The Hook -

The Hook was an American psych-rock band from Los Angeles that released two albums in 1968 on Uni Records: The Hook Will Grab You and Hooked!

Members: Bobby Arlin (guitar), Buddy Sklar (bass), Craig Boyd (drums, 1967-68), Dale Loyola (drums, 1968-69), Dennis Provisor (organ, 1968-69)

Background

The Hook formed in late 1967 as a powertrio assembled by guitarist Bobby Arlin, fresh off a two-album stint with garage-rock legends The Leaves. Noted for his strident fuzztone on the 1966 Leaves’ hit “Hey Joe” — the first-recorded version of the song, since standardized by Jimi Hendrix — Arlin took his new band in a heavier direction akin to Cream and the Hendrix Experience.

The original trio featured bassist Stanton “Buddy” Sklar (no relation to Leland Sklar) and drummer Craig Boyd, formerly of Capitol recording artists The Regents (not the doo-wop group behind the original “Barbara Ann”). The Hook signed with UNI Records, a psychedelic division of Universal City Records, distributed by MCA.

The Hook Will Grab You

The Hook released their debut album, The Hook Will Grab You, in May 1968 on Uni. The album contains nine songs co-written by Bobby Arlin and Buddy Sklar plus the John Lee Hooker cover “Dimples.”

The Hook Will Grab You is a fuzz-saturated slab of hard psych, marked by dense guitar tones, pounding rhythm, and a persistent strain of absurdist humor. Arlin’s tone—thick, compressed, and high in the mix—drives much of the album’s energy, with Sklar’s bass lines often pulling against the beat in rubbery, distorted patterns. The material veers between scorched proto-metal riffing and loose, jokey acid-pop, delivered with high-amplitude conviction.

Side One leans heavier: “Turn Your Head” rides a Hendrix-indebted riff with clipped phrasing and volatile feedback, while “Son of Fantasy” delivers a monolithic fuzz assault and shouted, cryptic lyrics. Side Two wobbles between tonal extremes. “Garbage Man,” a bizarre singalong about sanitation-worker romance, hinges on a deranged “la la la” refrain and warped innocence. “Everything’s Groovy” is lighter in form, but still charged with reverb-drenched sarcasm and insistent pulse. “Dimples” closes the set in raw, shrieking form—less homage than total distortion.

A1. “Homes” (3:50)
A2. “Lookin’ for You” (3:00)
A3. “You Know I Do” (2:30)
A4. “Turn Your Head” (3:17)
A5. “Son of Fantasy” (2:30)

B1. “Dr. B and His Friends” (3:52)
B2. “Plug Your Head In” (2:50)
B3. “Everything’s Groovy” (1:47)
B4. “Garbage Man” (2:15)
B5. “Dimples” (2:51)

Arlin and Sklar co-produced the album with Uni A&R Norman B. Ratner, a concurrent soundman for Orange Colored Sky and The Yellow Payges. The engineer for Hook and OCS was Joe Leahy, a veteran conductor, bandleader, and easy listening soundman.

The Hook Will Grab You appeared in a single sleeve with visuals by Uni in-house designer/photographer Gene Brownell (Moonrakers, Mars Bonfire, Strawberry Alarm Clock). It shows a clawed hand reaching up from a claw-like glacial formation (front) and a saturated, psych-lit group photo (back).

Uni lifted “Son of Fantasy” as a single (b/w “Plug Your Head In”). Between albums, Boyd cleared for drummer Dale Loyola. The Hook also hired a fourth member, organist Dennis Provisor, a prior pop-rock solo singer on 20th Century Records.

Hooked!

The Hook released their second album, Hooked!, in November 1968 on Uni. The album contains seven co-writes by Bobby Arlin and Buddy Sklar plus one track (“Go”) by Dennis Provisor. Hooked! also features covers of The Kinks (“You’re Lookin’ Fine”) and Titus Turner (“All Around the World”).

Arlin applies jagged, overdriven phrasings across fast, hard-hitting structures, filled by Provisor’s sustained organ tones. They open with “Go,” marked by staccato riffing, shouted vocals, and clipped transitions. “There’s Magic in the Air” contrasts with a slower pace and cleaner articulation. “Son of Fantasy II” expands the earlier song to six minutes with heavier passages and broader tonal shifts.

Side Two opens with the brisk, repetitive “Hook Can Cook,” followed by the subdued “Love Theme in E Major,” a brief instrumental with restrained tempo and soft dynamics. “A Beautiful Tomorrow” and “All Around the World” reassert the album’s force with clipped riff figures and taut organ fills. The closing track, “You Don’t Have to Stay,” slows the momentum with a dragging pulse and loose vocal phrasing.

A1. “Go” (3:10)
A2. “You’re Lookin’ Fine” (3:50) originated on the 1966 Kinks album Face to Face; covered since by Iowan garage rockers Gonn.
A3. “There’s Magic in the Air” (2:20)
A4. “Son of Fantasy II” (6:00)

B1. “Hook Can Cook” (3:07)
B2. “Love Theme in E Major” (2:10)
B3. “A Beautiful Tomorrow” (2:21)
B4. “You Need People” (3:30)
B5. “All Around the World” (3:17) originated as a 1955 Wing Records a-side by Atlanta R&B singer Titus Turner.
B6. “You Don’t Have to Stay” (2:42)

Hooked! appeared in a gatefold with photos of the band in deep-blue saturation (front) and posed beside a tree in hippie attire (back). The inner-gates feature b&w photo collages within hook-cloud illustrations.

Norman Ratner produced Hooked! ahead of A Midsummer’s Day Dream, the classic 1969 Revue Records release by pop-rock singer Mark Eric. Donn Landee engineered Hooked! between guitar prodigy Larry Carlton’s debut (With a Little Help From My Friends) and the 1969 self-titled by Inner Dialogue.

Uni lifted “Love Theme in E Major” as a single with the earlier “Homes.”