an emphasis on local news stories, and ex ...

'' states that "with their chicken-scratch wah-wah guitars, sexy backup vocals, slinky slow-burning grooves and swirly production flourishes, these cuts are more earthy and soulful than anything the Dummies ever did, not to mention catchier and more accessible than most of Roberts' recent, idiosyncratic output. Still, from the love-'em-and-leave-'em confessions of ''It's a Shame'' to the sex-toy metaphor ''Triple-Master-Blaster'' to the good-riddance breakup song ''Bye-Bye Baby, Goodbye'', Puss 'N' Boots is clearly anything but your typical G-rated bedtime story.".

Track listing

Personnel

Brad Roberts Bradley Kenneth Roberts (born January 10, 1964) is the lead singer and guitarist for the Canadian folk-rock band Crash Test Dummies and the only constant member since its inception. He sings in the bass-baritone range. The band is best known ...

–

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

* Ellen Reid – backing vocals * Dan Roberts –

bass guitar The bass guitar (), also known as the electric bass guitar, electric bass, or simply the bass, is the lowest-pitched member of the guitar family. It is similar in appearance and construction to an Electric guitar, electric but with a longer nec ...

* Stuart Cameron – acoustic and electric

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

lap steel The lap steel guitar, also known as a Hawaiian guitar or lap slide guitar, is a type of steel guitar without pedals that is typically played with the instrument in a horizontal position across the performer's lap. Unlike the usual manner of play ...

twelve-string guitar A twelve-string guitar (or 12-string guitar) is a steel-string guitar with 12 string (music), strings in six Course (music), courses, which produces a thicker, more ringing tone than a standard six-string guitar. Typically, the strings of the lo ...

, keyboards, backing vocals on "I'll See What I Can Do",

programming Program (American English; also Commonwealth English in terms of computer programming and related activities) or programme (Commonwealth English in all other meanings), programmer, or programming may refer to: Business and management * Program m ...

/ loops on "Your Gun Won't Fire" *

Chris Brown Christopher Maurice Brown (born May 5, 1989) is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actor. A Pop music, pop and hip-hop-influenced contemporary R&B, R&B musician who works in a variety of genres, he has been called the "Honorific nic ...

–

Wurlitzer piano The Wurlitzer electronic piano is an electric piano manufactured and marketed by Wurlitzer from 1954 to 1983. Sound is generated by striking a metal reed with a hammer, which induces an electric current in a pickup. It is conceptually similar to ...

mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

clavinet The Clavinet is an electric clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds with rubber pads, each matching one of the keys and respond ...

organ Organ and organs may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a group of tissues organized to serve a common function * Organ system, a collection of organs that function together to carry out specific functions within the body. Musical instruments ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

*Ethan Eubanks –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s, loops,

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a percussion mallet, beater including attached or enclosed beaters or Rattle (percussion beater), rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or ...

*Wijnand Jansveld –

on "Triple Master Blaster" *Tina Maddigan – backing vocals on "I'm the Man (That You Are Not)," "Flying Feeling," and "Bye Bye Baby, Goodbye" *John Allen Cameron –

on "Stupid Same" *Jamie Staub –

/ loops on "Your Gun Won't Fire,"

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest ...

s on "I Never Try That Hard" *

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

– city Sounds on "It'll Never Leave You Alone"

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Puss 'N' Boots 2001 albums Crash Test Dummies albums