Genre: pop
Rating: 2 stars ***
Title: You've Got To Be Kiddin'
Company: Guinness
Catalog: GNS
36056
Year: 1977
Country/State: US
Grade (cover/record): VG+ / VG+
Comments: still in shrink wrap
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5800
Price: $250.00
This is easily one of the scarcest release on the infamous tax scam Guinness label. I've only seen to copies in 30 years of collecting and I've never seen a review on it.
1977's "You Got To Be Kiddin' Me" was produced by Lou Guarino (a name associated with lots of tax scam efforts), with all ten songs credited to namesake B.J. Hood (also the name of a famous confederate general). Musically the set had that distinctive mid-1970s feel, so this may have been a demo that somehow feel into Guinness' hands. Who knows. Whomever he was, Hood (also the name of a Confederate general) had a nice blue-eyed soul-styled voice that was quite versatile. Judging by the album, most of his material was fairly commercial, though with kind of an MOR-focus and a subtle religious feel ('Moses', the title track, and 'Ain't It Strange'), it wouldn't have a great deal of appeal to hard rock, psych, or progressive collectors. On the other hand it wasn't a bad set of pop.
- Save the cheesy 1970s synthesizers, 'Over Under' was a surprisingly nice pop ballad. Certainly better than the kind of crap Air Supply was peddling, this one spotlighted Hood's blue-eyed soul voice backed by some great harmony vocals. Imagine kind of an MOR version of 10cc's 'I'm Not in Love'. rating: *** stars
- 'Moses' was a strange track ... Mormon rock ??? Kind of a Gospel-rock effort, complete with an energetic female chorus that threatened to drown out Hood as he preached his way through a sermon of love, it's the only rock track I've ever heard that made mention of Brigham Young, John Brown, and Martin Luther King in the same song. rating: *** stars
- 'Richman, Poorman' wasn't a particularly good song; kind of a bland MOR ballad without much of a melody, but it served as a nice showcase for Hood's voice. The man had a great set of pipes. Sadly, on this one he came off as kind of anonymous, leaving the guitar solo as the standout featured. rating: *** stars
- Except for the interesting harpsichord, 'She Put the Love On Me' sounded like something Tom Jones might have recorded. rating: ** stars
- Opening up with an unexpectedly raw surf guitar, 'Living Long' was the toughest song on the first side. Curiously, the song didn't sound anything like the rest of the album. Very raw, the performance came off as an unfinished demo - singer, electric guitar, and acoustic bass. In fact, the vocal performance didn't sound all that much like the previous four songs. Might not have even been the same person for all I can tell. Regardless, it was my favorite song on side one. rating: **** stars
- Side two opened up with one of the more rock oriented performances. 'Ain't It Strange' was another one of those songs with a subtle religious message to it. Actually maybe this one was better described as social activism. No matter, the song sported a nice melody and some tasty mini-Moog and lead guitar. rating: **** stars
- Opening up with a tasty fuzz guitar figure (the song also sported one of the best fuzz solos I've ever heard), 'No Thank You' was easily the set's best song. The most rock oriented performance, it's a shame Hood didn't pursue the genre more often. Great track !!! rating: ***** stars
- The title track started out as an acoustic number before exploding into an overly produced sermon on society's ills and shortcomings. Trying to make his point, Hood became kind of screechy, making the song even more irritating. Nice allusion to the Fab Four, but the rest of the song didn't make much of an impression on me. rating: ** stars
- 'The Queen Is Dying' was another harpsichord number. Complete with sound effects, this one came off as kind of fey and pompous - imagine something along the lines of an abbreviated version of Richard Harris' 'MacArthur Park'. rating: ** stars
- 'It's All Gone Now' was a thoroughly dull and forgettable ballad. It was also the one song where Hood's voice wasn't very impressive. I don't know if he was uncomfortable in that particular key, or just disliked the song. Regardless it was a horrible way to end the album. rating: * star
Far from a great album, I'll be the first to admit the asking price on this one has nothing to do with musical quality, rather it's based on scarcity.
"You
Got To Be Kiddin' Me" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Over Under (B.J. Hood) - 2:50
2.) Moses (B.J. Hood) - 3:16
3.) Richman, Poorman (B.J. Hood) - 3:10
4.) She Put the Love On Me (B.J. Hood) - 2:40
5.) Living Long (B.J. Hood) - 3:04
(side 2)
1.) Ain't It Strange (B.J. Hood) - 2;46
2.) No Thank You (B.J. Hood) - 3:00
3.) You Got To be Kiddin' Me (B.J. Hood) - 3:19
4.) The Queen Is Dying (B.J. Hood) - 3:01
5.) It's All Gone Now (B.J. Hood) - 3:00