Better Than This (Checkered Past, 1999)
Hadacol
Reviewed by Brian Baker
That irony isn't lost on the Fred and Greg Wickham, who named their alt.-country/loose rock quartet after Hank's intoxicating cure and frequently sound as though they've been judiciously swilling the stuff. While they were at it, they took a crack at creating the sound of Steve Earle fronting The Replacements while listening to his Neil Young collection. When Hadacol's Bottle Rockets/Earle/Westerberg qualities surface, they are unstoppable, especially on the rave-up "Big Tornado" and the snarling break-up ode "What You Wanted." On "Somebody Lied," the Wickhams do a fair impression of alt.-country brothers Chip and Tony Kinman, as Hadacol steams into Rank and File mode. On "Poorer Than Dead," all of their influences are brought to bear on a song that John Prine would be proud to call his own, and "Rebel Boys" is so purely Earle, he should cover it.
Hadacol has the right rock/country stuff. Their execution is accomplished enough to impress, slack enough to give it edge and attitude. They are among the best that the genre has to offer. A powerful debut.
©Country Standard Time • Jeffrey B. Remz, editor & publisher • countrystandardtime@gmail.com
About • Copyright • Newsletter • Our sister publication Standard Time