Cate Brothers - The Cate Bros. Band (1977)

The Cate Brothers, now billed slightly differently, reintroduced themselves billed as an official quartet with their third album, also displaying a tighter sound in the process. With Ernie Cate handling most of the lead vocals (as well as keyboards) and Earl Cate mostly singing backup and on lead guitar, and a rhythm section of Terry Cagle (drums) and Ron Eoff (bass), who also sing harmony, they have a very powerful yet mostly lyrical sound, overall slightly reminiscent of the Doobie Brothers but with more intensity and virtuosity (especially from Earl Cate's playing). There's not a weak point on the album, but there are lots of highlights, including the soaring "Out on a Limb" and "I'm No Pretender" (which must have been even better on-stage), the ebullient "Rendezvous," and gorgeous "Let It Slide." There are places here where they sound amazingly like the original Impressions, and also intersect sonically with Curtis Mayfield's early-'70s sound, especially in Ernie's singing. They incorporate horns on "I Can't Give It Up," but the group never loses the lean, self-contained core sound of the quartet: the horns aren't any more obtrusive here than they were on any of the albums by the Band. If anything, the album is an embarrassment of riches, with lots of crescendos and at least three numbers beyond the actual finale that each could have constituted a killer finish. Where they actually do end it, with "Give Me a Reason," is a powerful low-key soul workout, highlighting Ernie Cate's singing about as well as anything in their output. It only leaves the listener wanting more, which the Cates would subsequently deliver once more in the '70s with Fire on the Tracks.~The Cate Brothers Bands Review by Bruce Eder