One Way Home by The Hooters

One Way Home, the Hooters' third album, came out on Columbia in July 1987, and it's the sound of a Philadelphia band that had been around the world and came home with its suitcases stuffed. More than two years on the road had handed Eric Bazilian, Rob Hyman and company new instruments and fresh ideas, and the record swerves away from Nervous Night accordingly, the rock, reggae, ska and folk blend they'd been brewing since 1980 opening onto a wider, dustier horizon.

The road is all over it. "Karla with a K" grew out of jamming on the road through Louisiana and was sparked by an Irish street singer they met in New Orleans. "Washington's Day" got its music from Bazilian and Hyman on tour and its words from Rick Chertoff and their old Arista friend Willie Nile. Listen for the Beatles' "Taxman" riff sneaking into the title track. "Johnny B" hit in Europe, and "Satellite" finally broke them wide open there.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.