Rick Derringer

Wounded Bird's 2004 release of Spring Fever/Sweet Evil pairs Rick Derringer's second and fourth solo releases, from 1975 and 1977, respectively. Spring Fever is the more successful of the two records by far. Coming off the triumph that was his debut, All American Boy, Derringer sticks to his guns and delivers some hot rockers ("Gimme More," the rollicking "Still Alive and Well," the synth-laden "Rock"), poppier rockers ("Tomorrow," "Roll With Me"), and a couple of weird surprises: a recasting of the McCoys' (Derringer's first band) big hit "Hang On Sloopy" as a cod reggae dance track that -- against all odds -- works rather well in a silly way, as well as a moody and ominous take on Rufus Thomas' garage band staple "Walkin' the Dog," which features Derringer's rather tenuous falsetto but also some tough guitar slinging. The only song that falls flat is the jokey 12-bar jam "Skyscraper Blues," and it is still not terrible, just a little boring. Throughout the album, Derringer displays an impish charm vocally, a reckless approach to guitar, and an ear for a good hook. While not as strong as his debut, the record is about as good a straightforward rock release as you were liable to hear in 1975. It still sounds good 30 years later, too. All of which is sadly untrue of Sweet Evil, a bloated, tuneless disaster of a record. Tunes like "Keep On Makin' Love" and "One-Eyed Jack" are rudimentary and boring, and no amount of hot guitar soloing can save them -- nor does the slick and uninspired production by the usually reliable Jack Douglas of Cheap Trick renown. The record pretty much signaled the end of Derringer's short burst of good albums and comes off even worse when paired with Spring Fever. A better combination would be All American Boy and Spring Fever, as British label BGO realized and acted on in 2002. They later released Derringer's third album, Derringer, with Sweet Evil. Why Wounded Bird didn't follow their example for domestic audiences is a puzzler. If you can't track down the BGO release, this is worth buying just to get ahold of Spring Fever. ~ Tim Sendra, All Music Guide