The Essential Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show

• Artist: Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show
• Rating:
• Release Date: September 30, 2003
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Rock

Review

The problem with assembling a definitive Dr. Hook collection is twofold. First, there's the simple fact that they had their hits at two different labels, spending the first part of the '70s at Columbia and the latter half at Capitol. To top it off, the band changed considerably during those two eras, beginning as the ramshackle, Shel Silverstein-singing, goofy bar-band hippies of Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show and ending as the swanky, leisure-suited crooners Dr. Hook. Each era has its partisans, with a mere handful of listeners liking both, and because of this, each label-specific collection has endured criticism for not containing the other. It could be easy to level that argument against Columbia/Legacy's 2003 The Essential Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, since it primarily covers the Columbia recordings, with the exception of the 1975 cover of Sam Cooke's "Only Sixteen," which was their first hit for Capitol, and 1976's "A Little Bit More," one of their biggest hits. This leaves out many latter-day hits -- "Sharing the Night Together," "Better Love Next Time," "When You're in Love With a Beautiful Woman," "Sexy Eyes," and "Baby Makes Her Blue Jeans Talk" -- most of which are on Capitol's 2002 Classic Masters collection, and shines the focus on the group's first two albums, which were nearly entirely written by Silverstein, including the hits "Cover of the Rolling Stone," "Sylvia's Mother," and "Carry Me Carrie." There are also two tracks, "Life Ain't Easy" and "You Ain't Got the Right," from the 1973 album Belly Up!, along with some sharp selection of album tracks, which make for a good, entertaining sampling of the band at its early-'70s peak. (Recommended further listening: check out Raven's I Got Stoned and I Missed It: The Best from Shel Silverstein 1971-1979, which was released just a few months later and covers the band's loose-limbed, cheerfully rowdy sense of humor in more detail.) ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Freakin' at the Freakers' Ball	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(2:49)
Cover of the Rolling Stone	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(2:55)
Sylvia's Mother	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(3:50)
Only Sixteen	Sam Cooke	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(2:47)
A Little Bit More	Bobby Gosh	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(2:53)
Life Ain't Easy	Shel Silverstein, Ray Sawyer	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(3:05)
Carry Me, Carrie	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(4:21)
The Things I Didn't Say	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(2:58)
You Ain't Got the Right	Ray Sawyer, Ron Haffkine, Dennis Locorriere, J. David	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(3:31)
I Call That True Love	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(3:00)
Makin' It Natural	Shel Silverstein, Jeffrey Comanor	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(2:51)
If I'd Only Come and Gone	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(2:43)
Get My Rocks Off	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(3:08)
Queen of the Silver Dollar	Shel Silverstein	Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show	(4:46)

Credits

Dr. Hook (Main Performer), Herbert Greene (Photography), Ron Haffkine (Producer), Mark Wilder (Mastering), Michael Ochs (Cover Photo), Howard Fritzson (Art Direction), Neal Preston (Photography), Bruce Dickinson (Compilation Producer), Megan Foley (Design), Jaan Uhelszki (Liner Notes), Yoram Kahana (Photography)