Rick Derringer - All American Boy

As a kid "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" was everything a rock and roll song needed to be. It was big, it was infectious and it was awesome, it had a lot of guitar. For many years this was all I needed to know about Rick Derringer. Then in the '80s I started seeing his name show up in weird places. Most notably "Weird" Al records.

Of course being a wrestling fan back in the day when the curtain hadn't been pulled back to reveal the true nature of the business, I watched in awe as Hulk Hogan entered the ring to Rick Derringer's "Real American" and I knew this was Rick Derringer because they were schilling Rocking Wrestling, or The Wrestling Album, I don't know what it was called, and looking it up mid sentence just seems like a lot of effort. I did know that Rick was involved and I found that weird, and cool at the same time.

Recently as I've been diving into a lot of records Rick's name kept popping up all over the place, from Bonnie Tyler, to Air Supply, and heck even the wonder geeks of impossible pop Steely Dan employed Mister Derringer for his prowess. I also figured out "Hang on Sloopy" by The McCoys  featured a young Rick Zehringer, which was kind of cool, although I had known that for a while, but it didn't stick.

All of this added to the mystique of Rick Derringer, and his debut album All American Boy was starting to look like a glaring omission in my collection. My friend, and uber music geek and a hell of a guitar player claimed this was one of the best albums to come out of the '70s. So I finally got this about a year ago, before I found my copies of Edgar Winter's live album Roadwork with an early version of "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" that was okay, but had very little of the magic Rick would capture on his debut solo release. The version recorded for All American Boy is undeniably on of the greatest rock and roll songs ever recorded. Full stop.

It's interesting that as confident a producer Rick was with others, he enlisted the help of Bill Szymcyk to help him with his debut. The second cut "Joyride" is an instrumental that serves as an extended introduction to  "Teenage Queen" a song that would have been at home on Joe Walsh's The Smoker You Drink, the Player You Get (also released in 1973) that was also produced by Mr. Szymczyk. "Teenage Queen" just happen to feature Joe Walsh on guitar. It's a really good song, and along with "Cheap Tequila" Rick was taking a page out of the early country-rock playbook before stepping back into his rock shoes with "Uncomplicated"  that again featured Joe Walsh, as well as Joe Vitale on drums, and Kenny Passarelli on bass. It's another really solid song, and frankly the only song on side one that really didn't click was the ballad "Hold" that was co-written by Patti Smith and featured Edgar Winter on piano. It's not a bad song, and honestly for 1973 this kind of R&B and soul infused music would become more prevalent as the '70s wore on. Maybe he was a bit ahead of the curve - or not. Hard to tell with an album that's now fifty years old.

Flipping the album over, Rick picks up where he left off with "The Airport Giveth (The Airport Taketh Away)" another slow song with Edgar Winter on piano, lamenting the life of a musician on the road. Although the best line is probably:

She watched me while I played
I watched the girls down in front

Okay, it certainly seems like I'm just jotting down notes as the songs pop up. "Teenage Love Affair" is good fun, somewhat generic '70s rock but I have to admit it's got a catchy hook. It's one of the many songs where Rick plays all the instruments except the drums. Those are handled by Bobby Caldwell who handles most of the groove throughout the album. It's followed by a quirky chromatic harmonica song that is okay, and frankly just adds to the range of styles Rick is playing with throughout the album, but it isn't a song I particularly liked. "Time Warp" is another instrumental song that benefits from a little extra organ goodness courtesy of Edgar Winter. Unfortunately "Slide on Over Slinky" is a song that doesn't work for me at all. I have nothing against a little bit o' sleeze but it just felt forced and boring. The album's closer "Jump. Jump. Jump" again features Edgar on keyboards, and the song features some stellar fret work, and the music is equal parts haunting and strangely joyous. The subject matter is downright dark:

I'm thinking ... of jumping off a bridge
Life has got me down
Can't think of one reason to live
I'll probably down

I wonder ... is anybody here
Or is this my private dream
It's time I pinched myself to see
It's such a scary, scary, scary - dream

This song is one I wasn't sure I cared for, but was drawn to. It's hard to think of this being from 1973, there's a timelessness to the arrangement, and the song is so crisp and the guitar playing to immediate it's night and day to the opening track. I'm assuming Edgar also played saxophone but he's not credited. Probably a simple omission.

This is a really great record, and the sheer depth and variety of music presented here is pretty cool. I'm still blown away by "Rock and Roll Hoochie Koo" but there are so many songs here that are worth hearing. Yeah, a couple of duds too, but in the context of the record it's okay. I'm also a really taken with the album's packaging too. I loved how the back cover was the lyrics and credits rolled into one. It makes for a great listening experience to  being able to read along, and see who played on the various tracks. I also thought the gatefold was cool and the poster of Rick wearing the silver gloves was very glam

I've read more than one review that calls this one of the '70s lost gems, and that may be true to an extent but those that know - know.