Customer Reviews

Zig Zag

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Everyone has heard "and we danced" and even if you don't personally own a copy(from 'Nervous Night')-but dig the song-then you owe it to yourself to check out all 4 studo releases by the HOOTERS! Surely one of the most under-rated bands of the eighties-these guys deserved to be HUGE!!Excellent,intelligent 'pop-rock' songwriting by a great band!CHECK IT OUT!! You won't be sorry!!

In college, my friends and I used to always ask if we were stuck on a deserted island and we could only have five cd's which would they be? My list always changed, except for this album. It is one of my all time favorites. Not only is the music amazing throughout (especially in GIVE THE MUSIC BACK, among many others). YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE remains one of my all time favorite songs. The Hooters, sadly, never are recognized for their lyrics as well as their musical talents. If you were to listen to each of their albums, you would see how their lyrics improved greatly, but you would notice the amazing variety of music they produce. They put their heart and soul in each song, and it comes through brilliantly each time. Enjoy the ride.

The Hooters represent what Japanese want American rock to be like. The third album in 1989 is no exception.

The album title comes from part of the lyrics from the second track DELIVER ME. It has not been widely recognized as their sensational debut "Nervous Night" in 1985. Comparing with NERVOUS NIGHT which has shown their power pop appeal, the music in this album makes you feel more nostalgic, reminisce the old happy days and good ol' American music. Of course they do have power pop stuff just as in Nervous Night such as BROTHER DON'T YOU WALK AWAY and YOU NEVER KNOW WHO YOUR FRIENDS ARE. But the album's major appeal comes from acoustic ballads using variety of musical instruments just as Bruce Hornsby and the Range did.
HEAVEN LAUGHS, GIVE THE MUSIC BACK and ALWAYS A PLACE are just plain excellent. And their cover 500 MILES doesn't sound like cover at all.

The Hooters became almost forgotten in the U.S. But in Japan they had been really huge even during 90s and they had a number of concerts here. And I hope American will bring their music back.

Recommended for John Melencamp, Bruce Hornsby and the Range, Heuy Lewis and the News fans and American mainstream pop music fans.

I must admit to being biased, seeing as I grew up in the Philadelphia area, and The Hooters were the first band I ever saw in concert - in a high school gym, no less. Pair that with the fact that guitarist/singer Eric Bazillian personally encouraged me to continue with my songwriting ... I'd say I'm not the most objective person about The Hooters.

But all of that notwithstanding, I still think Zig Zag was another disc that was slightly ahead of its time. Remember - Eric Bazillian, Rob Hyman, and producer Rick Chertoff were largely responsible for the Joan Osborne "Relish" album, which sounded like a Hooters album to me...

The band did always try to incorporate different influences from various musical genres (reggae, ska, folk, blues, and countless others) which may have been its undoing, sadly. How many other mid to late 80's rock bands were using mandolins, (and the occasional accordian) on a regular basis? Not too many... and I think the general population didn't know what to make of them, and were expecting them to do Nervous Night II, III, and IV - which they promptly did not do.

Anyway - "Brother Don't You Walk Away", "Give The Music Back", "Heaven Laughs", "You Never Know Who Your Friends Are" and "Beat Up Guitar" (which is a touching ode to their coming up in Philadelphia, and still gets me a little misty, even now) are great pop songs, that have a certain timelessness to them. And I have to admit "Mr. Big Baboon" is a guilty pleasure - with its cajun inspired vibe.

Pick it up, keep an open mind, and you might even find yourself enjoying it.

I love the Hooters and love this album. In fact, Always a Place, song #8 on the album is one of my all-time favorite songs. Problem is, if you buy this either from Amazon or iTunes, Always a Place is not on the album. Song #9 is in position #8 and Song #10 is in position, #9. Really annoys the crap out of me b/c my CD is getting rather beat up after all these years.

If not for the missing Always a Place, I'd give the album 5 stars.

That's right! There's Too Many "Best Hits Collections" of these guys. At last count there were more collections of Hooter songs than original albums issued. That's just plain WAKED. I suggest buying "zig zag", "Nervous Night" and "One Way Home" via the used venue here on amazon. This way you own ALL of the great music & YOU decide what their best hits are for yourself, don't let some record industry suit do it for you.