Released in 1976,
Derringer was the debut for
Rick Derringer's eponymous band that featured
Vinny Appice on drums.
Derringer was best known as a member of
the McCoys and as a member of the Winter brother's bands. He made a couple of good solo albums that flirted with hard rock and pop. Here he aims for straight-ahead hard rock. The songs are borderline catchy, they are very simple (both in construction and production) and unadorned. A few of the songs work well, probably due in part to the presence of Cynthia Weil's (of the legendary
Mann/Weil songwriting team) help in the songwriting department. "Let Me In" and "You Can Have Me" are strong straight-ahead rockers with one foot in the glam rock camp; and "Comes a Woman" is a tough ballad that features some excellent guitar work. [In 2004
Derringer was combined on one disc with the 1977 follow-up,
Sweet Evil.] ~ Tim Sendra