Formed in 1968 by onetime members of LA’s Leaves, The Hook were one of the first power trios to start working similar blues-based territory mapped out by Cream and The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Well connected to the Vox amplifier company, they were, by all accounts, loud and gutsy on the West Coast ballroom circuit – though such power doesn’t always translate well on this, their first album.
The group’s driving force was undoubtedly guitarist Bobby Arlin, whose attacking playing utilised many of the new studio effects that had become available, with the rhythm section giving him a frame to climb around. The band weren’t averse to the odd quiet moment either, as with Everything’s Groovy and the somewhat incongruous addition of a glockenspiel on You Know I Do.
By the time of their second album, The Hook had added a keyboardist, fleshing out their sound and making a move towards funkier material the likes of standout tracks You’re Looking Fine and A Beautiful Tomorrow. This reissue package is completed with both sides of a collectable 1969 single that adds brass to further increase the power and underline the group’s soul/rock crossover credentials.
