Great White - Hooked

In the late eighties, Great White was riding a tidal wave of success. The album Once Bitten . . . in 1987 was not the band's first, but it was the album that brought them to the forefront of the music scene. Followed by the more successful Twice Shy . . . in 1989, it seemed Great White was unstoppable. Unfortunately, the band did not continue their success with the next album, Hooked, which came in 1991.

Not that Hooked was a complete failure. It reached number 18 on the Billboard alb.um chart and was certified gold in April 1991. Critical reception of the record was good too, there just wasn't enough of the tidal wave left over from the late eighties to keep Great White riding high.

That's too bad because Hooked, while it didn't produce hits like the late eighties albums, is one of the finest Great White albums I've heard. The songs and production are top notch and the band is in top form, laying down blues rock tracks in traditional Great White fashion.

1. "Call It Rock 'n' Roll" (Mark Kendall, Michael Lardie, Tony Montana, Jack Russell, Alan Niven) - 3:56
2. "The Original Queen of Sheba" (M. Kendall, A. Niven, M. Lardie) - 4:39
3. "Cold Hearted Lovin'" (Mark Anderson, A. Niven, J. Russell) - 4:19
4. "Can't Shake It" (John Brewster, Bernard Neeson, Rick Brewster) - 4:45
5. "Lovin' Kind" (M. Lardie, A. Niven) - 4:45
6. "Heartbreaker" (M. Kendall, M. Lardie, A. Niven, J. Russell) - 6:44
7. "Congo Square" (M. Kendall, A. Niven) - 6:57
8. "South Bay Cities" (M. Lardie, A. Niven) - 5:35
9. "Desert Moon" (M. Kendall, M. Lardie, A. Niven, J. Russell); - 4:32
10. "Afterglow" (Ronnie Lane, Steve Marriott) - 5:52

I'd be hard pressed to find a bad song on this CD.

The opening song starts off with a guitar hook reminiscent of sort of like Once Bitten and doesn't let up. A catchy, infectious number that gets your foot taappin' and your groove thang shakin' with the first notes.

The heavy blues groovin' continues with The Original Queen of Sheba and Cold Hearted Lovin' and then comes the almost AC/DC inspired Can't Shake It.

Lovin' Kind is a beautiful piano-heavy ballad that lets Jack Russell really exercise the emotional side of his vocal abilities. Good stuff. Great guitar solo.

It's back in the thick of it with Heartbreaker (not a cover of the Zep song). Mark Kendall does some funky guitar rippin' during the intro and throughout the song, which leads to some bluesy jammin during the solo, backed by some more funky fills.

Congo Square is probably the low point for me, but the album picks up again with  the rock boppin' South Bay Cities, the polished, hard groove of Desert Moon, and another fresh ballad, Afterglow.

Not sure why some of these songs weren't big radio hits, but that's the music business. There's no accounting for tastes in music and what the public wants. Do yourself a favor and give Hooked a listen.