Hog Wild

Hank Williams, Jr. sure loves to have a good ol' time. He parties with his friends for "Monday Night Football," and rollicks with his buddies in just about any honky tonk that'll hold him. So, there's no reason to think that he would mellow out on an album entitled HOG WILD. There's some serious boisterousness going down on this disc. Hank himself sets the standard on the western-flavored "I Ain't Going Peacefully" when he says "Garth and Clint and Alan, them boys got it made/...tryin' to put me in the shade." There's also humor when he adds: "Garth said he's made more money...than his grandkids could ever spend/Well, my ex-wife spent what I had, that makes me one fightin' mad man..." In a cross-pollination of styles, one wonders if this is the kind of bravado that rappers are best known for. But Hank's not totally ornery; he does pay a sentimental tribute to an idol, Waylon Jennings. For the most part, though, snarlin' Hank takes his own special brand of rowdabilly over the top, and HOG WILD becomes a country album with something for everyone. Williams is still crying in his beer, singing odes to motorcycles, rednecks, music, fast cars, and faster women. Included is an upbeat remake of the country blues classic "Tobacco Road," a swinging "Greeted In Enid," which sounds like it's straight off a Bob Wills album, and a sleazy, slurpy "Wild Thing," performed by the man seemingly born to sing it.