Rising/Players in the Dark [Remastered]

by Dr. Hook

Overview

BGO's 2013 two-fer Rising/Players in the Dark pairs Dr. Hook's two albums for Columbia -- 1980's Rising and its 1982 sequel Players in the Dark -- which also happen to be their last two albums of original material. Rising picks up the satin thread from Sometimes You Win, finding this collection of former hippies essentially burying their ragged roots underneath layers of polyester gloss and disco beats. Their woolly former incarnation peeks into view at the closing "99 and Me," a lengthy pseudo-blues vamp that's lost amidst the rest of the record's sweetened urban cowboy balladeering and soft rock-disco seduction. Often, it seems that the band is intent on remaking Sometimes You Win -- the flow almost mirrors its predecessor -- and while they certainly get the form right, the substance is plainly lacking. The opener "Girls Can Get It" isn't bad -- it deservedly scraped the bottom of the Top 40 -- but apart from that opening cut, very few of the songs have hooks that stick, which means Rising is a pleasant enough listen but never lodges in the memory. Players in the Dark is a better affair, largely due to its riotously sleazy opener, "Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk," an ode to a swaying denim-clad lass that is in joyous bad taste. Dr. Hook swims to similar depths elsewhere here, most notably on the nonsensical "The Turn On" (where Dennis Locorriere is made to sing "tacos turn me on"), but for the most part this showcases Locorriere the seducer, singing ballads draped in satin. Some of these songs aren't so bad -- "Loveline" was a minor hit and should've been -- and the emphasis on slow ones gives Players in the Dark a consistency Rising didn't quite have, but it's also clear that Dr. Hook had reached the end of the road. They're just lucky that they concluded on a vague note of triumph thanks to "Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk." ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/12/2013
Label:	Beat Goes On
UPC:	5017261210845

Tracks

1. Girls Can Get It
2. Body Talkin'
3. That Didn't Hurt Too Bad
4. Blown Away
5. S.O.S. for Love
6. Doin' It
7. Before the Tears
8. Hold Me Like You Never Had Me
9. Do You Right Tonight
10. 99 and Me
11. Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk
12. The Turn On
13. Lady Sundown
14. I Can't Say No to Her
15. Loveline
16. Pity the Fool
17. Chained to Your Memory
18. Devil's Daughter
19. Hearts Like Yours and Mine
20. Fire in the Night

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Dr. Hook   Primary Artist
Rod Smarr   Primary Artist,Guitar
John Wolters   Primary Artist,Drums,Vocals
Rik Elswit   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Ray Sawyer   Primary Artist,Vocals,Percussion
Dennis Locorriere   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals
Jance Garfat   Primary Artist,Bass
Billy Francis   Primary Artist,Vocals,Keyboards
Ron Haffkine   Music Direction,Musical Direction
Sherri Huffman   Vocals (Background)
Joe Scaife   Vocals (Background)
Lisa Silver   Vocals (Background)
Nashville Horns   Horn
Sheri Kramer   Vocals (Background)
The Cherry Sisters   Vocals (Background)
Paul Overstreet   Vocals (Background)
Shelly Kurland Strings   Strings
Diane Tidwell   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Clayton Ivey   Musician
Joe Scaife   Engineer
Kenneth Ball   Musician
Roger Hawkins   Musician
Jim Cotton   Engineer
David Hungate   Musician
Mac McAnally   Musician
James Stroud   Musician
David Hood   Musician
Wayne Perkins   Musician
Ron Haffkine   Composer,Producer
Jim Osborn   Art Direction
Hans Brethouwer   Mastering
Andrew Thompson   Remastering
Jimmy Johnson   Musician
Steve Melton   Engineer
Chuck Ainlay   Engineer
Shane Keister   Musician,Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Randy McCormick   Musician
Mickey Buckins   Musician
Mike Lewis   Musician,Horn Arrangements,String Arrangements
Overstreet   Composer
Tom Brasfield   Composer
Bud Reneau   Composer
Farrel Morris   Musician
Bob Wray   Musician
Larry Byrom   Musician
Duncan Cameron   Musician
Eddie Rabbitt   Composer
Dennis Locorriere   Composer,Liner Notes
David Cherry   Engineer
John O'Regan   Liner Notes
Mary Beth McLemore   Engineer
Jance Garfat   Composer