Both Sides Live

Philadelphia’s Hooters delivered smooth, easy listening arena pop-rock during the 1980s, scoring several hits (“And We Danced,” “Nervous Night,” “All You Zombies”) that excited crowds looking to dance long into the Springsteen-inspired night. The group’s strict pop instincts made them radio favorites who never quite became the consistent mega-success their resumes and pedigrees suggested. (Producer Rick Chertoff, and singer-songwriters Rob Hyman and Eric Bazilian worked with Cyndi Lauper, Joan Osborne and Sophie B. Hawkins among their commercial successes). This 25-track collection begins with 13 cuts recorded in November 2007 during the band’s traditional Thanksgiving holiday concerts, with a slow, meditative cover of Don Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” being an unusual and unexpected highlight. The remaining 12 performances were culled from two “acoustic” sets (more like “less electric”) recorded in 2008 at Hyman’s Elm Street Studios in front of a small, attentive audience. The hits are all here in both “electric” and “acoustic” versions. The band always aims to please.