Sloppy Seconds

Album Review

Sloppy Seconds began to unveil Dr. Hook's crude brand of humor, with its only saving grace coming from "Cover of the Rolling Stone," the band's second Top Ten hit which followed the insipid "Sylvia's Mother" from a year before. Although a feel for the band and Ray Sawyer's slackened vocal style can be attained throughout the tracks, there isn't much substance filtering through the songs, as cuts like "Looking for Pussy," "If I'd Only Come and Gone," and "Get My Rocks Off" sound more like lewd jottings from a teenager than they do rock & roll tunes. "Carry Me Carrie" and "The Things I Didn't Say" come off as facetious attempts to rekindle some of the charm that came with their first single, but the band's efforts fall way short. "Queen of the Silver Dollar" is the album's only other redeemable track, but it's best heard in amongst a compilation along with "Cover of the Rolling Stone" than it is here, which means, for the most part, Sloppy Seconds can be deemed inessential. After this album, Dr. Hook added the Medicine Show to their name and, throughout the rest of the '70s and the early '70s, they garnered eight more Top 40 hits. Every one of them was of the mawkish, eased-back love song type though, a style the band wisely took advantage of.