Brian Hyland - Rockin’ Folk/The Joker Went Wild

Ginny man grows up

Though Hyland apparently would like to have recorded Rockin’ Folk in Nashville to add a country edge, the crisp New York production using rock/pop session guys gives an attractive sheen to the first album here. Everglades is a striking opener, even if the reverb on Hyland’s voice is almost too much. He handles songs such as Rock Island Line, Blowing In The Wind, Cash’s Going To Memphis and a drum-heavy Silver Threads & Golden Needles pretty well, and the whole album was satisfying enough for the 1965 folk-rock days. By contrast, the second album, 1966’s The Joker Went Wild, is pure mid-60s West Coast pop. Produced by Snuff Garrett, Hyland’s voice sits easily in the Gary Lewis & The Playboys mould that Snuff had perfected. The vibes-punctuated title track is a standout, as is the big mid-tempo, almost Spectorish, production and falsetto wails of One Night Jimmy and Run Run Look & See, with the latter scoring a healthy-sized US hit for Hyland at the time. Two relatively obscure albums that will attract many 60s fans.

BGO | BGOCD 758

Reviewed by Kingsley Abbott
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