Customer Reviews

Another Side of Rick/Perspective

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This cd contains two of Rick Nelson's late '60's albums, '67's "Another Side Of Rick" and '68's "Perspective". After his career had begun to flounder in the '60's Rick began experimenting with different styles, and here you'll find him doing contemporary folk-rock to decidedly mixed results. "Another Side" is the weaker album, with too many lame songs. He does do an excellent version of Tim Hardin's classic 'Reason To Believe', only to have it ruined by the most overdone production I can think of. 'Dream Weaver' and 'Suzanne On A Sunday Morning' work well, but his covers of 'Georgia On My Mind' and 'Daydream' are less than inspired. The best track on "Another Side" is the lovely, gentle song to his family, 'Promenadw In Green'. "Perspective", however, is great. Here Nelson finds the right songs for his voice, and the production is much more restrained. 'When The Sun's Shined It's Face On Me' is a great rock/r&b number that deserved to be a hit single. 'Without Her' is the Nilsson ballad, and Rick's is probably the finest version of it ever done. 'Three Day Eternity' is a superb Richie Havens song which Nelson interprets well. The Paul Simon number 'For Emily' is just ok, but his covers of Randy Newman material is just terrific. 'Love Story' in particular is a must-hear. Nelson's own 'Hello To The Wind' is a fascinating period piece as well. "Perspective" also boasts some well-used sound effects, which are mostly placed in his four- song Newman suite. Overall, this cd is a fine one. I would recommend it to '60's music fans as well as to Nelson fans (who actually might be the ones to dislike it as the albums are such a radical departure from the rest of his work). Rick Nelson was a sadly underrated talent, but hopefully with the reissues and the recent VH1 movie, he'll finally receive his just due.

Rick's 1967 & 1968 albums, actually recorded back-to-back, were an odd departure from anything he'd ever done before, and a questionable move after the success of his 2 country albums just before. The sound is definitely "1967"; I'm reminded a bit of the sound of THE BIRDS, THE BEES & THE MONKEES. Whether simply caught in the mood of the times, or perhaps inspired to do something for his kids, this material didn't go over well with his fans at all. Yet there are nice moments: "Dream Weaver", "Marshmallow Skies", "Don't Make Promises", and "Promenade In Green", on which Rick sings "Tracy, come out to play." (His daughter would have been 3-1/2 when he did this...!) Much is forgettable, and there are even serious misfires, such as "Georgia On My Mind", on which Rick's usual classy covering of a standard is ruined halfway thru by John Boylan's bizarre arrangement. It's a pity Rick didn't stop at one such album, because the 2nd one, PERSPECTIVE, is a definite nosedive. There's a few nice songs, like "I Think It's Gonna Rain Today", but most of it is a clear case of Rick just going thru the motions and doing what the producer wanted without bringing anything of himself to the material. When he returned with a live album in 1969, things would definitely be back on track.

Okay, this may not be what Rick's fans wanted to hear nor is it necessarily what he was comfortable doing. If given a chance, these two albums are really quite nice with only a few duds ("Georgia on my mind.")

I've enjoyed Rick's music since I found a used copy of Ricky Sings Again in a Goodwill store when I was a teenager in the 1970s. When this cd was released, I figured I would't waste the money considering the opinions I had heard of the albums.

I finally gave in and bought it and I'm glad I did. The songs are definitely a nice slice of late 1960's pop and whether or not Rick was comfortable with the material, it's great hearing him try some material that stretches his vocal ability. If you like Rick and a variety of musical styles, not just his rockabilly style, you may find yourself with a number of these songs stuck in your head.

From his growling vocals on "When the sun shined its face on me" to the falsetto on "Barefoot boy", Rick showed he had more vocal capability than he normally displayed when he did material of his choosing.

If you like Rick, give this cd a chance with an open mind. Play it a few times and you may find yourself enjoying it more than you thought you would.

These two albums have been next to impossible to find on vinyl, so thank goodness Ace put out this cd. They're far from Rick's best, though. Rick's rock/pop albums had sold poorly ever since the British Invasion of 1964 knocked him off the charts. His country albums didn't sell any better, so obviously someone (probably the record company, Decca) thought it was time for a change. They hooked him up with a young producer, John Boylan, who found some good songs for Rick to sing, and contributed a few of his own. Most of the songs are quite good, and Rick's vocals are fine, but the production is so "over the top", so dated sounding now (unlike Rick's best records). Particularly poor the second half of "Perspective", where Rick sings several Randy Newman songs. He doesn't even sound like himself, he sounds like he's trying to imitate Newman's distinctive vocal style. He does better with Nilsson's "Without Her", but most of the album if forgettable. "Another Side of Rick" is better, although the remakes of "Georgia on my Mind" and "Daydream" are weak. "Marshmallow Skies" sounds like faux psycadelia, but "Promenade in Green" is a nice, folky tune (listen for the part where he mentions his children, Tracy, Gunnar, and Matthew). Tim Hardin's "Don't Make Promises" and "Reason to Believe" are excellent songs, but the production is so overbearing - too bad Boylan didn't just let Rick do them with his band. "Suzanne on a Sunday Morning" is probably the best production on the album - too bad they didn't include it's single b-side, 'Moonshine". This cd is only for Nelson fanatics. Others would be better starting off with "Bright Lights and Country Music" or "Rick Nelson Sings 'For You'" among his Decca output.

Oh I so like these albums its better than Sex in the back seat of my car (I have an MR2!)

This is the worst Rick Nelson cd I have ever heard. Not one song was worth the listen. I am a huge fan of Rick and think he was the greatest, but this cd is really bad. I have almost every Rick Nelson cd and love them all. This cd is so out of character for him. His voice sounds good, but the choice of songs and the production is terrible. I don't think he was too happy with it either. I guess it was a learning experience because he sure did better stuff after this. Buy it if only to complete your collection, but don't expect much.