"Flying Feeling (Promotional Only)" Released: October 2003
Puss 'N' Boots is the seventh studio album by Crash Test Dummies, released in 2003. The album began life as a Brad Roberts solo project. While the lyrics were written by Brad Roberts, most of the music was written by Stuart Cameron. Ellen Reid sang backing vocals and Dan Roberts played bass, though much of the music was performed by other musicians.
The album received generally mixed reviews. Allmusic writer James Christopher Monger gave the album 3 out of 5 stars and states that "the smoky rhythms and wah-wah guitar that permeate Puss 'n' Boots reflect Roberts' willingness to experience a place -- he currently resides in Harlem -- and to covet and use those experiences in his writing. However, it's the simple, sparse, and honest It'll Never Leave You Alone, a winking look at the pros and cons of chemical indulgence, that leaves the listener with the clearest window into this shape-shifting jester's soul.".[1] In addition, Darryl Sterdan of the Winnipeg Sun states that "with their chicken-scratch wah-wah guitars, sexy backup vocals, slinky slow-burning grooves and swirly production flourishes, these cuts are more earthy and soulful than anything the Dummies ever did, not to mention catchier and more accessible than most of Roberts' recent, idiosyncratic output. Still, from the love-'em-and-leave-'em confessions of It's a Shame to the sex-toy metaphor Triple-Master-Blaster to the good-riddance breakup song Bye-Bye Baby, Goodbye, Puss 'N' Boots is clearly anything but your typical G-rated bedtime story.".[2]