Customer Reviews

Hooterization: Retrospective

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

This compilation is a good collection both for people who kind of like the Hooters and for die-hard Melodicans. It contains all the best known songs, plus a couple of rarities ("Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds"from the B-side of the "Johnny B" single, and "Time After Time" from the "Nervous Night Live" video).

Unfortunately, all the songs come from the three Columbia albums ("Nervous Night," "One Way Home" and "Zig Zag"), so if you're looking for your favorite song from "Amore," "Out Of Body" or "The Hooters Live," you're out of luck. I suppose Sony didn't want to bother getting the rights to use songs from another label. Luckily, this won't come as a disappointment to anyone but a die-hard fan, since casual listeners have probably never heard any songs off the non-Columbia albums.

If you are looking for a really good Hooters collection, I'd definitely recommend you get this album.

Like many others who claimed to be true Hooters fans, I owned "Nervous Night" but didn't buy any of the follow-ups. Now I realize the error of my ways. Like "NN," every song on this collection just blows me away. I remember seeing them do "Lucy in the Sky" live in '86, and I love the fact that they put the live performance on the album. I am amazed that "Beat Up Guitar" was never played on the radio. If you've worn out your vinyl "NN" and need more Hooters, be sure to pick up this CD.

To this day, when I hear the Hooters sing the line "The town that rocked the nation, Philadelphia, PA," I get goose bumps. Through the course of their three Columbia albums in the 80's, this Philadelphia five piece consistently wrote and recorded fine music, yet their debut was the only album that harvested massive sales and airplay.

Starting with the breakthrough singles "Hanging On A Heartbeat" (not included here) and "All You Zombies," The Hooters brought an impressive mix of styles to the table. Acoustic folk instruments were combined with reggae rhythms and new wave energy, and that was what brought them to the attention of Columbia. The result was the energetic and brash "Nervous Night," and the accompanying hits "Day By Day" and "And We Danced." They saw their stars soar so quickly that they were pegged to open the Philly segment of Live Aid.

But it was more than the energy of the band and their albums; Rob Hyman and Eric Brazilian were crack songwriters. It was Hyamn's composition with Cyndi Lauper, "Time After Time," that cemented her stardom after "Girls Just Want To Have Fun" (coincidentally written by another Philadelphian, Robert Hazard). "Time After Time" appears here in a live version, along with a Hooterized version of "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds."

The Hooters' second album was the even more acoustically flavored "One Way Home," which found the band attempting social commentary with the sing-along of "Satellite." But they didn't give up their rocking, as "Fighting On The Same Side" shows. But if "One Way Home" was a progression, then "Zig Zag" was the final maturation of the band. From the melancholy of "Heaven Laughs" to the Hooterization of "500 Miles" (complete with back-up vocals from Peter, Paul and Mary and a lyrical reference to Tienamen Square) to the hometown cheer of "Beat Up Guitar," this was their finest hour.

Sadly, the maturity came at a price. Minus the giddy enthusiasm of the debut, "Zig Zag" failed to connect at the same level as "Nervous Night." As an album though, it maintains the same integrity as albums of the period from John Mellencamp and Don Henley. There was another album released after "Zig Zag," it is not represented here (due to being on a different label, one surmises). The Hooters still gig, and they still put on one heck of a show. Seeing as only "Nervous Night" remains in print from those first three CD's, "Hooterization" is a terrific place to get the best of this band. But if you feel like splurging on the many used Hooters titles available on Amazon, I recommend them all.

After all, if "you can't get to Heaven on the Frankford El," (even if I take to Second Street every day), you can at least get some of Philly's finest band without laying out a bundle of dough.

Hooterization includes some of this band's best hits from their early recordings. It also has a few hard-to-find live recordings. The live rendition of "Time after Time" alone is worth getting this CD. Rob Hyman wrote this song for Cyndi Lauper and the Hooters deserve to do this song as a group.

There is a good mix of some of their hits and best-known songs on here, as well. I would have also included "Engine 999" from One way Home, as well as "Hangin' On a Heartbeat" from Nervous Night. But I guess it's impossible to include everyone's favorites when so many of their songs are worthy.

This is a great way to get a feel for the unique sound that is The Hooters if you are not so familiar with who they are. It is also good to have this if one would like to have some of the best from their early years. Either way, it is highly recommended.

As the other reviews stated this band IS under rated. Some of my favorite 80's songs are included on this CD collection. This collection is also pretty much complete and includes all of their big hits. Today I still enjoy listening to "All You Zombies", "Where Do The Children Go?" and "And We Danced" now just as much as I enjoyed hearing them back in grammer school. Whenever I hear "Satellite (my favorite Hooter's song)" and "Johnny B" I think of my first girlfriend and dammit I still own the copy of ONE WAY HOME she gave me. Those were great memories. I also like the inclusion of "Time After Time" on this CD. Many tend to forget that Eric Bazilian and John Hyman wrote most of the songs on Cyndi Lauper's debut album SHE'S SO UNUSUAL. If you like the Hooters and if you only own Nervous Night definitely add this CD to your collection. I really liked "Hanging On A Heartbeat" from Nervous Night. I really think that would've been cool to include here.

The title of this review is very true. The worst thing i can say about the Hooters is that they will always be remembered for 'And We Danced'. The truth behind the band is that the Hooters were one of the most talented bands of the 80s and 90s, and noone knew.

Around the time that their third studio cd was released called 'Zig Zag', MTV decided to stop playing their videos. Songs like 'Brother Don't you Walk Away' and '500 Miles' went unseen. It wasn't until members of the band wrote songs for a new artist that the true ability of the Hooters was finally brought to the forefront.

With the nomination of 'One of Us' as 'Song of the Year', Eric Bazillian, was finally shown as a great songwriter.

Listen to any of the Hooters albums and you'll recognize how great this band was. What if God was a Hooter?

As a kid, growing up in the Philadelphia area, the Hooters meant a lot to me. I am still one of their biggest fans. I remember the first time I heard them do "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds," at the Amnesty International show back in '85 or '86, and I was completely stunned. This is a very nice look back at some of their brighter moments you may have missed, but, for me, having their rendition of "LSWD" is more than worth the price of this CD. The whole catalog is worth having, IMHO, but, for someone who thinks they were some "one hit wonder" band from the mid-80's, it's a good place to start, and realize how completely wrong you are.

The Hooters definitely carved themselves a nice niche in the 1980s. Their unique blend of rock and other types of music is really great. Casual fans who know only one or two songs will be pleasantly surprised by other, lesser known songs. "And we danced" will have you singing along and "All you zombies" will make you think. All around, an A+ disc.

I could never call myself a Hooters fanatic. I heard their top 40 hits, of course, and found them to be a musically talented band. But was never quite inspired to go out and buy their albums. However, every now and then the song "All You Zombies" would pop into my head for no reason. So I finally broke down and bought "Hootersization" and discovered a list of absolutely great songs. It's become one of my favorites when I'm driving long distances.

Of course, this has the three "hits" that I previously had heard: "And We Danced", "Day By Day", and the aforementioned "All You Zombies." Other great songs include "Satellite", "Karla with a K", "Where Do The Children Go", and their cover of the Beatles "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." But my personal favorite has become their version of "500 Miles", which was written by American folksinger Hedy West and made famous by Peter, Paul, & Mary. This version includes PP&M singing background vocals as well. This is one of the best covers I've heard of the song, which is saying a lot considering that besides PP&M the Kingston Trio, Peter & Gordon, and the Highwaymen all recorded it as well.

Highly recommended to anyone looking for a musically solid and above average "Greatest Hits" package.

HOOTERIZATION is a great anthology drawn from the Hooters' three Epic albums, but for the definitive example of the band's blend of new wave, Midwestern rock, California country-rock, Southern boogie rock, and acoustic folk, be sure to pick up NERVOUS NIGHT, their illustrious 1985 debut album. This CD contains all of their important songs, except for a few from NERVOUS NIGHT and ONE WAY HOME. You should buy this one, but don't forget to buy NERVOUS NIGHT as well.