Caesars Album: “Paper Tigers”

This is not a heavy piece of work - i.e. Wilco or Radiohead or anything along those lines - and I mean no aspersion in saying so. There is a time for brooding, for sorrow, for walking around your empty, post-party apartment on a morbid partial patrol, shaking the discarded bottles for tasty dregs. The Caesars are not the band to provide the soundtrack for these moments; the Caesars are the band for the party.

As a rock record, Paper Tigers is uncommonly funky, which is maybe why it can withstand with so many plays. Even the ubiquitous "Jerk It Out" single wears well. The hook is so irresistible, and so weirdly timeless, along the lines of "Dirty Water" or some other garage rock classic. There's a lot more here, though - "Soulchaser", "We Got To Leave," etc. - all of it catchy and effortless in the same way, but never going soft, never losing the rock edge.

From a lyrical standpoint, I admit that they're not doing rocket science ("it's not the fall that hurts/it's when you hit the ground"), but I don't think they claim to be.

For fans of Fountains of Wayne, OK Go, Hot Hot Heat, and other finely crafted, hook-heavy rock, the Caesars should an appealing new option.

I bought this CD on a whim when i happened to see it in the store. I had already heard "It's not the fall that hurts" on the radio and I also heard "Jerk it out" in Fifa 2004 (I actually never saw the iPod commercial). After buying it I was blown away. Every song on this CD could be a hit. I don't even think that "Jerk it out" is one of the top 5 best songs on this CD. Paper Tigers is one of the few CDs that I can listen to straight through without skipping any songs, and for that it gets 5 stars.

Better than ever. Not the fall that hurts is the best song ever! May the rain is a grr8 song as well. If I had only heard it's not the fall that hurts, I would have bought this CD anyways

[...]. Caesars have accomplished a great feat with this release...combined great melody on a solid Pop-Rock foundation without sounding like Coldplay or any of their clones running around. Keane? Do you hear me calling you out?

Anyways, I've been blown away by this album since I first picked it up a few days ago. I got it on sale and feel I ripped it off based on the quality of the music on it. The whole album is a hip shakin', boot quakin' masterpiece that tips its hat to the past but manages to be original in the songwriting department. The new music scene was looking a bit bleak a few years back but bands like Modest Mouse, Arcade Fire and now Caesars have been slowly bringing good music back to the masses. This is the album that Oasis could have made after What's The Story (Morning Glory) had they decided to grow musically and lay off the cocaine. I don't mean to say they are an Oasis knock off, they just accomplish the same style of music but in their own unique way.

Stand out tracks include Spirit, It's Not The Fall That Hurts, Out There, Jerk It Out, May The Rain, My Heart Is Breaking Down, Paper Tigers, Your Time Is Near, Throwaway, Winter Song, We Got To Leave, Soulchaser and Good And Gone...oh wait, I just listed every song on the album, oops, my bad, but that should tell you how much I love this album. It may not change the world or cause peace to break out in the Middle East, however, it just may brighten a single day in your life and that's what music should be all about in my book.

With practically all of my reviews I go into intimate detail of how much I love a certain album, what this one song does to me, who it reminds me of, etc., etc. My love for this particular album is SO great that I can't even conjure up the energy to do that. Like my title says, this is the best album of 2005, you take a good long listen to this one and tell me it isn't...I dare you. This is one of the first "now" bands that has made me feel the exact same joy I get from hearing The Beatles, The Byrds, Moody Blues, or even The Ramones. The music here has the exact same quality. Retro without being retro? I don't know but "happiness" is the key word here...this album is just pure happiness. You have got to buy this and understand what REAL MUSIC MAKING is all about, then you have to hear a band like Fall Out Boy and shake your head in dismay. If this was a perfect and just world (which it isn't in case you haven't noticed), "Paper Tigers" would have been a No. 1 album and blasting out of car stereos everywhere! It is as much a perfect summer album as an old record by The Beach Boys. My favorite track is "My Heart Is Breaking Down" and if this one don't make ya feel something, then buddy, you've got a heart of pure stone.