{"id":109197,"date":"2025-08-01T03:13:09","date_gmt":"2025-08-01T03:13:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/109197\/"},"modified":"2025-08-01T03:13:09","modified_gmt":"2025-08-01T03:13:09","slug":"the-swampers-legend-david-hoods-secret-life-with-alt-rock-icons-primal-scream-frank-black-and-the-waterboys","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/109197\/","title":{"rendered":"The Swampers legend David Hood’s secret life with alt-rock icons Primal Scream, Frank Black and The Waterboys"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Hood<\/a>, bassist with Muscle Shoals studio band The Swampers<\/a>, is legendary for his tasty playing on \u201860s and \u201870s tracks rooted in R&B. Etta James\u2019 sassy \u201cTell Mama.\u201d Staple Singers\u2019 sanctified \u201cI\u2019ll Take Your There.\u201d Paul Simon\u2019s quirky hit \u201cKodachrome.\u201d Bob Seger rock ballad \u201cMainstreet.\u201d Aretha Franklin\u2019s stirring \u201cCall Me.\u201d James Brown\u2019s disco detour \u201cIt\u2019s Too Funky In Here.\u201d There are scads of others. <\/p>\n

What\u2019s much less known is decades later alternative-rock icons called on Hood\u2019s soulful skills. Along with Swampers drummer Roger Hawkins<\/a>, he played on Glasgow band Primal Scream 1994 album \u201cGive Out but Don\u2019t Give Up.\u201d Primal Scream had broken through with 1991 album \u201cScreamadelica,\u201d boasting hip-shaking single \u201cMovin\u2019 On Up.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2018, Hood\u2019s son Patterson Hood, singer\/guitarist with Drive-By Truckers, told me<\/a>, \u201cThat album [\u2018Give Out but Don\u2019t Give Up\u2019], when it was done, it was a big deal. I was already a fan of Primal Scream, so I was really excited when Dad went to Memphis to go make that record. And then it ended up kind of this disastrous thing.\u201d <\/p>\n

In 2018, Primal Scream released another version of \u201cGive Out but Don\u2019t Give Up,\u201d which spawned nightcrawler single \u201cRocks,\u201d culled from the album\u2019s original Memphis sessions, helmed by Allman Brothers\/Derek and the Dominos producer Tom Dowd. <\/p>\n

Hood\u2019s talent shines on this version, a more organic soul-rock sound than the druggy, scattershot 1994 release, which was rerecorded in Los Angeles, with Black Crowes <\/a>producer George Drakoulias and Funkadelic legend George Clinton. <\/p>\n

In an interview with Record Collector magazine,<\/a> Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie said, \u201c\u201cWhen I heard them [the original Memphis sessions] again, I knew immediately they had to be released. They were clearly superior to what came out before.\u201d He added, \u201cWe made a cool record but lost sight of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hood was bassist on \u201cHoneycomb,\u201d the 2005 solo album by Pixies singer\/guitarist Black Francis aka Frank Black. He\u2019s also on Frank Black 2011 collabo album with Reid Paley, \u201cPaley & Francis,\u201d too. Shoals keyboard ace Spooner Oldham<\/a> played on those Frank Black records, too. <\/p>\n

In a 2022 interview with bass guitar website No Treble<\/a>, Hood likened Black\u2019s quirky yet solid songwriting to Paul Simon\u2019s. \u201cThe weirdness is something that\u2019s natural for him to do,\u201d Hood said. \u201cHe made the music work with the lyrics.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2015, Hood was all over U.K. band The Waterboys\u2019 album \u201cModern Blues.\u201d He also appeared in the music video for the band\u2019s song \u201cNovember Tale.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hood went on more than a hundred live shows with The Waterboys, on a tour that spanned from North America to Europe to Australia to Japan. <\/p>\n

Hood\u2019s career has focused heavily on studio work. Along with Hawkins, he previously toured with English jam-band Traffic in the \u201870s. In the \u201890s, Hood went on the road with bluesman Little Milton.<\/p>\n

In our 2016 interview<\/a> Hood said, \u201cI did have some fun (on The Waterboys tour).\u201d That said, \u201cThose long airplane flights and long waits in the airport are bad. But session playing, I love. I\u2019d like to do that as long as I\u2019m alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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