Wikipedia

Hanky Panky (The The album)

Hanky Panky is the fifth studio album by English band The The, released on 14 February 1995.[2][3] It consists of cover versions of country singer Hank Williams' songs.[4][5] It reached No. 28 on the UK Albums Chart.[6] Matt Johnson intended Hanky Panky to be the first of many albums he would record covering the work of iconic musicians.[7] Johnson provided the liner notes to Alone and Forsaken, a compilation of Williams demos that was also released in 1995.[8]

Hanky Panky
Studio album by
The The
Released14 February 1995
RecordedThe War Room, Pittsburgh
Label550 Music/Epic[1]
ProducerMatt Johnson, Bruce Lampcov
The The chronology
Solitude
(1993) 		Hanky Panky
(1995) 		Gun Sluts
(1997)

Production edit

Johnson originally planned to record an EP, and then a standard tribute album, with many musicians interpreting songs, before settling on an album of covers.[9] Eric Schermerhorn played guitar on the album.[10] Some songs contain only voice and harmonium.[11] The band was more interested in retaining the meaning of the songs rather than producing musical copies of them.[12] "Your Cheatin' Heart" was performed in a rockabilly style.[13]

Critical reception edit

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [14]
Calgary HeraldA[15]
Chicago Tribune    [16]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[17]
The Indianapolis Star    [11]
Orlando Sentinel     [10]
USA Today    [18]
Vancouver Sun     [12]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Johnson internalizes Williams' '50s despair and coughs it up as modernist melancholy."[17] Trouser Press called the album "a tour de force tribute," writing that it "might have sunk to self-conscious gimmickry in less perceptive hands, but Johnson makes it work beautifully."[19] The Chicago Tribune stated that it "drones with the overmiked rasp, sometime monotonous echo, and bluesy guitars that are The The's trademark."[16]

The Independent determined that, "mostly, Hanky Panky demonstrates a misapprehension of Williams's art, the greatness of which lies, in part, in his ability to disguise darkness and loneliness in redemptively light settings."[20] The Guardian noted that "gloomy rock replaces the original relaxed melodies, and Johnson's baritone evokes only one colour from Hank's mixed palette of emotions."[21] The Calgary Herald concluded that "as has happened with the blues and rock in the '60s, it's taken a Brit to unearth the spirit, the soul, the songs of Hank Williams."[15]

Track listing edit

All tracks by Hank Williams; arrangements/re-arrangements by Matt Johnson and D. C. Collard

  1. "Honky Tonkin'"
  2. "Six More Miles"
  3. "My Heart Would Know"
  4. "If You'll Be A Baby To Me"
  5. "I'm A Long Gone Daddy"
  6. "Weary Blues From Waitin'"
  7. "I Saw the Light"
  8. "Your Cheatin' Heart"
  9. "I Can't Get You Off of my Mind"
  10. "There's a Tear in My Beer"
  11. "I Can't Escape from You"

Personnel edit

References edit

  1. ^ Campbell, Chuck (3 March 1995). "Band resurrects Hank Williams with a twist". Detours. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 6.
  2. ^ "The The Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. ^ Dafoe, Chris (28 January 1995). "Hank Williams and The The make strange disc mates". The Globe and Mail. p. C11.
  4. ^ "The The's Matt Johnson". MTV News.
  5. ^ Morse, Steve (7 October 1994). "MATT DOES HANK". Living. The Boston Globe. p. 66.
  6. ^ "THE THE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  7. ^ Niester, Alan (March 1995). "One of the more bizarre and surprising tribute albums...". Saturday Night. 110 (2): 66.
  8. ^ "HOW POP MUSIC PAYS HOMAGE TO ITSELF". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 14 April 1995. p. 16E.
  9. ^ Davidson, Neil (23 February 1995). "Hanky Panky dark tribute to Williams". Ottawa Citizen. p. D9.
  10. ^ a b Gettelman, Parry (17 March 1995). "THE THE". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 11.
  11. ^ a b Miley, Scott L. (24 February 1995). "When The The meets Hank, good good stuff happens". The Indianapolis Star. p. D5.
  12. ^ a b Monk, Katherine (23 March 1995). "THE THE Hanky Panky". Vancouver Sun. p. C8.
  13. ^ Nash, Alanna (March 1995). "Popular music — Hanky Panky by The The". Stereo Review. 60 (3): 90.
  14. ^ AllMusic review
  15. ^ a b Muretich, James (5 March 1995). "RECENT RELEASES". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
  16. ^ a b Webber, Brad (16 February 1995). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  17. ^ a b "Hanky Panky". EW.com.
  18. ^ Zimmerman, David (17 March 1995). "COUNTRY". USA Today. p. 10D.
  19. ^ "The The". Trouser Press. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  20. ^ Gill, Andy (10 February 1995). "Tribute albums and tribulations". MUSIC/POP. The Independent. p. 26.
  21. ^ Spencer, Neil (12 February 1995). "THE THE Hanky Panky". The Observer Review Page. The Guardian. p. 16.
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