The Cats - 2014 - The Cats Complete Box Set (19 Cd's) @320

 

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The Cats. 

The Cats were a Dutch rock band formed in Volendam in 1964. 

They were active (with a few interruptions) from 1964 until 1985 and had their most successful period from 1968 until 1975. 

Of the many hits the band had at home and abroad, the biggest one is "One Way Wind", which was released in 38 countries and a top ten number in several of them, of which it was a number one in Switzerland. In Germany it sold more than a million copies. The song has been covered by some 150 other artists. The number was written by Arnold Muhren, bass-player and chief composer. 

Further band members were Cees Veerman (vocals/guitar/percussion) and Piet Veerman (vocals/guitar), Theo Klouwer (drums), and Jaap Schilder (guitar) and Piet Keizer (guitar; for three years). 

Career

1960s

The band began life as two separate duos: Cees Veerman (6 October 1943 - 15 March 2014) and Arnold Muhren (born 28 January 1944) who started in a skiffle band; and cousins Piet Veerman (born 1 March 1943) and Jaap Schilder (born 9 January 1943) who modelled themselves after the Everly Brothers. The duos merged and became The Mystic Four, with Cees and Piet Veerman on vocals and guitar, Schilder on guitar (and piano), and Muhren on bass. By 1965 they changed their name to The Blue Cats, a reference to the colour of their suits and Cees' nickname, Poes (Dutch for 'cat'). Dropping the 'Blue' from their name in 1966 they recruited drummer Theo Klouwer (30 June 1947 – 8 February 2001). 

The Cats borrowed money from Jan Buys, who was later to become their manager, and recorded their first singles that immediately entered the charts. Singing in English thanks to a songwriting duo from England, the group sounded British. Cees initially performed the majority of the lead vocals but that was to change by 1968 when the band recorded a cover version of Studio Six' "Times Were When"; Piet felt that this song suited his voice better and Cees agreed. Arnold's lyrics and Piet's sad voice appeared to be a match made in heaven, spawning five Top 10 hits in the next two years including "Lea" (dedicated to a faithful fan who died in a car accident), "Why?", "Scarlet Ribbons"[3] and "Marian". 

1970s

The Cats, TopPop television program, 1974.

Their international popularity began to grow. By spring 1970 the Cats toured Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles and played one show on 4 April 1970 in Guyana. A tour of Indonesia followed early 1971. 

"Don't Waste Your Time" broke a string of Top 10 chart dominations, but the next single, "One Way Wind", became The Cats' biggest ever hit. In Germany it reached Number One chart position and in 1972 the band responded by releasing Katzenspiele (Cat's Play), featuring their hits rerecorded in German. 

By now, the band were very popular and had a busy touring schedule, which began to take its toll Cees contracted voice problems. Crew member Piet Keizer replaced him temporarily. In 1974 the Cats released The Love in Your Eyes, an album recorded at the Larrabee Sound Studios in Los Angeles by session musicians, with the Cats members only laying down vocals. Cees Veerman said about those sessions, "'Be My Day' topped the charts, which was a great thing, but the rest of that pre-baked stuff should've been chucked into the ocean near Malibu". 

Their Malibu sojourn did not stop The Cats from using the same team of musicians for the follow-up record Hard To Be Friends, although this time the vocals were recorded at home. "Come Sunday" charted late 1974, shortly after Cees had left the band to take another break. The title track, on which Jaap Schilder sang falsetto ad-libs, followed early 1975. As the band didn't tour during this period, the two Veermans and Schilder had time to release solo-albums that were a departure from the Cats-sound. By public demand The Cats returned to the stage for a number of dates to promote their 1975 Christnas-album. The hits continued but didn't capture former glories and not everyone was always available for TV-shows. When The Cats were booked to appear on chart-show Rock Planet in 1978 to playback "She Was Too Young" it was almost a solo-performance by Cees. By the end of 1979 The Cats decided to disband. A farewell-single (a reissue of the 1972 track "End of the Show") charted as late as April 1980. 

Solo careers

In 1976, Cees Veerman released a solo album called "Another Side of Me", which spawned the single "Sailor, Sail On (Dreamer, Dream On)". 

After a brief Cats-reunion Piet Veerman had a solo-hit in 1987 with "Sailing Home". Subsequent singles did reasonably well and he kept touring with a set of solo material and Cats' classics, often using backing tapes. In 1995, Piet guested on a bilingual duet version of "One Way Wind" with Flemish singer Dana Winner titled "Westenwind". Piet sang in English and Winner sang in Dutch. 

2000s

On 23 March 2006, The Cats were made Members of the Order of Orange-Nassau. The same year the group had a reunion to record a single for inclusion on a best of album. It went gold. 

Cees Veerman performed with the Cats Aglow Band who both supported and backed Willy DeVille at the latter's Amsterdam Carré Theatre show on 7 July 2008. He moved to Indonesia where he died at the age of 70 on 15 March 2014.

 

CD 1 - Cats As Cats Can (1967)

01. What's The World Coming To

02. Night Time

03. Little Miss Mary

04. Without Your Love

05. No You Can't Love Them All

06. Far Beyond The Call Of Duty

07. Sure He's A Cat

08. Goodbye Baby, Baby Goodbye

09. I'm Going Out (The Same Way I Came In)

10. Love Of The Common People

11. But Tomorrow

12. Full Stop

Bonus tracks

13. What A Crazy Life

14. Hopeless Try

15. Vive L'Amour

16. How Could I Be So Blind

 

CD 2 - Cats (1968)

01. Lea

02. Rainbow Tree

03. Lies

04. In My Room

05. I've Always Tried To Understand

06. Anonymous Mr. Brown

07. Excuse Me

08. Daybreak

09. Vaya Con Dios

10. I Gotta Know What's Going On

11. Times Were When

12. Remember The Good Times

13. I Feel Good, I Feel Bad

Bonus tracks

14. Turn Around And Start Again

15. I Like The Way

 

CD 3 - Colour Us Gold (1969)

01. Scarlet Ribbons

02. I've Gotta Be Goin'

03. Mr. In Between

04. For As Long As You Need Me

05. Songs We Sang

06. To-Day

07. Shaving Cream

08. Why

09. Freedom Bird

10. I Don't Want To Be Hurt

11. There She Goes

12. Why Baby Why

13. Mandy My Dear

14. Blue Horizon

Bonus tracks

15. Marian

16. Somewhere Up There

 

CD 4 - Take Me With You (1970)

01. Where Have I Been Wrong

02. Take Me With You

03. Don't Waste Your Time

04. Phone Call

05. Five Little Tears

06. Crying Like I've Never Done Before

07. I Don't Know

08. I Walk Through The Fields

09. If I Could Make You Blue 8

10. Irish

11. I Love You, I Do

12. Lonely Walk

Bonus tracks

13. Magical Mystery Morning

14. The Greatest Thing

15. Marian - Live

16. Lies - Live

 

CD 5 - Aglow (1971)

01. One Way Wind

02. My Friend Joe

03. She's On Her Own

04. Dance Dance

05. A Letter

006. Lonely Nights

07. End Side One

08. Gipsy Girl

09. Don't Know Where To Go

10. Country Woman

11. If You'll Be My Woman

12. Why Did You Go

13. Winter's End

Bonus tracks

14. It's Over Now

15. Don't Waste Your Time

 

CD 6 - Signed By The Cats (1972)

01. Trying To Explain

02. Let's Follow The Sun

03. Conclusions

04. The End Of The Show

05. Let's Dance

06. Come On Girl

07. I Saw Her At The Station

08. How Did You Feel

09. You Don't Know Me

10. Dreams

Bonus tracks

11. I've Been In Love Before

12. There Has Been A Time - Long Version

 

CD 7 - Katzen-Spiele (1972)

01. Du Bist Mein Zuhaus

02. Ich Will Nur Bei Dir Sein

03. One Way Wind - German Language Version

04. Kannst Du Die Liebe Verstehen

05. Unendich Schon Ist Die Liebe

06. Der Brief

07. Tanze Heut' Nacht Nur Mit Mir

08. Wo Ist Die Liebe

09. Mein Freund Joe

10. Lia

11. Kleiner Vogel

12. Country Woman

Bonus tracks

13. Kannst Du Mir Verzeih'n

14. I Love You I Do - German Version

15. Marian - German Version

 

CD 8 - Home (1973)

01. Time Machine

02. Jenny

03. I'm Going Home

04. I Will Follow

05. I Still Remember

06. Madame Gordin

07. Maribaja

08. Life's Just A Long Lonely Road

09. Let's Go Together

10. Sunshine

11. The Water Will Be Deep

12. Diana

13. Mother Nature

Bonus tracks

14. Linda

15. I'm Going Home

 

CD 9 - Love In Your Eyes (1974)

01. Be My Day - Single

02. A Clown Never Cries - US Recording

03. If You'll Be My Woman

04. Love In Your Eyes - US Recording

05. Saturday Mornings And The Western Show - US Recording

06. Let's Dance

07. If You're Gonna Tangle (In A Love Triangle) - US Recording

08. She's On Her Own

09. Time Machine

10. One Way Wind - US Recording

11. Moonchild - US Recording

12. A Letter - US Recording

Bonus tracks

13. Rock 'N Roll

14. Mississippi

15. Sois Ma Femme

 

CD 10 - Hard To Be Friends (1975)

01. Hard To Be Friends - US Recording

02. Come On Girl

03. Comedy Or Tragedy (Putty In Your Hands) - US Recording

04. I Don't Know Where To Go

05. I Can Walk On Water - US Recording

06. Mary Lee - US Recording

07. Come Sunday - US Recording

08. I've Fallen For A Fallen Angel - US Recording

09. How Did You Feel

10. Take Me With You

11. Country Woman

12. European Flowers Don't Grow In The U.S.A. - US Recording

Bonus tracks

13. Like A Spanish Song

14. Romance

 

CD 11 - We Wish You A Merry Christmas (1975)

01. Silent Night

02. Dear Lord

03. Ave Maria No Morro

04. Lonely Christmas

05. Mary's Boychild

06. Night Of Glory

07. White Christmas

08. Lights Of Magdala

09. Sweet Wine

10. A New Born Child

11. The Wise Man

12. Christmas War

13. Merry Christmas Cindy

 

CD 12 - Homerun (1976)

01. We Should Be Together

02. Town's Fair

03. Tell Me Is It True

04. Summer Evening Lady

05. You're The Girl For Me

06. Annabell

07. I Wanna Be A Country Singer

08. The Shelter Of Your Eyes

09. Sunday Mornings

10. Nobody Cares

11. Karin

12. Lookin' Back Over My Yesterday

13. Girl, Why Did You Do That

14. Eleanor

Bonus track

15. Blow Wind Blow

 

CD 13 - Like The Old Days (1977)

01. Save The Last Dance

02. Morning Light

03. Nashville

04. Lucky Star

05. She Was Too Young

06. When It Sells

07. Cindy

08. Lovin’ Her Was Easier

09. Ridin’ Train

10. Childrens Crusade

11. Lorene

12. Summer's Gone

13. Lovin’ Arms

Bonus tracks

14. One More Time

15. Jamaica

 

CD 14 - Third Life (1983)

01. Love Is A Golden Ring

02. Rosie

03. Samaina

04. Sail Away

05. Stay In My Life

06. Let's Spend The Night

07. It Turnes Me Inside Out

08. Lover's Don't Talk [Music Video]

09. Darling Oh' Darling

10. Second Pair Of Eyes

11. By Darkness Surrounded

12. We Ain't Free

 

CD 15/16 - Live (1984)

CD 1

01. Rock 'N Roll - Live

02. Lies - Live

03. Trying To Explain - Live

04. Without Your Love - Live

05. Take Me With You - Live

06. Goodbye Baby - Live

07. Sail Away - Live

08. Lonely Road - Live

09. A Room Full Of Tears - Live

10. Medley: Jukebox / Lea / Why / Marian / Where Have I Been Wrong - Live

11. Let's Dance – Live

 

CD 2

01. One Way Wind - Live

02. Darling Oh Darling - Live

03. Save The Last Dance - Live

04. Samaina - Live

05. Second Pair Of Eyes - Live

06. Vaya Con Dios - Live

07. A Love Like Yours - Live

08. Let's Follow The Sun - Live

09. Love Is A Golden Ring - Live

10. Be My Day - Live

11. Country Woman - Live

12. Kansas City - Live

13. End Of The Show - Live

 

CD 17 - Flying High (1985)

01. She's So In Love

02. Spanish Harlem

03. Hey Baby (Won't You Come Out Tonight)

04. A Room Full Of Tears

05. Call Me

06. Hooray For Michael

07. I've Got Enough Heartache

08. I'll Find My Way Back To You

09. Stop Messing Around

10. I Could Never Hurt

11. You May Already Be A Winner

12. Isn't It A Lovely Evening

 

CD 18 - Shine On (1994)

01. Times Were When

02. Wake Up

03. Poppy

04. Shine On

05. This Town Ain't The Same

06. The Dream Is Over

07. I Miss You

08. Money-Maker

09. Anne Mia

10. Only Words

11. One Phonecall Away

12. It Feels Like Crying

13. These Tears Are Not Mine

14. No Reason At All

 

CD 19 - Singles & Rarities (2014)

01. Jukebox

02. I'm Ashamed To Tell

03. What Have They Done To The Rain

04. Sailor - Jaap Schilder

05. Whisky Bottle - Jaap Schilder

06. Another Side Of Me - Cees Veerman

07. Yesterday Be Dead And Gone - Cees Veerman

08. Rollin' On A River - New Mix Version 2014 - Piet Veerman

09. She Don't Love Me

10. If I Could Be With You

11. La Diligence

12. The Best Years Of My Life

13. Those Were The Days

With covers.

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