Great Rock Albums of 1988: Georgia Satellites- Open All Night

A term which has been brandished around in the music world, I’ve been know to use it as well, is the ‘sophmore jinx.’ The term relates to bands who have great debut albums but their second album doesn’t live up to the hype created by the first one. Could this be said about the Georgia Satellites’ second album, “Open All Night?” Their debut album turned a lot of heads in their direction and gave them their best known hit, “Battleship Chains.” So, was the second album affected by the sophmore jinx? Some so-called critics thought so but I didn’t.

One thing no one can deny about “Open All Night,” is that the band definitely had a lot of fun recording it. That can be said throughout the album. The title cut opens and it’s good enough to hold interest but it’s the second track which is the song of the album, “Sheila.” They definitely put much fun into this one. I don’t know who Sheila is but the playing is brilliant, especially the guitar solo from Rick Richards.

One ‘critic’ called the cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis classic, “Whole Lotta Shakin'” a misstep on the album. True, Jerry’s version cannot be topped, although I would put it out for an “Original vs. Cover” post if anyone wants to hear it for themselves but the Georgia Satellites version definitely does the song much justice. I think Jerry Lee would have given it the thumbs up. The other cover is of a Beatles’ rarity, (actually, I discovered the song on the Beatles 1980 “Rarities” album), “Don’t Pass Me By” which was written by Ringo. Again, they totally rock the song out and make it theirs.

Speaking about a rock out, “Cool Inside” definitely does that! This is the rockingest song on the album and Richards delivers some great guitar solos on it. I could call this one the hidden gem as it appears, “Sheila” was the one released as a single. However, the second half of the album isn’t quite as good as the first. Don’t get me wrong, the songs are still good and the band has lots of fun playing and singing them and I find “Dunk and Dine” particularly amusing. It’s about a girl who works in a fast food establishment. “Mon Cheri” is rather amusing and proves that the band had a sense of humour and “Down and Down” has a cool opening riff. The album closes with the ballad, “Hand to Mouth,” which isn’t bad but I’m not sure if Dan Baird’s voice is suited to it.

Track Listing:

1. Open All Night
2. Sheila
3. Whole Lotta Shakin’
4. Cool Inside
5. Don’t Pass Me By
6. My Baby
7. Mon Cheri
8. Down and Down
9. Dunk and Dine
10. Baby So Fine
11. Hand to Mouth

Georgia Satellites

Dan Baird- vocals, guitar

Rick Richards- guitar, vocals

Rick Price- bass

Mauro Magellan- drums

The question here is, can a band have fun making an album and be successful at the same time? In the case of “Open All Hours,” the critics would answer, “no.” For them, the album didn’t get past the sophmore jinx but for me, I love this album and don’t care what the critics think.

Next post: George Thorogood- Born to Be Bad

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