Hanky Panky (The The album)

Hanky Panky is the fifth studio album by English band The The, released on 14 February 1995.[2][3] It consists of cover versions of country singer Hank Williams' songs.[4][5] It reached No. 28 on the UK Albums Chart.[6] Matt Johnson intended Hanky Panky to be the first of many albums he would record covering the work of iconic musicians.[7] Johnson provided the liner notes to Alone and Forsaken, a compilation of Williams demos that was also released in 1995.[8]

Hanky Panky
Studio album by
The The
Released14 February 1995
RecordedThe War Room, Pittsburgh
Label550 Music/Epic[1]
ProducerMatt Johnson, Bruce Lampcov
The The chronology
Solitude
(1993)		 Hanky Panky
(1995)		 Gun Sluts
(1997)

Production

Johnson originally planned to record an EP, and then a standard tribute album, with many musicians interpreting songs, before settling on an album of covers.[9] Eric Schermerhorn played guitar on the album.[10] Some songs contain only voice and harmonium.[11] The band was more interested in retaining the meaning of the songs rather than producing musical copies of them.[12] "Your Cheatin' Heart" was performed in a rockabilly style.[13]

Critical reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[14]
Calgary HeraldA[15]
Chicago Tribune[16]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[17]
The Indianapolis Star[11]
Orlando Sentinel[10]
USA Today[18]
Vancouver Sun[12]

Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Johnson internalizes Williams' '50s despair and coughs it up as modernist melancholy."[17] Trouser Press called the album "a tour de force tribute," writing that it "might have sunk to self-conscious gimmickry in less perceptive hands, but Johnson makes it work beautifully."[19] The Chicago Tribune stated that it "drones with the overmiked rasp, sometime monotonous echo, and bluesy guitars that are The The's trademark."[16]

The Independent determined that, "mostly, Hanky Panky demonstrates a misapprehension of Williams's art, the greatness of which lies, in part, in his ability to disguise darkness and loneliness in redemptively light settings."[20] The Guardian noted that "gloomy rock replaces the original relaxed melodies, and Johnson's baritone evokes only one colour from Hank's mixed palette of emotions."[21] The Calgary Herald concluded that "as has happened with the blues and rock in the '60s, it's taken a Brit to unearth the spirit, the soul, the songs of Hank Williams."[15]

Track listing

All tracks by Hank Williams; arrangements/re-arrangements by Matt Johnson and D. C. Collard

  1. "Honky Tonkin'"
  2. "Six More Miles"
  3. "My Heart Would Know"
  4. "If You'll Be A Baby To Me"
  5. "I'm A Long Gone Daddy"
  6. "Weary Blues From Waitin'"
  7. "I Saw the Light"
  8. "Your Cheatin' Heart"
  9. "I Can't Get You Off of my Mind"
  10. "There's a Tear in My Beer"
  11. "I Can't Escape from You"

Personnel

References
  1. Campbell, Chuck (3 March 1995). "Band resurrects Hank Williams with a twist". Detours. Knoxville News Sentinel. p. 6.
  2. "The The Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic.
  3. Dafoe, Chris (28 January 1995). "Hank Williams and The The make strange disc mates". The Globe and Mail. p. C11.
  4. "The The's Matt Johnson". MTV News.
  5. Morse, Steve (7 October 1994). "MATT DOES HANK". Living. The Boston Globe. p. 66.
  6. "THE THE | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com.
  7. Niester, Alan (March 1995). "One of the more bizarre and surprising tribute albums...". Saturday Night. 110 (2): 66.
  8. "HOW POP MUSIC PAYS HOMAGE TO ITSELF". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 14 April 1995. p. 16E.
  9. Davidson, Neil (23 February 1995). "Hanky Panky dark tribute to Williams". Ottawa Citizen. p. D9.
  10. Gettelman, Parry (17 March 1995). "THE THE". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 11.
  11. Miley, Scott L. (24 February 1995). "When The The meets Hank, good good stuff happens". The Indianapolis Star. p. D5.
  12. Monk, Katherine (23 March 1995). "THE THE Hanky Panky". Vancouver Sun. p. C8.
  13. Nash, Alanna (March 1995). "Popular music — Hanky Panky by The The". Stereo Review. 60 (3): 90.
  14. AllMusic review
  15. Muretich, James (5 March 1995). "RECENT RELEASES". Calgary Herald. p. C2.
  16. Webber, Brad (16 February 1995). "Recordings". Tempo. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  17. "Hanky Panky". EW.com.
  18. Zimmerman, David (17 March 1995). "COUNTRY". USA Today. p. 10D.
  19. "The The". Trouser Press. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  20. Gill, Andy (10 February 1995). "Tribute albums and tribulations". MUSIC/POP. The Independent. p. 26.
  21. Spencer, Neil (12 February 1995). "THE THE Hanky Panky". The Observer Review Page. The Guardian. p. 16.
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