FEATURED REVIEW.......................................................21 MARCH 2005
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Artist:
ROGER HOOVER & the Whiskeyhounds |
Something there is about Roger Hoover's yowl that induces comparisons. It's not that his voice is derivative, exactly. On the contrary it's rather distinctive. When he kicks it into overdrive, however, he seems to vacillate between Van Morrison and John Fogerty. The opening track--"Keep Me Away From You"--contains so much Van I almost punted the CD into the "albums-I'll-get-around-to-someday" stack. And that would have been a pity.
Late-60s singer/songshouter impersonations aside, Panic Blues is a solid debut. Rumor has it that the band is already in the process of recording the follow-up, and working with the legendary Levon Helm. (Incidently, for those of you scoring at home, it's track 3--"Ain't Working for the Man"--where Hoover does a spot-on Fogerty. If someone had tried to fob it off on me as a long-lost CCR B-side, I'd have bitten.)
This album' s highlights include "Be My Queen" (despite lyrics which may not be Hoover's finest), "Like Dylan Thomas" ("I can only make one promise / I'm gonna go like Dylan Thomas") and the title track, "Panic Blues."
In fact, this album doesn't leave much to nitpick. Van Morrison is, of course, a big sweaty cheezeball, and one should go to great lengths to avoid sounding like a big sweaty cheezeball. Also, we object to lines such as "Before we say goodnight my love / Tell me all the things you're dreaming of / Run into these arms of mine / And everything's gonna be alright" (from the song "2AM"). Blech.
In summation: Give this one a listen. One-and-a-half cheezeballs for a few schlocky lyrics, etc.
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A NOTE ON THE RATING SYSTEM:
5 CHEEZEBALLS = UNLISTENABLE SCHLOCK
3 CHEEZEBALLS = A DIFFICULT SLOG
1 CHEEZEBALL = THE ODD FORGIVABLE MISSTEP
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