Performer Notes

The The: Matt Johnson (vocals, electric guitar, bass, tambourine); Eric Schermerhorn (acoustic, electric & slide guitars); Gentleman Jim Fitting (harmonica); D.C. Collard (melodica, piano, organ, harmonium); "Hollywood" Dorsey (bass); Reverend MacLeod (drums).
Additional personnel: Bruce Lampcov, Nick Hunt (tambourine).
Includes liner notes by Matt Johnson.
Personnel: Matt Johnson (vocals, electric guitar, trombone, tambourine); Eric Schermerhorn (guitar, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, slide guitar); Jim Fitting (harmonica); Dave Collard (melodica, piano, harmonium, organ); Nick Hunt, Bruce Lampcov (trombone, tambourine); Hollywood Dorsey (bass guitar); Brian Macleod , MacLeod (drums).
Audio Mixer: Bruce Lampcov.
Recording information: War Room [live].
Photographer: John Sleeman.
Arrangers: Dave Collard; Matt Johnson .
Released in 1995, HANKY PANKY is an album made up entirely of Hank Williams covers. Though this might seem something of an odd choice for The The, in practice it actually makes sense. Like Williams before him, Matt Johnson has devoted his career to examining the guilt and longing within his own soul; either songwriter could easily have written sentiments like "My lips could tell a lie, but my heart would know."
HANKY PANKY is definitely not a country album, however. Each track has been reinterpreted, and though there's a stray country lick or two, these versions are much closer to rock & roll that even Williams may have liked--for proof, check out the heavy-duty guitars on "I'm a Long Gone Daddy." Highlights include the aforementioned track, a crunching version of "I Saw the Light" which features a mean harmonica wail, and Johnson's utterly heartfelt delivery of "There's a Tear In My Beer," a song that, in lesser hands, could easily descend into camp parody. Though not a typical The The album, HANKY PANKY is nonetheless a fascinating document.

Professional Reviews

Entertainment Weekly (2/17/95, p.58) - "...covering a disc's worth of Hank Williams songs, [Matt] Johnson internalizes Williams' '50s despair and coughs it up as modernist melancholy..." - Rating: B+

Q (3/95, p.104) - 3 Stars - Good - "...A bold and listenable experiment that, in its liberties taken, honours the strength of those deathless songs."

Alternative Press (3/95, p.68) - "...The The have created a real tribute to the man who recorded some of the most intensely `heartfelt' songs ever in his short career. There's very little country or blues in The The's take on Williams, but they show that it's the song not the singer that makes the tune..."

Album: Hanky Panky
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Honky Tonkin'
2)	Six More Miles
3)	My Heart Would Know
4)	If You'll Be a Baby to Me
5)	I'm a Long Gone Daddy
6)	Weary Blues from Waitin'
7)	I Saw the Light
8)	Your Cheatin' Heart
9)	I Can't Get You off of My Mind
10)	There's a Tear in My Beer
11)	I Can't Escape from You

Album: Hanky Panky
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Honky Tonkin'
2)	Six More Miles
3)	My Heart Would Know
4)	If You'll Be a Baby to Me
5)	I'm a Long Gone Daddy
6)	Weary Blues from Waitin'
7)	I Saw the Light
8)	Your Cheatin' Heart
9)	I Can't Get You off of My Mind
10)	There's a Tear in My Beer
11)	I Can't Escape from You