Why the hate for The Hooters?

[bbernardini]

Their big hit single, "And We Danced", was a fine piece of pop music that was a refreshing change of pace from the other stuff that was out at the time. Their follow up album, "One Way Home", was a more mature outing, with strong Celtic and folk influences. They released a number of other great albums as well. So, why the hate?

:)

[whalerider55]

1. i agree

and the work they've done with Joan Osborne and Cyndi Lauper was wonderful, too.

The Hooters first album is one of my faves...

whalerider55

[DODI]

2. I love them! They are what pulled me through after the election

I just kept playing "500 Miles" over and over and it helped me to feel empowered. I need to get more of their stuff. No hate for the Hooters here -- now the restaurant -- that's a different story.

[sportndandy]

5. I think you got the wrong band

But I can't think of the name of the one you are thinking of.

And I would walk 500 miles
blah blah blah blah

Definitely not the Hooters.

[DODI]

7. No, its the Hooters -- it is their take on an old folk song:

500 Miles
If you miss the train I'm on,,
you will know that I am gone,
You can hear the whistle blow,
One hundred miles
One hundred miles, one hundred miles
One hundred miles, one hundred miles
You can hear the whistle blow,
One hundred miles
Not a shirt on my back,
not a penny to my name,
And the land that I was carved
Was not my own
Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two,
Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four,
Lord I'm five hundred miles away from home

A hundred takes along the square,
One man stands and stops then there,
Some day soon a tide of turn
And I'll be free
I'll be free, I'll be free,
I'll come home to my country,
Some day soon a tide of turn
And I'll be free

If you miss the train I'm on,
You will know that I am gone,
You can hear the whistle blow,
One hundred miles,
Lord I'm one, Lord I'm two,
Lord I'm three, Lord I'm four,
Lord I'm five hundred miles away from home

They updated it for Tienanmen Square and the guitar solo in it is GREAT!

[sportndandy]

10. Oops. Must have been a different song

by the same title. Thanks for the gentle correction.

[bbernardini]

14. You're thinking of The Proclaimers.

Scottish group, thick accents.

[bbernardini]

8. No, it's the Hooters...

The classic folk tune..."lord I'm 500 miles away from home...". It was on their "Zig Zag" album, and Peter, Paul and Mary guested on it.

[unblock]

13. you're thinking of the proclaimers' "i'm gonna be (500 miles)"

but ah ai would walk fayv hun-dred mails
and ah ai would walk fayv hun-dred more
just to beee the man who walked a thou-sand mails
to fall down at your door.

[bluestateguy]

3. I have limits to my political correctness

I endorse Hooters and I even like the food.

[sportndandy]

4. And we danced? Fluff

The Hooters first album Amore was really great. Raw Philly street sound. The original version of All You Zombies is a classic, and Hangin' on a Heartbeat is a great pop/rock song. The stuff that they did for the national record deal was over-produced and boring. I am amazed that it got any radio play at all. We were generally pretty disappointed when they made it big, because we did not recognize them at all anymore.

[bbernardini]

6. They did drift from their ska and reggae roots a bit...

...but I wouldn't call it fluff. I still think it was better than most of the other national stuff out there at the time. Whether it was better than the other unsigned local bands at the time...I can't really say.

Personally, I don't care as much for the older, unreleased stuff as I do for "Amore" onward. I have a number of live broadcasts they did before the major label deal, and a lot of the songs don't do anything for me.

[sportndandy]

9. Yeah thats legitimate

There was little else of quality at the time in general. Don't have any early bootlegs, but I should look for a CD of Amore. Maybe over at Rykodisk.
Figtin' on the Same Side! That was there signature song! Eric Brazillian playing that weird keyboard horn thing. Great stuff. I thought if they just released Amore straight up nationaly that they would have conquered the world. Your right the later stuff wasn't fluff, it just didn't seem to live up to the enormous potential I thought the guys had. But I always blamed it on the record company for trying to package them off, not on the band itself.

[bbernardini]

12. Amore on CD and early bootlegs...

You might want to check ericbazilian.com or find the official Hooters site, as they've been playing a bunch of shows in Europe and they're recording a new album. They released "Amore" on CD with two bonus tracks: "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds" at the Amnesty International show at Giants Stadium, and "Man In The Street" from their first ever recording session as The Hooters.

Eric Bazilian was kind enough to come to my school for two days a few years back and talk to and play for my students, and he brought me a copy of "Amore".

As for early bootlegs, PM me, and I'll hook you up, if you're interested. I've got three (possibly more, I'll have to check) pre-"Nervous Night" shows...two from 1984, and one from 1981.

[AwakeAtLast]

11. I actually saw them live!

They opened for Bryan Adams in something like 1985 maybe. They were pretty fun and harmless for a 15-year-old girl. Ahhh, the memories.