RICK NELSON ORIGINAL HTF 1972 GERMAN GARDEN PARTY GF LP

RICK NELSON GARDEN PARTY LPCategory / Style / Moods: Rock * Rock & Roll * Country-Rock * Rockabilly * Teen Idol * Pop * Pop/Rock / 1577 S1972 GERMAN MCA LPTITLE: GARDEN PARTYARTIST: RICK NELSONCONDITIONVINYL: VG++COVER: VG SMWOLClick here for info on grading and abbreviationsTOUGH TO FIND ORIGINAL GERMAN GATEFOLD PRESS!Click the pix for a better view TRACKS: Disc: 11.Let It Bring You AlongLove 4:122.Garden PartyNelson 3:453.So Long MamaNelson 3:254.I Wanna Be With YouMeisner 2:155.Are You Really Real?Nelson 3:256.I'm Talking About YouBerry 3:557.Night Time LadyNelson 3:508.Flower Opens Gently ByNelson 3:089.Don't Let Your Goodbye StandStekol 3:1710.Palace GuardNelson 5:10Review by Bruce Eder Rick Nelson's Garden Party album rocks a lot harder than the title track would lead one to believe, and is also as much of a showcase for the Stone Canyon Band as it is for Nelson. Allen Kemp's lead guitar crunches and grinds its notes on the opening track, the edgy "Let It Bring You Along," before we hear the familiar, laid-back, country-rock strains of "Garden Party." The jaunty "So Long Mama" follows, dominated by Nelson's rhythm guitar and showcasing Tom Brumley's pedal steel guitar, and then Kemp and the rhythm section of Stephen A. Love (bass) and Patrick Shanahan (drums) move to the fore on the pounding "I Wanna Be With You." Nelson slips into a completely different mode on the ethereal, understated "Are You Really Real?" The original's second side opened with a solid rendition of Chuck Berry's "I'm Talking About You," which offers Kemp in a somewhat jazzy and discursive break. The playing is more subdued and lyrical on Nelson's own "Night Time Lady," and the bluesy "Flower Opens Gently By," and the album ends on the soft, bittersweet ballad "Palace Guard." There's a fair amount of melodic invention throughout, though not quite enough to make this album a classic. Biography by Richie Unterberger Rick Nelson was one of the very biggest of the '50s teen idols, so it took awhile for him to attain the same level of critical respectability as other early rock greats. Yet now the consensus is that he made some of the finest pop/rock recordings of his era. Sure, he had more promotional push than any other rock musician of the '50s; no, he wasn't the greatest singer; and yes, Elvis, Gene Vincent, Carl Perkins, and others rocked harder. But Nelson was extraordinarily consistent during the first five years of his recording career, crafting pleasant pop-rockabilly hybrids with ace session players and projecting an archetype of the sensitive, reticent young adult with his accomplished vocals. He also played a somewhat underestimated role in rock & roll's absorption into mainstream America -- how bad could rock be if it was featured on one of America's favorite family situation comedies on a weekly basis? Nelson entered professional entertainment before his tenth birthday, when he appeared with father Ozzie (once a jazz musician), mother Harriet, and brother David on a radio comedy series based around the family. By the early '50s, the series was on television, and Ricky grew into a teenager in public. He was just the right age to have his life turned around by rock & roll in 1956 and started his recording career almost accidentally the following year. The story's sometimes been told that he had no professional singing ambitions until he recorded his debut single to impress a girlfriend. The single, a cover of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'" that went to number four, was helped immensely (as all of his early singles would be) by plugs on the Ozzie & Harriet TV show.This exquisite piece of retro music history is a vinyl sound recording (not a CD). Please visit the A Sound Deal store for similar items and information on grading and shipping. Add me to your favorites for red hot sales bulletins and sneak previews of upcoming products. Combine Items to Save $$$! Click here to check the store for more!©A Sound Deal