Bonus disc

Bonus disc: No

Catalogue number

BEWITH159LP


Colour

Black

Colour details

Discogs ID

Format multiplier

Download code

Download code: No

Rough Trade Exclusive

Rough Trade Exclusive: No

Extended format

Extended format: No

Format detail

140 Gram Vinyl.

Format Music GB

Limited edition

Release date

2023-09-22

Signed copies

Signed copies: No

Supplier GB

Tax rate GB

Standard:20

UPC / Barcode

4251804141987


Total Cap

Black LP

Artist

Bobby Caldwell

Genre GB

Funk / Soul

Label GB

Be With Records

Restored classics, rare finds, and sought-after releases. Whether you're a vinyl enthusiast or a tape collector, we have something for everyone.

Reissues

Be With Records is a reissue record label that specializes in officially licensing and releasing vinyl records. They focus on making music available that is currently unavailable or has never been released on vinyl before. The label works closely with artists to ensure they have as much input as they desire.
Their mission is to bring *unreleased* gems and forgotten classics back into the spotlight, allowing music lovers to experience these timeless tracks in their original format. Be With Records carefully selects each release, ensuring the highest quality sound and packaging for collectors and enthusiasts alike.
With an extensive catalog spanning various genres, *artists* from Be With Records have gained recognition for their contributions to the world of music. From soulful melodies to funky beats, their releases offer a diverse range of sounds that appeal to a wide audience. Whether you're a seasoned collector or new to vinyl, Be With Records offers something special for everyone.

Newest Listed Items

Bobby Caldwell's second album, Cat In The Hat, from 1980, is one of his
greatest moments and another masterwork of soulful sophistication. Featuring
the eternal "Open Your Eyes", brilliantly sampled by J Dilla for Common's "The
Light", it's about as essential as records get. Like its eponymous predecessor,
it's been out of print for far too long. To finally release the hugely-anticipated
reissue is one of our sincerely proudest moments.

Whilst Ned Doheny is known in Japan as "Mr California", native New Yorker
Bobby Caldwell has always been "Mr AOR" to his Far-Eastern friends. His
distinct charm is an irresistible blend of soul, jazz, and pop influences. He
possessed phenomenal songwriting prowess, smooth vocal performances,
was both a great soul guitarist and dextrous keyboard player and known for
genius chord progressions. It all added up to a multi-layered brilliance entering
the studio, and the singular sound he landed on was laced with soulful,
sweeping strings and funky horns, touching lightly on disco, while allowing his
supple voice to carry the stunning tracks he'd crafted.


Right from the off, it's easy to tell that Cat In The Hat is a deeply special
record. It's fantastically produced and incredibly well-rounded, carving its own
lane with deep soul, warm jazz and a stunning vocal delivery that really helped
Bobby reach out to some big new audiences at the time. Goosebumps at the
ready for the rolling power-piano funk of "Coming Down From Love", opening
up the album with a track as good as anything Steely Dan or The Doobies
ever crafted, with a vocal performance from the heavens. Pumping AOR
wonder "Wrong Or Right" is up there with the slick, classy rhythms of prime
Ned Doheny whilst the cool, skipping soul of guitar-drenched "To Know What
You've Got" is a funky ballad par excellence, with elemental traces of "What A
Fool Believes". No bad thing. Closing out Side A, the folk-funk of "You
Promised Me" is a bright, soulful strut with a wonderful vocal coda that just
builds. Sensational.

The delicate bounce and falsetto self-harmonising of "It's Over" offers a truly
delightful introduction to Side B, and serves as a great precursor to what
follows. Bobby's dynamite "Open Your Eyes" is likely the reason you're all
here. As if he needed it, the eternal J Dilla further immortalised Caldwell in the
hip-hop canon with his production of Common’s epochal “The Light,” which
heavily samples the magical “Open Your Eyes.” On a post paying tribute to
Bobby in March 2023, Questlove claimed that he "got word Brother Bobby
loved it". Bobby's original has seen new life even more recently from the likes
of Dwele and Kendrick Lamar and deservingly so, as its insistent drums and
staccato piano created a modern-soul classic. You'd think that would be hard
to follow, wouldn't you? Not so, when you're Bobby Caldwell. Indeed, the
horn-drenched stepper "Mother Of Creation" is absolutely ace, and, whisper it,
possibly the album's finest track, all funky piano and guitars with horn lines to
die for. Exquisite ballad "I Don't Want To Lose Your Love" rounds out the
album beautifully.


Bobby sadly passed away on 23rd March 2023, after a long struggle with
mitochondrial damage and oxidative stress, due to an adverse effect from a
fluoroquinolone antibiotic. The reissue of Cat In The Hat is available on
vinyl across the globe, ensuring that fans of his incomparable talent - and soul
music enthusiasts worldwide - can radiate in the deep beauty of this seminal
album. Meticulously remastered and cut by both Simon Francis and Cicely
Balston respectively, it has been pressed to the highest possible quality at
Record Industry in Holland.

Cat In The Hat

Music GB

Discover Cat In The Hat by Bobby Caldwell. This soulful and sophisticated album, released in 1980, is now available on vinyl from Be With Records.