You can trust Louder Our experienced team has worked for some of the biggest brands in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our experts aim to create reviews you can trust. Find out more about how we review.
Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo
Joy Ride
Teenage Queen
Cheap Tequila
Uncomplicated
Hold
The Airport Giveth (The Airport Taketh Away)
Teenage Love Affair
It's Raining
Time Warp
Slide On Over Slinky
Jump, Jump, Jump
Rick Derringer was the Alex Chilton-style teen prodigy – he was 17 when he sang The McCoys’ 1965 US No.1 Hang On Sloopy – who managed to forge a successful 70s career. Looking like a hard rock David Cassidy, he could have been a pop star but he had other plans, like being a blistering guitar-slinger for hire on a lot of your favourite records by Steely Dan, Todd Rundgren, Alice Cooper and Johnny and Edgar Winter.
He was more than just a flashy sidekick, though, as his solo debut All American Boy (1973) proved. An underappreciated gem, this time Derringer was the centre of attention with the illustrious guests (Joe Walsh, David Bromberg), and it’s a measure of his ability to straddle the cool/commercial divide that it featured both Suzi Quatro and a co-write with Patti Smith (the fab Hold).
His strongest collection, it ranged from his biggest hit, the hardkicking boogie of Rock And Roll, Hoochie Coo, to lachrymose tongue-in-cheek ballad The Airport Giveth (The Airport Taketh Away).
Every week, Album of the Week Club listens to and discusses the album in question, votes on how good it is, and publishes our findings, with the aim of giving people reliable reviews and the wider rock community the chance to contribute.
Other albums released in October 1973
- For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night - Caravan
- Goodbye Yellow Brick Road - Elton John
- These Foolish Things - Bryan Ferry
- Cyan - Three Dog Night
- Selling England by the Pound - Genesis
- Moondog Matinee - The Band
- Mystery to Me - Fleetwood Mac
- Time Fades Away - Neil Young
- Wake of the Flood - Grateful Dead
- Live in Europe - Creedence Clearwater Revival
- Montrose - Montrose
- Hat Trick - America
- Pin Ups - David Bowie
- Quadrophenia - The Who
- Frampton's Camel - Peter Frampton
- Suzi Quatro - Suzi Quatro
- Ashes Are Burnin - Renaissance
- At the Rainbow - Focus
- Full Sail - Loggins and Messina
- Gone Crazy - Grin
- Inside Out - John Martyn
- The Joker - Steve Miller Band
- Laid Back - Gregg Allman
- Marjory Razorblade - Kevin Coyne
- Nine - Fairport Convention
- On the Road - Traffic
- Please Don't Ever Change - Brinsley Schwarz
- Sweet Revenge - John Prine
- Takin' My Time - Bonnie Raitt
What they said...
"This is simply Rick Derringer's most focused and cohesive album, a marvellous blend of rockers, ballads, and atmospheric instrumentals. Joe Walsh helps out on a couple of tracks, but mostly it's Derringer's show – multi-instrumental virtuosity in a number of styles. Consider this one of the great albums of the 70s that fell between the cracks." (AllMusic)
"Dumb, dumb rock, and oh so competent. Which is OK by me, but it shelters such pretensions. Certainly The Stooges would never get caught publishing lyrics like these on the back cover." (Tom Hull in Student Life, 1974)
"Hold is a ballad with strings and backing vocalists, closer to Elton John than Johnny Winter; the most interesting thing about it is a lyric composed by a then-unknown Patti Smith. Slide On Over Slinky is another powerful rocker with an interesting riff and, again, great slide work from the guy who was once told by Duane Allman that he had been one of his inspirations for putting the Coricidin tube on his finger." (Guitars Exchange)
What you said...
Gary Claydon: Rick Derringer did some fine and varied session work but did he cut it as a 'solo' artist? Judging by the evidence of All American Boy (widely regarded as his best solo album) the answer is probably not. Take away Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo and what you're left with is too poppy, too soppy, just too lightweight. Did somebody say keep on rockin'? Unfortunately, that's exactly what All American Boy doesn't do. To be honest, the only Derringer album I would bother with is Derringer Liv' which pulls tracks from his first three albums. It's very far from perfect but it gives the songs a bit of a harder edge that's sadly lacking in the studio versions.
Gus Schultz: If one bought this album based on Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo, I think they would be a little disappointed as I was. Written for Johnny Winter when Derringer's old band The McCoys were his backing band and it certainly is an anomaly on this record. The rest is a mix of poppy teenage type of fare that was popular at the time. There's a lot of talent on the LP and a popular producer to boot, but the magic just didn't seem to materialize. Derringer was more of a journeyman, writing, playing and collaborating with other artists. I enjoy the LP more now than I did when I was younger, but it's a rare sight on my turntable, but on those occasions it is, Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo gets the 11 treatment.
Henry Martinez: Aside from the obvious Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo, this Derringer LP kinda defines what he would become - a nice complementary player for others. His solo on Chain Lightning for Steely Dan is a quick bluesy dream, and he saved one of his all-time best solos for (of all acts) Air Supply on Making Love Out Of Nothing At All. Some things never quite got off the ground, like DNA with Carmine Appice in the '80s, but he was indispensable for making Weird Al's run of classic parodies listenable. In the end, the All-American Boy just didn't translate as a solo artist. (3.0/10)
Philip Qvist: Although Hang On Sloopy and Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo are both familiar to me, I have never really felt the inclination to find out more about the artist who performed both songs. Yes, I had heard of Rick Derringer but he was another one of those artists who never really interested me, and one that clearly was nowhere near my musical orbit.
After listening to All American Boy, I don't think I have missed much. It's not bad but it's just plain beige and uneventful - and having the likes of Edgar Winter and Joe Walsh on this album hardly made a difference.
It has a couple of decent tracks like the aforementioned Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo, but it's really a forgettable album that I won't be listening to in a hurry again.
Chris Elliott: I vaguely knew the name but couldn't really place it before this week. Having read his Wikipedia entry I'm not much wiser. The album's utterly forgettable. I have however learned that Sloopy's hangin' on... I always thought it was Snoopy.
John Davidson: I'd heard of Rick Derringer but couldn't have named a song by him before this week and by next week I suspect it'll be the same.
There's nothing not to like about All American Boy, but there's nothing especially memorable going on either.
As both a guitarist and singer i feel Derringer lacks presence rather than talent.
Maybe he was 10 years too early. A song like Uncomplicated would have done well amidst the glam revival/ hair metal scene in the mid-80s.
That said, the album is all over the place in terms of tone and vision. You have rock (Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo, Slide On Over), sappy ballads (Hold, The Airport Giveth (The Airport Taketh Away)), power pop/glam (Uncomplicated, Teenage Love Affair) and syrupy country (Teenage Queen). Far from being a showcase for his diverse tastes and talent, it's just a mess, albeit a broadly listenable one.
Greg Schwepe: So, while I was completely familiar with Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo, I had never listened to this or any Rick Derringer album in full. And I quickly found out that I had been missing some great early 70s rock.
Listening to the opening salvo of Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo, I realized what a great guitar player Derringer is. And hey, we already knew that, right? But the riffs and hooks just kept pouring out of the song.
The brief acoustic-tinged instrumental Joy Ride, leads to Teenage Queen, and with the instrumentation; keyboards and strings, this just screams '1970s' to me… and that’s why it’s so good. The perfect vibe.
Cheap Tequila and Uncomplicated also are riff-filled rockers. And Hold has more of those strings that just transport me back.
The tongue-in-cheek The Airports Giveth (The Airport Taketh Away) tells how that big 747 can take you to that special person, then take you away. Kind of goofy, but I totally get the sentiment.
Overall, for me, this is just a great collection of songs, even if they all don’t rock out like the opener. Knowing only Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo, and Derringer’s guitar work on the Winter brothers' albums, I had no idea that All American Boy would be filled with these songs. I kind of thought Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo was the draw and the rest was filler. Boy, was I wrong!
As a side note, Derringer has carved a place for himself here in the state of Ohio, where he was born. As a member of McCoys, he gave us Hang On Sloopy, which is played at a strategic time at each and every sporting event at The Ohio State University, and it’s a big deal when it’s played. Nice to hear Rick Derringer’s other output and that it has a big impact too. 8 out of 10 on this one for me.
Adam Ranger: This album starts strong with Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo (terrible title), a nice slice of American radio-friendly rock. Sadly for me, the rest of the album does not live up to that standard.
There are a couple of nice pub-rock grooves, but most of this album is composed of syrupy soft rock and pop that does nothing for me at all. There are two nice instrumentals that show the band's chops. but I won't be replaying this album again. Mostly forgettable.
Mike Canoe: All American Boy actually reminds me a lot of They Only Come Out at Night, the album by the Edgar Winter Group that Rick Derringer played on and produced the previous year, in that neither the album cover nor the biggest song matches the rest of the album.
I offer the tepid compliment of it's fine for what it is but when the lead-off track is Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo and songs like The Airport Giveth (The Airport Taketh Away), Hold, and Teenage Queen, sound like they could have been on early Eagles albums, there is a bit of a disconnect. The appearance, then, of Eagles' super producer, Bill Szymczyk, is no surprise.
The only songs that come close to matching the first song's fever are Slide On Over Slinky and the instrumental Time Warp. I also like the, ummm, pro-suicide(?) ballad, Jump, Jump, Jump, just because it's so unexpected.
From what I've read, the "too glam for the Heartland" album cover may have contributed to the album's lack of success. I would add that if an actual all-American boy was brave enough to buy it, it didn't rock hard enough for word of mouth to spread.
Steve Pereira: The album hasn't impressed. It's rather simple soft-wash pop and cliched pop-rock of little interest. Listenable stuff, but, like most pop, instantly forgettable. There's a mild Todd Rundgren feel to some of the songs and production - the pop side of Todd. And I was interested to see that Derringer had written one song with Patti Smith, Hold It is rather schmaltzy with an overdose of strings, though does have a curious blue-eyed soul appeal like early Hall & Oates.
I was also interested to note that Joe Walsh (indeed, his band Barnstorm) and Johnny Winter play on some tracks. But they don't make much of an impression.
I didn't know much about Derringer - the hit single, Rock And Roll, Hoochie Koo doesn't seem to have reached the charts in the UK. So I looked him up, and see that he sang on The Strangeloves's follow-up to I Want Candy, the bubblegum/garage rock piece of joy and fun Hang on Sloopy. The Strangeloves created a fake band, The McCoys, to promote the song. And it was a wonderful piece of sixties pop. I love that. And I love the promo film/video that was released to promote it. The teenage girl in t-shirt and denim shorts dancing to the song, and letting her hair down. There's a soft, sweet, sexual innocence to it all.
Derringer feels somewhat promoted as a good-looking young man - a sort of early boy band and teen pin-up. That probably has turned people away - certainly the album cover is pretty awful. There's nothing here that bites deep or satisfies, but it's a harmless piece of rock-pop and blue-eyed soul.
Final score: 6.23 (32 votes cast, total score 200)
Join the Album Of The Week Club on Facebook to join in. The history of rock, one album at a time.
