Bulldog - Bulldog - 1973
By Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
Produced and played by drummer Dino Danelli and guitarist Gene Cornish of the Young Rascals, Bulldog's debut in 1972 opens with a heavy version of the Bobby Day number two hit from 1958, "Rockin' Robin," a performance which displays the strength and weakness of this ensemble. Bassist/lead vocalist Billy Hocher is a cross between Bob Tench of the Jeff Beck Group, Ian Lloyd of Stories, and Ralph Mormon of Savoy Brown. On tunes like "Juicin' With Lucy" and "Don't Blame It on Me," the singing becomes overbearing and a bit tedious, despite the journeyman abilities of the ex-Rascals producing this. Interesting that a band called Sweathog in 1971 had a hit with "Hallelujah" and a sound similar to Bulldog. Also worthy of note is that little Michael Jackson took "Rockin' Robin" back to number two nationally the same year this album was released, 1972. There is a real gem here in the song "No," a minor hit in some regions of the country that was written by Hocher and keyboardist John Turi. It suffered the same fate as Stories' excellent "I'm Coming Home," their 1972 almost-hit which is quite similar in sound and performance to Bulldog's "No." The Hocher/Turi songwriting team had some merit, with Billy Hocher's voice a bit more accessible on "You Underlined My Life" and "Have a Nice Day," both songs being somewhat pleasant and more refined than some of the other material here. John Turi gets to sing lead on the almost-funky version of Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business," featuring guitarists Eric Thorngren and Gene Cornish, who deliver a nice riff-rock sludge to augment Turi's boogie-woogie piano. Inevitable comparisons to the Rascals have the band falling short of what was accomplished when Cornish and Danelli performed with Eddie Brigati and Felix Cavaliere. "Parting People Should Be Good Friends" is nice British pop, and that style of radio-friendly songwriting and structure is where this band shines. It's just that the pop sensibilities are offset by the attempted blues of a song like "Good Times Are Comin'," which, unfortunately, holds this album back. Six years later, Gene Cornish and Dino Danelli would form Fotomaker with Wally Bryson of the Raspberries and a lineup similar to the Rascals. Though superior to Bulldog, the problem there as well was that a creative force like Eric Carmen or Felix Cavaliere was missing. The verdict is quite simple -- these energies put into more albums by the Rascals over these lost years is what the fans would have appreciated. Were that the case, "No" might have gotten a huge yes on the charts.
1. Rockin' Robin
2. No
3. Juicin' With Lucy
4. Don't Blame It On Me
5 You Underlined My Life
6. Have A Nice Day
7. Too Much Monkey Business
8. Parting People Should Be Good Friends
9. Good Times Are Comin'
10. I'm A Madman
Dino Danelli - Drums
Eric Thorngren , Gene Cornish - Guitar
Billy Hocher - Vocals, Bass
John Turi - Vocals, Keyboards
+@320
