Southern Thunder - Hank Williams, Jr., Stampley, Tony
Hank Hill Is the King
All Jokes Aside
Sometimes I Feel Like Joe Montana
The 1990s have been rough on Bocephus. Eclipsed by Nashville's youth movement (and his own stumbles into self-parody), his chart presence has waned. In 1999, at age 50 and two years after his last album, he emerges unrepen... more »tant. As always, roaring guitars punctuate the customary barroom macho of "I'd Love to Knock the Hell Out of You," "Naked Women and Beer," and "Southern Thunder." Fans of sing-alongs will find "Where Would We Be Without Yankees" and, in a nod to TV, "Hank Hill Is the King." Yet all is not business as usual. "They All Want to Go Wild (And I Want to Go Home)" and "Sometimes I Feel Like Joe Montana," pensive (for Hank Jr.) explorations of aging, reflect a different--and ultimately more authentic--macho. Maturity also triumphs on the magnificent, classic country ballad "All Jokes Aside," the saga song "Gibbonsville Gold," and the dark, tense "I Like It When It's Stormy." Fashionable? Hardly, but amid Music Row's unending streams of generically engineered, radio-friendly fluff, it's positively refreshing. --Rich Kienzle« less
The 1990s have been rough on Bocephus. Eclipsed by Nashville's youth movement (and his own stumbles into self-parody), his chart presence has waned. In 1999, at age 50 and two years after his last album, he emerges unrepentant. As always, roaring guitars punctuate the customary barroom macho of "I'd Love to Knock the Hell Out of You," "Naked Women and Beer," and "Southern Thunder." Fans of sing-alongs will find "Where Would We Be Without Yankees" and, in a nod to TV, "Hank Hill Is the King." Yet all is not business as usual. "They All Want to Go Wild (And I Want to Go Home)" and "Sometimes I Feel Like Joe Montana," pensive (for Hank Jr.) explorations of aging, reflect a different--and ultimately more authentic--macho. Maturity also triumphs on the magnificent, classic country ballad "All Jokes Aside," the saga song "Gibbonsville Gold," and the dark, tense "I Like It When It's Stormy." Fashionable? Hardly, but amid Music Row's unending streams of generically engineered, radio-friendly fluff, it's positively refreshing. --Rich Kienzle
CD Reviews
LONG AWAITED RETURN IS FINALLY HERE!
jscarter@zoomnet.net | Backwoods of Southern Ohio | 10/18/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This new CD is almost perfect!"I'd Love to Knock the Hell Out of You","I Like it When it's Stormy","Sometimes I Feel Like Joe Montana"and "Southern Thunder" are excellent and I believe the only weak point is "Hank Hill is King." I saw Hank Jr. in Charleston,Wv. this year and he came onto stage with the playing of "I'd Love to Knock the Hell Out of You" and adrenaline just rushed through the crowd!He is the most explosive performer of all time!"
Hank is awesome, but Stormy wasn't quite his best
jscarter@zoomnet.net | 06/17/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I am the biggest Hank, Jr. fan ever, but I was slightly disappointed with Stormy. First off, I really don't care for "Where Would We Be Without Yankees." It doesn't agree with his whole "If The South Woulda Won" attitude. "Hank Hill Is The King" also disappointed me, it is most definately one of his worst songs. However, I REALLY love "All Jokes Aside," and I will always remain a loyal Bocephus fan. He is the GREATEST!"
Disappointment.
jscarter@zoomnet.net | 10/16/1999
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Like many Bocephus fans, I eargerly await any new material. I had high hopes for Stormy. After all, for most of this decade Hank has produced nothing but novelty songs. He even returned to doing voice-overs with his Father, a practice which he scorned in the early days when Miss Audrey was calling the shots. For Hank fans longing for a glipse of the artist who released such masterpieces as Habits Old and New and Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound, Stormy disappoints on all fronts. There is not a good song on the album. Even worse, the songs sound almost identical to those on his previous few efforts, which have been equally terrible. Hank fans have often attributed his fall from grace in the 1990's to the rise of one hit wonders whose songs convey no meaning. It is obvious from a survey of the songs on Stormy that Hank is now heading down this same road. The problem is that these songs are not "catchy" enough for radio, nor good enough for a honky-tonk jukebox. In his quest to "win one one more time" Bocephus is tarnishing the image he fought so hard for in his younger years."
Would the real Hank Jr. please stand!!!
jscarter@zoomnet.net | 10/01/1999
(2 out of 5 stars)
"When will Jr. realize country radio is not interested anymore! The sooner he realizes this, the sooner he will put out a CD with substance! The self-parodies also get old. The one song I did enjoy was, "I Like It When It's Stormy." The only reason I give it 2 stars."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1