Hanky Panky | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 14 February 1995 | |||
Recorded | The War Room, Pittsburgh | |||
Label | 550 Music/Epic[1] | |||
Producer | Matt Johnson, Bruce Lampcov | |||
The The chronology | ||||
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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]
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]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [14] |
Calgary Herald | A[15] |
Chicago Tribune | [16] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[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]
All tracks by Hank Williams; arrangements/re-arrangements by Matt Johnson and D. C. Collard