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At the Rock House
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Barnes and Noble
At the Rock House
Current price: $28.99
Barnes and Noble
At the Rock House
Current price: $28.99
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Size: OS
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Although it was technically
's first album,
wasn't really an LP effort on his part so much as a cash-in effort by
in the wake of
's later success on
with
etc. And understandably, the sound is very retro for 1960-1961, comprised as the record is primarily of the
and hardcore
numbers that he cut for
in 1956 (with his original group
) and 1957, including the
-authored
the
/
collaboration
and
'
Not everything is quite as briskly paced as those two numbers, but even the
, such as
and the melodic
have an edge to them -- they stand midway between the
that was happening in 1956 and the more lush and dramatic sound that
would perfect at
from 1959 onward. All of the material is fascinating as a sort of alternate-universe version of where
might've headed musically, and most of it is downright bracing and exciting, though it's easy to see why it never succeeded at the time -- numbers like
were a little too intense and ambitious as
, with too many changes and involved lyrics, to hold that audience en masse. It was some of the best and most intense
you could buy in 1961 this side of
, however, and heard today the album is a fascinating curio from what's usually thought of as a fallow period in
history. ~ Bruce Eder