Brian McNeill

Hot Dog was a 1982 repackaging of Hot Dog, Shakin' Stevens' first album following his solo shift to Epic Records, retitled in honor of his debut hit single, but otherwise identical to its earlier incarnation. As such, Hot Dog finds him still taking tentative steps towards the pop mainstream, seemingly uncertain just how far away from his roots he was willing to journey in pursuit of his first major hits. But the rollicking cover of Buck Owens' "Hot Dog" that squeaked him into the U.K. Top 30 in February 1980 is classic Shakey and, when the album followed a month later, the decision was made for him. It's a vibrant album, still oozing the rockabilly licks that set Stevens shaking in the first place, and blessed with some of his best ever major-label performances: "Shame Shame Shame," "Shotgun Boogie," and the closing "Do What You Did" are all vintage Shakey classics, and if the super clean production doesn't exactly line Hot Dog up alongside his earlier Sunsets-era recordings, still it's one of the finest rock & roll revival albums of the 1980s. ~ Dave Thompson, All Music Guide