Album Review #2 - The Hooters "Time Stands Still" (2008)

 

 

Artist:  The Hooters

Album:  Time Stand Still

Year of Release:  2008

Grade:  4.5/5

 

Band Members

Eric Bazilian – lead vocals, guitars, bass, mandolin, harmonica, recorder, keyboards, piano, saxophone

Rob Hyman – lead vocals, piano, keyboards, acoustic guitar, mandolin, accordion, melodica

John Lilley – guitar, mandolin, dobro

Fran Smith Jr – bass, backing vocals

David Uosikkinen – drums

 

 

Background

This band may not be as well known as some other bands on the list but don’t let that fool you.  This Philadelphia based band is top notch.  They are huge in Europe and along the east coast of the US.  Their fan base is pretty rabid as well (in a good way).  The Hooters (named after a nickname of the melodica instrument, not the restaurant) came from the ashes of Eric and Rob’s previous band “Baby Grand” who release two albums on Arista Records in the late 1970s.  Eric and Rob met at the University of Pennsylvania in 1971 and that musical friendship remains to this day. Both Eric and Rob have had success outside of The Hooters.  Eric wrote and produced the Grammy nominated song “One Of Us” by Joan Osbourne.  Rob and Cyndi Lauper wrote and performed the Grammy nominated hit “Time After Time” on Cyndi’s album.  The Hooters have recorded both of those songs as well.

 

Track Listing

1.      I’m Alive (Hyman, Bazilian)

2.      Time Stand Still (Hyman, Bazilian)

3.      The Boys Of Summer (Don Henley, Mike Campbell)

4.      Until I Find You Again (Hyman, Bazilian)

5.      Until You Dare (Hyman, Bazilian)

6.      Morning Buzz (Hyman, Bazilian)

7.      Where The Wind May Blow (Hyman, Bazilian)

8.      Catch Of The Day (Hyman, Bazilian)

9.      Ordinary Lives (Hyman, Bazilian, Lilley)

10.  Free Again (Hyman, Bazilian)

11.  White Jeans** (Hyman, Bazilian)

 

** Hidden Track

 

Review

The opening track of “I’m Alive” is one of my top three favorite songs of the Hooters.  The uplifting lyrics and music can pull you out of a dark emotional place.  It never fails to bring a smile to my face.  One of the unique aspects of the song is the video that went with it.  Rather than have a big production like some other music videos, they turned their fans into the actors.  They released the song and had fans lip synch and have fun with the video.  Some fans went all out with gimmicks while others (young and old) just did straight singing.  Some of the clips are joyful to watch. 

 

 

The second track is the title track “Time Stand Still”.  To me, this song is just expressing the joy of living in that single moment of time.  It can be that moment that you wish would never pass but it can also be a song about regret of not cherishing those moments at the same time.  Instrumentally, it is an upbeat song that really has some great guitar licks in it.

 

 

 

The next track is a cover of Don Henley’s hit “The Boys Of Summer” that was co-written with Tom Petty’s guitarist Mike Campbell.  I did not care for the song when it was a hit for Henley (I am definitely more of a Glenn Frey fan).  So I was a little hesitant when this track started but, surprisingly, I liked The Hooters version better.  The vocals are a little more nuanced than what I perceive to be Henley’s snarling.  Rumor is that the song came out of a VH1 concert where they were asked to pick a song from the 90s that they had wish they had written and this was Rob and Eric’s choice.

 

Almost as a sequel to the previous song “The Boys Of Summer” comes “Until I Find You Again”. The song reminds me of a lost love that got away where the singer longs for the happiness that he once had.  I love the sound of the guitar/mandolin on this song.  It almost has a celtic feel to it.

 

Another of my top five Hooters songs is next.  Eric Bazilian originally recorded “Until You Dare” on his first solo album The Optimist.  Here it is given the full Hooters treatment.  It is a song of hope – a song of taking the chance.  It’s easy to sit back and say “if only…” but it takes courage to try something even if you fail in the attempt.  The chorus echoes this:

How will you know how far you might have gone
How high you might have climbed, how hard you might have fallen
How will you learn how good it feels to be alive
How you gonna learn how to fly when you're so busy crawling
God knows where

 

For those who need that first cup of coffee before feeling “normal”, the sixth track called “Morning Buzz” is just for you.  Just the simplicity of being in the moment even with little issues that come up by focusing on the big picture.  The simple guitar strain in the beginning echoes throughout the song in keyboards and whistling.

 

“Where The Wind May Blow” picks up the temp and is a study in perseverance.  Whatever life throws at you, we will get through it together.  The emphasis being together.  Rob and Eric’s joint vocals reiterate that team approach.

 

“Catch Of The Day” is a fun song.  It has almost a pirate feel to the music without being silly.  It just has a feel that you can almost feel yourself sitting by the ocean, a lake or a river with a line in the water.  As a friend’s dad once told me “fishing isn’t always about catching fish”.  That philosophy played in song here. 

 

One of the most underrated Hooters songs is “Ordinary Lives”.  The theme of finding peace in the quiet moments of life can never be overstated.  “Extraordinary moments in ordinary lives” is the line that brings so much peace.  We can get overwhelmed at stuff but a look from spouse to spouse brings that “we are in this together”.

 

“Free Again” is about coming out the other side of a situation victorious.  It could almost be subtitled “Never Give Up, Never Surrender” from the movie Galaxyquest.  It is celebrating that perseverance attitude. 

 

The hidden track “White Jeans” reminisces about the early days of the band.  This is probably the track that I listen to the least.  It is an upbeat song but just doesn’t do anything for me.  I remember the days of wearing white jeans (ugh!).