More Songs By Ricky – RICKY NELSON***

I’m Not Afraid/Baby Won’t You Please Come Home/Here I Go Again/I’d Climb The Highest Mountain/Make Believe/Ain’t Nothing But Love/When Your Lover Has Gone/Proving My Love/Hey Pretty Baby/Time After Time/ I’m All Through With You/Again

For More Songs By Ricky teen idol Ricky Nelson appears to have been encouraged by his minders to move away from his rock & roll base towards a more middle of the road sound. (US:18)

“Bobby Darin influenced pop album. Ricky sounds unfamiliar and uninspired by the songs and the band is hopeless. The material is extremely poor.”

“This album differs from Ricky's previous efforts in that it finds him moving away from the traditional 1950s rock-n-roll/rockabilly style to a bigger 'more mature' sound. We hear more piano and find the sax taking a big part in many of the songs. This appears to be a move directed more by Ricky's father, Ozzie, than by Ricky himself. The material is more jazz-pop/rock than pure rock 'n' roll. Although there are several stand-out tracks, clearly Ricky wasn't entirely comfortable with this direction.”

“In 1960 the popularity of rock ‘n’ roll was on the downward, and this shows on More Songs By Ricky. So it's no surprise Nelson and the people around him felt like trying out new fields and sounds. But recording old standards like Baby Won't You Please Come Home, Here I Go and Time After Time, obviously wasn't the way for him."

“More Songs By Ricky is a substandard album which finds him trying material with more of a middle of the road pop style, there's very little rock and roll on this album. Maybe Ricky and his dad Ozzie were reacting to the recent success of Bobby Darin. There are some nice tunes but this is definitely one of Ricky's lesser albums."

“I'm Not Afraid starts the LP with a great number; Rick sings this very well in his great voice with a lot of sensitivity. The guitar arrangement shines and the backup vocalists do a fine job of harmonizing flawlessly. Baby Won't You Please Come Home has a strong show tune feel to it, with an arrangement full of brass and percussion. Rick sings this so beautifully and the female backup chorus works well for this number. Here I Go Again has a terrific Rick Nelson interpretation and he bats this one straight out of the ballpark.”