Disco de Dr. Hook: “Greatest Hooks”

Dr Hook (and the Medicine Show) were quite diverse in their time, the masters of rock satire, accomplished dance-pop and beautiful ballads as well as rude and suggestive ditties. Although not comprehensive, this album with its 20 tracks offers a wide spectrum of the novelty and serious songs of Dr Hook. There are soft rock numbers like All The Time In The World and catchy pop numbers like When You're In Love With A Beautiful Woman (A Number One hit in the UK in 1979) and Sexy Eyes. Plus the witty rock classics like the singalong Cover Of The Rolling Stone, The Millionaire and the rhythmic Girls Can Get It, and their biggest hot of all, the weepy Sylvia's Mother, a masterly blend of sorrow and humor. Other tuneful ballads include A Couple More Years, Years From Now and their cover of Sam Cooke's Only Sixteen. The slower numbers are balanced by rhythmic uptempo songs like You Make My Pants Wanna Get Up and Dance and the huge hit Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk. Just for the record, the band did eventually make the cover of

in March 1973. For the devoted fans, I recommend the 2-disc set

or

with its bonus DVD. Greatest Hooks is fine as an introduction to this band that made people laugh, dance and listen with their million-selling pop, country, dance and rock tunes.

"Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show, shortened in 1975 to Dr. Hook, was an American rock band...that enjoyed considerable commercial success in the 1970s with hit singles including `Sylvia's Mother,' `The Cover of the Rolling Stone,' `A Little Bit More' and `When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman.'...The band had eight years of regular chart hits, in both the U.S. and the U.K."

Dr. Hook could do just about everything: pop, rock, dance, novelty tunes and more serious songs, typically with a rock/country sound that worked wonders for their music. Their music is still excellent today; there's not a bad track in the lot here. "The Cover of the Rolling Stone" has a great country sound and they do this wonderfully. "Sylvia's Mother" and "Carry Me Carrie" are poignant and easy on the ear; and "The Millionaire" is an interesting look at a guy who's pretty lonely and doesn't really care if a woman wants him for his money--just so long as he has someone to be with. "Only Sixteen" also got lots of airplay when it was originally released; they do this flawlessly and it certainly brings back memories! "A Little Bit More" charms me with its natural beauty; it's one of my favorite Dr. Hook tunes! "If Not You" is another emotional ballad that showcases their talent very well and "More Like the Movies" is another excellent tune I always enjoy hearing. "A Couple More Years" has a great musical arrangement just like all the other songs and "Walk Right In" is proof Dr. Hook could take a song, put their own stamp on it and release it so people can enjoy their cover of this tune.

"Sleeping Late" and "Feels Good" are terrific; "Sharing the Night Together" is another song that brings back lots of memories for me. "Sharing the Night Together" is a sweet, awesome love song and the band does their usual best performing it. "All the Time in the World" and "I Don't Want to Be Alone Tonight" also get the royal treatment from Dr. Hook; I really like "All the Time in the World" and "I Don't Want to be Alone." "You Make My Pants Want to Get up and Dance" has a rocking, somewhat country sound for this more playful number and "When You're In Love with a Beautiful Woman" was an enjoyable huge hit for Dr. Hook. "Better Love Next Time" encourages a woman to feel better after a break-up and continue looking for true love; the album then ends with Dr. Hook performing the incredibly catchy, romantic "Sexy Eyes" and the passionate, beautiful "Years from Now."

Dr. Hook was an exceptionally talented band that could make just about anything sound good; their signature sound remains very appealing. Many of the songs here are every bit as touching or playful as they originally were; this music has stood the test of time and will not go out of style. This is an excellent album especially for casual fans who may not have all of these songs already and people just discovering Dr. Hook. Diehard fans would do well to keep looking for more comprehensive CD box sets by Dr. Hook.

I bought this album for 3 specific songs, the main one being Sexy Eyes, but I am enjoying the entire album now. If you are a fan of the 70's vibe this is a must have...

One of my favorite MTV videos, from the early 80's, is Dr. Hook's "Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk" (it's out on YouTube: [...]). However, this song isn't available out on Amazon mp3 nor Apple iTunes. Furthermore, it's not even listed on the "Dr. Hook Greatest Hooks" song list out on Amazon. That said, I read in the Amazon reviews of this CD that this song is indeed on the CD, took a chance and bought a copy from Amazon, and sure enough "Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk" is song #20 on the CD version (not the mp3 download) of "Greatest Hooks". Oh, there are a lot of other great Dr. Hook song classics on this CD as well.

I had never heard of this group, mostly because I hate rock noise. However, my wife told me about them and played a few songs from a You Tube video. It was not what I expected. You can actually understand what is being sung. Later, I understood why she had me listen and watch the video: her brother was part of the group. When we moved her parents closer to us, there were three gold records we hung on the wall where they can be seen when entering the house.

I would recommed this album, it is clean and understandable.