The Hook – Homes
The Hook – Turn Your Head
The Hook – Lookin’ For You
Originally ran into this at Groove Merchant about a year ago. I’d held off on posting anything on it, because I was sure that several of the songs on the LP skipped. A couple months ago I packed it with the gang of records I bring for end of the month all-vinyl shows on KPFK and lo and behold, as if by magic, all the songs that skipped no longer skipped!
The Hook featured Bobby Arlin, who once upon a time was in a band called the Leaves, who are notable for being the first group to record “Hey Joe.” There’s a distinctly California vibe and sound to this music, with a nice really fat sound from everybody, the drums, bass and especially the guitar. Musically, it’s a pretty impressive recording, great solos and more than a little bit of funky style, especially on “Turn Your Head.” Lyrically, there’s a bit of sustained silliness that keeps this from being a true classic, though ocassionally there are some great lines, such as “Even in the country people think we’re so funky, and even in the city, people think we’re so pretty,” delivered with great panache by Arlin on “Homes.” Ultimately it’s the great sound I keep coming back to and what makes this LP worth tracking down.
Cheers,
Michael