Ricky Sings Again; Songs By Ricky / Imperial Audio CD 2001 / 72435-32451-2-2

UPC 724353245122 

Made in U.S.A.

The second installment in Capitol's twofer reissue program of early Imperial albums by Ricky Nelson illustrates why Ricky Sings Again stands as one of the best rock & roll albums of the 1950s, when LPs were built around a hit single. Sings Again includes the hits "Lonesome Town," "Never Be Anyone Else but You," "It's Late," and "Believe What You Say," but every song here is strong. Here the teen idol connects with his new band, one of the best rockabilly units ever assembled and headed by the great James Burton, who later backed Elvis Presley, Elvis Costello, and Gram Parsons. Bonus tracks include alternate versions of the hits, as well as a previously unreleased track called "Gloomy Sunday," which dad Ozzie Nelson refused to release due to its theme of suicide. Songs By finds the artist in both a more pop (the opening "You'll Never Know What You're Missing") and mature mode (the second cut is a strings-coated version of the old standard "That's All"). It's somewhat uneven, but it produced another big hit in the beautiful "Sweeter Than You."     --Bill Holdship

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