Thursday, December 19, 2013

Dr. Hook - Let Me Drink From Your Well

This month marks the thirtieth anniversary of Let Me Drink From Your Well, the twelfth and final studio album from Dr. Hook. Unlike 1982’s Players In the Dark (click here for that review), this one from 1983 failed to even hit the major charts.


Side one opens with the title track. “Let Me Drink From Your Well” is a funky tune with a very sexual overture.

“Animal Instinct” has a slow, slinky rhythm that mirrors a predator on the hunt.

“Lucky Night” harkens back to the late 70’s with a song that could very easily have been tweaked for the late disco era.

“When You’re 18” is a song about infatuation with an underage woman; however it definitely does not advocate risking things with jailbait.

“Boy Talk” bounces along with a slight, sing-song reggae beat. From the first half, this was the one that stuck with me the most. It does get silly near the end when Dr. Hook decides to throw in a certain word after each line (he ends up cracking himself up).

Side two begins with the cautionary tale “Beware of Lovers”.

Next up is Hook‘s cover of “Rings”, the 1971 hit song by Cymarron. I really like how this one came out.

“I’ll Put Angels Around You” goes for a sweet, sentimental note in another song that would have easily been at home in the late disco era with a few tweaks.

“Strings” takes a pessimistic approach with its message of “everything comes with a price“.

The closing track “Crazy Rosie” falls right into the band’s classic country-rock roots. It tells the tale of a child born out of wedlock and what happens to the mother who suffers from depression after her child is taken from her.

Let Me Drink From Your Well was only released on vinyl. As such it has never been made available for digital download or streaming anywhere at this point in time. Once again, I had to rely on sources like YouTube to give this one a listen. The hunt was worthwhile though as I found this to be a listenable group of songs; none stood out as bad per se. I think the lack of a hit single and the changing music landscape might have been some of the reasons this one failed to catch on with the record buying public.

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