Dr Hook / Sloppy Seconds / Belly Up

I bought this CD as it was only slightly higher than the one I was looking for, Sloppy Seconds by Dr. Hook. As others have mentioned, I am frankly shocked that this group is forgotten today. My ex-wife and I were fortunate enough to go with our best friend to see them at a small club in Dallas back in 1975, after the initial excitement over their Columbia days had ended, and before they started hitting it big with their Capitol albums. In fact, they played "Only Sixteen" that night [which would later be their biggest hit on Capitol] for us that night. They were an excellent band for a club, and had us partying hard that night! I had their second album, Sloppy Seconds, when it first came out in 1972, and loved it. The lyrics, all by the great songwriter Shel Silverstein, are brilliant. My personal favorites off of Sloppy Seconds are "Freakin' At The Freakers' Ball", "Carry Me, Carrie", and "Cover of The Rolling Stone". The entire album is wonderfully funny, full of the three pillars of rock: sex, drugs and rock 'n roll! But at the same times, there are heart-breaking gems like "Carry Me, Carrie" that will bring tears to your eyes.I also liked their AM hit off of their first album, Dr. Hook's Medicine Show, "Sylvia's Mother", which I have always recognized as more than a novelty hit. Listen to it, people! They do a great version of the song, expressing the anguish of a man trying to get through to his girlfriend, while running out of money at the pay phone [this was long before there were cellphones] and being put off by her mother. The rest of the first album, unfortunately, isn't as great. Marie Lavaux is a great song, but much better by Bobby Bare, who had a country hit with it. The third album, Belly Up! was briefly a staple of FM radio in those heady days of 1972-73, when the radio stations could play what they wanted. Here in Dallas, that meant KAFM. Unfortunately, it faded from the scene as KZEW came on and played a strict "AOR", or album oriented rock list, tightly controlled by the programmers. No more Dr. Hook on the radio, at least until their Capitol days, when they did less sexy, less drug songs. Yes, less fun songs. It is fun to hear these funny drug/sex songs again. And, this album is well worth the money.

Shel Silverstein is perhaps the greatest writer of humorous story songs. Shel wrote or co-wrote almost every song on these three albums. While most songwriters put subtle references to sex and drug use in their songs in order to get them played on the radio, Shel was often the exact opposite and his lyrics could be quite graphic. I'm sure a lot of people considered some of these songs shocking, especially since they were released in the early 1970's. Check out "Get My Rocks Off" and you'll get the picture. If you only know Dr. Hook from their disco inspired radio ballads, you will be in for quite a shock when you here this.Dr. Hook were the perfect band to interpret Shel's songs and it is very obvious that they shared his rather warped sense of humor. You can often hear them cracking up laughing in the background of these recordings. There are numerous classic songs here that you won't find on most Dr. Hook compilations. Here you get the original "Marie Lavaux," later a #1 hit for Bobby Bare. You also get "Freaker's Ball," "Penicillin Penny" and "Roland the Roadie." The booklet is excellent with liner notes and lyrics to all the songs.The one caveat is that track #23 is defective and plays as though it is skipping badly. I thought I had just gotten a bad copy but I exchanged it and the new copy is exactly the same.

I read the reviews after buyingto other CDs to get my favorite songs. This is live and I love it.

Love this group.

I'm not sure how it is that this band fell into such relative obscurity, as there is a vibe here like no other. Radio stations rarely play anything beyond "Cover of the Rolling Stone", which is such a disservice to the band and the radio audience. There has never been a band quite like Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show. This particular CD set is an incredible deal, packaging their first three albums into a two-CD set with some interesting writings in the insert about the band and some of the songs. If there were anything at all disappointing about it, it would be that the order of the songs on both the packaging and the CDs themselves is not the same order as what is actually played on the CDs. A minor flaw, to be sure. If you have ever had an interest in the early work of the good doctor, then this is THE purchase to make. You will not be disappointed.

So much more to Dr Hook than songs on greatest hits. Leave Top 40 behind and enjoy the edgy Dr Hook on Sloppy Seconds and Belly Up!

love this music, so glad I could get it here

Had these back in the day, love having them again.

The 3 CD set is great. Some of their best work and now remastered. The last track on the first CD is defective as it skips badly. I ordered a new one thinking it was a bad disc but the replacement skips too. Did some research and it turns out this is a problem others are experiencing. The music is fantastic so I will end up keeping the CD’s even with the defect.

ファーストと「スロッピー・セカンズ」はけっこうアナログでもＣＤでも見ますが、サードの「ベリー・アップ」は滅多にお目にかかれません。これ、といったヒット曲が収録されてないからでしょうが、もったいない！！フックというバンドは４枚目まで、それ以降がほぼ別のバンドに近い変貌を見せ、キャピトル移籍後は、ＭＯＲ寄りのカントリーポップバンドになってしまいます。その原因は作詞・作曲をほとんど担当していた、シェル・シルバースタインと距離を置くようになったせいで、ビジネス的には正解な選択ですが、シェルこみでフックを聴いているぼくみたいなファンにはさびしいのです・・・。さて「ベリー・アップ」ですが、前の二枚よりシェルのカラーが強い！！｢モンタレー・ジャック」では声での出演もあります！！フックの面々が、自分たち押し上げてくれた自身は売れないシンガーソングライターだった、シェルへ、お礼の意味もこめて作ったような気もします。アシッドにもカントリー・ロックにも、アングラにもカルトにも分類されない可笑しなインチキカントリー集団ドクター・フックの、真骨頂はやっぱりこの時期だぜっ！！

Love dr hook, it was funny to read the inside cover and see that shel Silverstein whose poem books I read as a child actually wrote most of the songs they sing. If you listen you can really tell

Everything I expected. The quality is excellent, the delivery was quick and the price is reasonable. Very happy.

The boys are burnt out!