TED HAWKINS HAPPY HOUR
Label Rounder 
Orig Year 1986
Format:Mp3@320


Ted Hawkins' second album follows the blend of his first-a few selections with a band, the rest solo or in duet-with equally stunning results. He wrote 10 of Happy Hour’s dozen songs, and each is full of undiminished spirit, his tattered hopes finding footing wherever they can. Hawkins' deeply moving songs and singing mix equal parts blues, R&B, and gospel. Most of these songs are powered by Hawkins' lone strummed guitar, its big, thick, and simple chords ringing out with pulsing urgency.

There's incredible beauty throughout Happy Hour. A number of songs feature harmony vocals sung by Hawkins' wife Elizabeth, and the couple's interplay adds an extra measure of beauty and melodic tension. These numbers are instantly likable and full of grace and wisdom.

Tracklist
1 Bad Dog
2 Happy Hour
3 Don't Make Me Explain It
4 The Constitution
5 My Last Goodbye
6 You Pushed My Head Away
7 Revenge of Scorpio
8 California Song
9 Cold and Bitter Tears
10 Gypsy Woman
11 Ain't That Pretty
12 One Hundred Miles


Personnel: Ted Hawkins (vocals, guitar); Elizabeth Hawkins (vocals); Dale Wilson , Night Train Clemons, Augie Brown (guitar); Johnny Greer (drums).[/color]

Recording information: Gary Denton Studio, Los Angeles, CA; Music Lab, Los Angeles, CA; Sage & Sound, Los Angeles, CA.