Tiddlywinks

by NRBQ

Overview

Tiddlywinks was NRBQ's eighth album and followed the captivating Kick Me Hard by less than a year. Released by Red Rooster through Rounder, the set featured the classic line-up of Terry Adams, Al Anderson, Tom Ardolino and Joey Spampinato with the Whole Wheat Horns -- Keith Spring on tenor sax and Donn Adams on slide trombone. The grooving 11-track set is easily one of the most consistent and satisfying in the band's discography. Adams, Anderson, and Spampinato individually claimed authorship on ten of the set's 11 tunes. The album kicks off with "Feel You Around Me." Composed by guitarist Anderson, its easy meld of vintage 1960s pop and jazzy swing is laid-back and tender, with one of Adams' finest-ever vocals and a nice glockenspiel hovering around the backdrop. Single "Me and the Boys," one of NRBQ's best-known tunes, is up next. Following a classic rock & roll progression, it is a garage band anthem with squalling Telecasters, gutbucket basses, controlled feedback, and cracking snare and hi-hat. Above it all are Adams' smooth, effortless vocals adding whimsy and tender jocularity. It was such a natural fit for the core sound of Dave Edmunds, he covered it on 1982's D.E. 7th. The album's only cover is a reading of the 1936 novelty hit "The Music Goes Round and Round (And Comes Out Here)," made immortal duriung the '50s by Louis Prima. Adams' modern keyboard sounds meet vintage guitars, horns, hard-swinging drums, and a walking bassline in a good-time fingerpopper. Even the ballads work here: there's the lilting country-pop of "Beverly," the Beatlesque "When I Get Back Home," and the honky tonk stride boogie blues in "I Want You to Feel Good Too." The punchy, swaggering, hooky "You Can't Hide" could easily have been covered by Rockpile, and the intersection of Randy Newman and Billy Joel on "Are You Here" is a standout. The set's second single, "Never Take the Place of You," is warm, jazzy, and sparkling yacht rock. When the record closes with the choogling "Hobbies," a bluesy instrumental with Adams singing wordlessly, the listener has been on a journey in the band's stylistic universe. Throughout, the songwriting is consistently excellent, and the performances sound effortless as well as inspired. Remarkably, there is no filler. For a band as musically restless as NRBQ, this is rare. After 1978's At Yankee Stadium, it may be their finest album. [In 2023, Omnivore Recordings reissued the album with four bonus tracks: "I Don't Think Ofâ?¦" and "Big Goodbyes were recorded during the Tiddlywinks sessions and released on 1983's Tapdancin' Bats collection. Also included are the two controversial TV and radio spots originally issued as the flipside of "Never Take the Place of You." The package includes updated artwork and liner notes from original engineer Tom Mark.] ~ Thom Jurek

Product Details

Release Date:	01/27/2023
Label:	Omnivore
UPC:	0810075112375

Tracks

1. Feel You Around Me
2. Me and the Boys
3. Music Goes Round and Around
4. Beverly
5. That I Get Back Home
6. Roll Call
7. I Don¿¿¿t Think Of¿¿¿ [Bonus Track]
8. Want You to Feel Good Too
9. Never Take the Place of You
10. You Can¿¿¿t Hide
11. Definition of Love
12. Hobbies
13. Big Goodbyes [Bonus Track]
14. Tiddlywinks Tv Spot [Bonus Track]
15. Tiddlywinks Radio Ad [Bonus Track]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

NRBQ   Primary Artist
Donn Adams   Trombone
Don Adams   Trombone
Keith Spring   Sax (Tenor)

Technical Credits

David Greenberger   Design,Cover Design
Michael Riley   Composer
Terry Adams   Composer,Producer
Tom Mark   Engineer,Producer
Thomas Mark   Engineer,Producer
Al Anderson   Composer
Captain Lou Albano   Composer
Red Hodgson   Composer
Donn Adams   Composer
T. Adams   Producer
Eddie Farley   Composer
Lou Albano   Composer
Mike Riley   Composer
Edward Farlay   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Edward Farley   Composer
Toby Mountain   Mastering
Joey Spampinato   Composer,Producer
John Fahey   Composer