As P.J. Proby's UK success wound down, he scored a surprise US hit in '67 with the funky Pat and Lolly Vegas song, "Niki Hokey". Climbing to #23, it was his best showing in his native land but, unfortunately, it would be his last. Liberty Records - lacking foresight - probably thought that they'd finally discovered what it was that the US would accept from him and released a rather pedestrian cover of Hank Ballard's "Work With Me Annie" backed with the menacing "You Can't Come Home Again (If You Leave Me Now". Disc jockeys began to play the former but, when Proby was cooking, he sounded as though he were singing with his erection as a microphone and even a pedestrian cover of "Work With Me Annie" comes across as too lascivious. With little lyrical content to work with, P.J. sounds as though he was looking for relief from blue balls and it was probably too much for listeners. If someone would have flipped the record over, it may have fared better than it's #119 peak because "You Can't Come Home Again..." showcases exactly what Proby was; the sordidly soiled link between the heretic hip swiveling of the young Presley and the panty catching posturing of Tom Jones.
Proby could have been a god, but...
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