Hog Heaven - Hog Heaven (1971)

Artist: Hog Heaven Album: Hog Heaven Release: 1971 Genre: Psychedelic Bitrate: 256 File Size: 68.9 MB ============================================================== Track List: 1. Hog Heaven - Wilma Mae (3:24) 2. Hog Heaven - Glass Room (4:08) 3. Hog Heaven - Bumpin' Slapcar Mama (2:07) 4. Hog Heaven - Prayer (2:18) 5. Hog Heaven - Happy (6:44) 6. Hog Heaven - Pennsylvania (3:31) 7. Hog Heaven - Come Away (7:00) 8. Hog Heaven - We All Go Down (4:14) 9. Hog Heaven - Theme From A Thought (3:42) ============================================================== When Tommy James went solo in 1970, Shondells Mike Vale (bass-vocals) and Pete Lucia (drums-vocals) formed Hog Heaven along with Ron Rosman (keyboards-vocals) and Eddie Gray (guitar). The group recorded this, their only album, before retreating back to Pittsburgh PA, where they had started. The first mistake was not to call this band the Shondells, since that is who this band is and was. The second lapse was that they named the group and the album Hog Heaven, as dreadful a moniker as Lee Michael's drummer Frosty's group, Sweathog, who appeared around the same time. OK, so Peter Lucia came along to co-write "Wilma Mae" after Mike Vale and the boys cut "Fanny Mae" on the second Shondells album, but Lucia rode the wave during the heyday and co-wrote some Shondells album tracks. While Tommy James was producing Alive 'n' Kickin' or playing with Elvis Presley's bandmates, one would think his former musicians would want to prove their value and flex some musical muscle. Covering and co-writing a tune like "Bumpin' Slapcar Mama" was not the kind of work which could compete with Tommy James' gospel masterpiece "I'm Comin' Home" or "Draggin' the Line," both of which charted. James is not even mentioned on the various thank yous -- quite conspicuous in his absence (Peter Lucia showed up in 1976 to sing on James' In Touch album, though). The album opens with a blues rocker that could be considered watered-down Sweathog, so maybe the similarity in names wasn't a coincidence. That is not the direction ex-Shondells should be taking. "Glass Room" has more personality; it is psychedelic, with Peter Lucia's voice showing considerably more prowess than ex-members of Alice Cooper or Mott the Hoople could ever muster. It is when the band floats into a country bag that they really lose their way, and "Bumpin' Slapcar Mama" is very out of place here. Not as charming as "I'll Fix Your Flat Tire, Merle," which Big Brother & the Holding Company gave the world when they found themselves without Janis Joplin. "Prayer" is interesting, maybe because it is emulating what Tommy James did on both his Christian of the World and My Head, My Bed and My Red Guitar albums: a little gospel and a little country. The big difference is that James knew enough to separate the two, and despite this song's pretty and musical approach, Hog Heaven shifts gears three times in four songs. Change that total when you get to the almost seven-minute-long "Happy"; the quasi-reggae basement rock sound completely swipes Mickey & Sylvia's "Love Is Strange" and is further evidence that the band was dabbling with sounds and not knowing where to go. Without a strong enough personality or driving force, they didn't get the opportunity to stretch and make their mark. Tommy James, on the other hand, had no such dilemma; his solo efforts were fully focused and remain an underappreciated body of work. His presence on Hog Heaven is sorely missed, as his ex-bandmates drift from the boogie sound of "Pennsylvania" to the long ballad "Come Away." "Come Away" sounds like it was lifted off the third Velvet Underground album, which is certainly a step in the right direction. Had Mike Vale and Peter Lucia explored the possibilities they play with in the songs "Glass Room" and "Come Away," they would have had a more cohesive and articulate rock statement. Despite their myriad flaws, the ex-Shondells surpass the efforts of other groups who lost their focal point, most notably the Spiders From Mars (ex-Bowie) and Flint (ex-Grand Funk). ================================================================

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