| Track by Track Review
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Is It Ever Gonna Happen
I really dig the rock and rolling vibe on this. The piano gets a chance to show off, and the song has a cool energy and hooks. |
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Ring My Phone
More guitar centric, this is another cool rock and roller. I prefer the opener, but this works better. |
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The Worryin' Kind
Slower and more contemplative, this one works well, too. It also brings some variety. It's another that's more guitar based. |
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Maybelline
This Chuck Berry romp gets more of a piano-oriented arrangement. There is a rocking guitar solo, though, |
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Every Little Once in a While
This rock and roller has some good hooks. I'm not overly crazy about the doo-wop backing vocals. Those are really not my thing, though, so that makes sense. |
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Blue Ribbon Baby
There is a bit of a rockabilly angle to this one. It's more pure rock and roll, but those kinds of elements are audible at times to me. |
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Hearts of Stone
I really love the horn-solo dominated instrumental break on this tune. It swings and has a great groove to it. The doo-wop vocals on the track don't work as well for me. Overall, this is not a big surprise, but a reasonably effective piece. |
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Hey Miss Fannie
Now, this has some great energy. It's a fun romp. |
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Playin' the Field
The vocals are very much the dominant factor here. The guitar is the only prominent instrument here. This feels almost like a demo in some ways. The guitar solo is strong, though. The mix just feels a little "wrong" to me. |
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The Chicken and the Hawk
Now, this is more like it. It's just a fun romp with plenty of jazz and rock and roll in the mix. |
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Man Like Wow!
This is more of a stripped back groove, but it's a lot of fun. |
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Wicked Woman
I really dig the guitar and drum presence on this piece. It has a real twisting kind of groove. Some parts are just guitar and vocals, though. |
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Soda Pop Pop
There is some real drama in the musical arrangement of this. The doo-wop vocal arrangement isn't as effective for me, though. |
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Ring-A-Ding-A-Ding
Another with a lot of doo-wop in the mix, this isn't a strong tune for me. Still, the guitar solo has some style and taste. |
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Oop Shoop
As you can probably guess from the title, this is another doo-wop tune. While I'm not crazy about the vocal arrangement, the number does have a classy groove. The saxophone solo is on fire, too. |
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Big Date
Not a big change, this is just another solid rock and roller. |
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I Ain't Gettin' Rid of You
I really dig the piano on this cut. The track has some cool guitar work, too. This is dramatic and one of the stronger pieces here. |
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Gonna Get a Girl
Doo-wop, jazz and rock and roll all seem to merge on this number. |
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The Old Oaken Bucket
There is a real crooner vibe to this. It is fun, but not a standout for me. |
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One Day Later
More of a solid rock and roller, this works pretty well. I dig the piano and guitar showcase later along the road. |
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Tweedle Dee
This is a swinging number that works really well. It's got some rather doo-wop vocals, but the whole vibe of the tune makes it work. |
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Bigger Than Texas
Another old school rock and roller, this works pretty well, but it's not a standout. |
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Can't Change My Love
I like the guitar sound on this quite a bit. The tune isn't an Earth-shattering kind of thing, but it has a cool retro groove. |
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Should I
Crooner meets doo-wop here. This brings some variety, but isn't all that effective for me. The instrumental break does have some killer blowing horn, though. |
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A Bundle of Dreams
Here we get another classy rock and roller. This is fun stuff. |
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Hawaiian Rock
This is sort of just the kind of rock and roll number, you'd expect with that title. It's not a bad song, but noting all that special, either. |
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Your Daddy Wants to Do Right
This has more of a pure rock and roll groove. The rhythm section has a lot of style, and the whole tune works well. This is one of the strongest songs of the album for me. |
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Little Mama
Another classy and classic sounding rock and roller, this is fun stuff. |
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Goin' Steady
I really love the guitar soloing on this. Beyond that, it's a pretty standard rock and roller. |
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Teenage Doll
Here we get more of a rock and roll ballad with a definite doo-wop angle. This definitely doesn't work that well for me. |
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Rock Light
More pure rock and roll, I really like the guitar solo on this a lot. |
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Who Baby
Doo-wop rock and roll, this is pretty much exactly what you expect. |
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Honey Love
This is a playful groove. It's a fun romp. |
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Doctor Heartache
Now, this is all class. I love the dramatic arrangement. The organ is a nice touch, and the whole tune just works so well. It has almost an Animals vibe to it. This is definitely another highlight of the disc. |
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I Love You Because
This ballad doesn't work as well as the last couple tunes did. |
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Teen-Age Crush
Another that's a little lackluster, I think this song and the last should have been somewhere earlier in the set to make for a stronger closer. This isn't anything all that unexpected or strong. It has some good guitar picking, though. |
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