It begins with a wannabe disco dance song, as much a parody as it is a cash-in, which kind of explains where Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show were in 1975. A few years removed from "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," the bandmembers were happy to do anything that would keep them on the charts, so they did a bit of disco, a little bit of SoCal studio boogie, a little bit of soft rock for the ladies, and a little bit of stoner humor for their core fans. There are a lot of dope jokes here -- chief among them "I Got Stoned and I Missed It" -- but the levity of "Levitate," "Everybody's Makin' It Big But Me," and "Do Downs" all qualify, as does "Everybody Loves Me" -- which begins with "everybody must be on drugs in this town" -- so the whole thing feels a little bit loose-limbed, not just in its intent but in its delivery. Compared to Belly Up! this certainly has a stronger sense of funk and that's to be welcomed: the group manages to retain its nastiness while telegraphing its professionalism. That gives Bankrupt a true sense of period -- the group is looking to sell out, not buy in -- and that fits a band that, from the beginning, was happy to grasp any opportunity that came its way. Even now, four albums into their career, they're happy to do anything that will keep them on the charts, and even if they didn't really have anything that fit this time around, the way Dr. Hook patronized both the mainstream and counterculture makes Bankrupt something special. It begins with a wannabe disco dance song, as much a parody as it is a cash-in, which kind of explains where Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show were in 1975. A few years removed from "The Cover of the Rolling Stone," the bandmembers were happy to do anything that would keep them on the charts, so they did a bit of disco, a little bit of SoCal studio boogie, a little bit of soft rock for the ladies, and a little bit of stoner humor for their core fans. There are a lot of dope jokes here -- chief among them "I Got Stoned and I Missed It" -- but the levity of "Levitate," "Everybody's Makin' It Big But Me," and "Do Downs" all qualify, as does "Everybody Loves Me" -- which begins with "everybody must be on drugs in this town" -- so the whole thing feels a little bit loose-limbed, not just in its intent but in its delivery. Compared to Belly Up! this certainly has a stronger sense of funk and that's to be welcomed: the group manages to retain its nastiness while telegraphing its professionalism. That gives Bankrupt a true sense of period -- the group is looking to sell out, not buy in -- and that fits a band that, from the beginning, was happy to grasp any opportunity that came its way. Even now, four albums into their career, they're happy to do anything that will keep them on the charts, and even if they didn't really have anything that fit this time around, the way Dr. Hook patronized both the mainstream and counterculture makes Bankrupt something special. false 2022-06-03 14:44:10 6 1998 1998-01-01 1998-01-01 3 Pop 114562 2132003 692e7627-027a-4a4b-909c-2016bd5805a1 89ad4ac3-39f7-470e-963a-56509c546377 6fe84e2c-ce0c-4df5-b163-ba146b7acaf9 /media/data/media4/Music/Dr. Hook/Bankrupt/folder.jpg Loggins & Messina Various Artists 1 8 02:48 Dr. Hook & the Medicine Show (shortened to Dr. Hook in 1975) is an American rock band, formed in Union City, New Jersey. The band had commercial success in the 1970s with hit singles "Sylvia's Mother", "The Cover of 'Rolling Stone'" (both 1972), "Only Sixteen" (1975), "A Little Bit More" (1976), "Sharing the Night Together" (1978), "When You're in Love with a Beautiful Woman" (1979) and "Better Love Next Time" (1979). In addition to its own material, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show performed songs written by the poet Shel Silverstein. The band had eight years of hits in the United States. Its music, spanning acoustic ballads, and soft rock, was played on Top 40, easy listening, and country music outlets throughout the English-speaking world. After 1975, the band recorded under the name Dr. Hook.