Search - Rick Nelson :: Best of the Later Years

The title says it all!

Ronald George Reagan | Steele, MO | 12/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is some of Rick's best work from his "later" years. The set includes BOTH sides of his second single for Decca "String Along/Gypsy Woman". "String Along" is a catchy novelty number that is sorta country tinged while "Gypsy Woman" is really a hard number to pigeon hole other than to say it's a great number. These two I was already familiar with having the original 45. Another original 45 makes it on here "I Wonder/The Very Thought of You". Again, we find "I Wonder" to be very much country influenced (as was a lot of his music from that period and before) while "The Very Thought of You" sounds as if it could be at home with the style of Dean Martin. One absolute treat is his treatment of country music standards. One might expect that Roy Acuff would roll over in his grave when someone plays "Night Train To Memphis", but Rick turns in a ever wonderful version. It doesn't sound dated, but yet remains traditional to the core. "Truck Drivin' Man" is taken by Rick and made his own as well. On "Mystery Train", Rick turns in a better performance than Elvis. The two live cuts are engaging. Most entertainers simply don't make live cuts this fascinating, but "I'm Walkin'" & "Hello, Mary Lou" are among the best cuts on the set. The cuts from the LP's "Another Side of Rick" & "Perspectives" are absolutely fascinating. "Don't Blame It On Your Wife" is the kind of philosophical thoughts we'd hear from the likes of possibly Bob Dylan. The last highlights of the set are the last songs he made for Decca including "Garden Party" (based on his lukewarm reception at a Madison Square Garden oldies show). The last two cuts prove Rick could still rock when wanted to. The bottom line? While many artists can only cut entertaining music for a period of a few years, Rick proved again & again he could produce fresh, entertaining music and could do more than sing memories. This is a must have set."