The autumn of 1976 witnessed the release of the Cate Brothers’ sophomore album In One Eye And Out The Other. After the solid success of their 1975 self-titled debut album, Ernie and Earl Cate decided to keep the winning team of Cate Brothers with legendary guitarist Steve Cropper sitting in the producer chair. Cropper again enlisted some high-profile session guys including Cropper’s partner in Booker T. and The MG’s Donald “Duck” Dunn on bass, drummers Ed Green and Mike Baird, sax virtuoso Jim Horn and David Foster on a variety of keyboards.

This talented combo injected a superior dose of groove into the duo’s funk/rock compositions. Cropper’s production is exceedingly elegant and enhances the catchy material included on the album. The two brothers gave very good performances throughout the collection with Ernie’s impressive lead vocals and Earl’s noteworthy guitar up front. 1976 was a good year for Cropper who also produced the critically-acclaimed album Hard Candy for Ned Doheny. Both records were fine examples of seventies soulful pop/rock, impeccably crafted and performed. Among the highlights on In One Eye And Out The Other were the funky title-track co-written by the Cate brothers with Cropper, the mid-tempo “Can’t Stop” with an atmosphere reminiscent of the best Memphis soul and “Where Can We Go,” an up-tempo soul/rock goodie with Foster on keyboards.
The Song of the Week is the pop/soul ballad “Start All Over Again.” A nice track with a catchy beat, “Start All Over Again” had a radio-friendly mood that was picked as the b-side of the title-track for the first single off the album. On this number, Ernie Cate’s gritty vocals were backed up by Foster’s captivating organ and Earl Cate’s tasteful guitar licks.
In One Eye And Out The Other wasn’t a commercial hit despite its musical quality. The tunes included have aged pretty well and can compete with the best stuff of legendary acts like The Doobie Brothers and Average White Band.

Listen

Lead & Backing Vocals, Electric Piano & Elka: Ernie Cate
Lead Guitar & Backing Vocals: Earl Cate
Bass: Donald “Duck” Dunn
Drums: Michael Baird
Organ: David Foster
Percussion: Steve Forman
Backing Vocals: Albert Singleton, Steve Cropper & Terry Cagle

Produced by Steve Cropper

Lyrics

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