Derringer sweet Evil Cd

BGO's 2004 release of Derringer's Derringer/Sweet Evil combines the first two albums by the diminutive axe-wielder Rick Derringer's eponymous band. Derringer was released in 1976, Sweet Evil in 1977. Neither record made much of a splash and it is easy to see why. While the songs are borderline catchy, they are very simple (both in construction and production) and unadorned by little things like hooks and good vocals.

Derringer has a thin and not very expressive voice that can't really carry the day. His guitar solos are pretty run of the mill as well. Derringer is the stronger of the two records, probably due in part to the presence of Cynthia Weil's (of the legendary Mann/Weil songwriting team) help in the songwriting department.

Let Me In and You Can Have Me are strong straight-ahead rockers with one foot in the glam rock camp; Comes a Woman is a tough ballad that features some excellent guitar work. The only glaring misstep is the disco track, Envy, which shows how wide-ranging disco's net was cast. It also shows that not everyone was suited to try his hand at it.

Sweet Evil is a little more produced (Jack Douglas of Cheap Trick is behind the boards), but the songs aren't as strong. Tunes like Keep On Makin' Love and One-Eyed Jack are rudimentary and boring, and no amount of hot guitar soloing can save them. The record sounds like Joe Walsh outtakes and makes a good case for Derringer sticking with a career as a sideman.

Both records also show a distressing drop in quality from his previous two solo albums. ~ Tim Sendra