![]() Like that ballad, the pair's new compositions here are well-crafted and beautifully performed - Rivers' voice is as strong and unmistakable as it was in his hit-making days. ![]() Rivers co-wrote several of the album's songs with Jack Tempchin, who had given him his last big chart hit with "Swayin' to the Music (Slow Dancin')" back in 1977. Having grown up in Baton Rouge, LA after a childhood move from New York, the southern sounds of rockabilly, blues, and country gave the young Rivers his musical foundation, and the tracks here, though not always conforming strictly to those genres or paying direct tribute to the region or the era, are certainly influenced by that earth-shifting music. For his studio comeback, Rivers turned to Peter Guralnick's Elvis Presley biography, Last Train to Memphis, for inspiration. Sloan's "Secret Agent Man," Jim Hendricks' "Summer Rain," Rivers' own "Poor Side of Town") were all quality stuff that have demonstrated proven staying power, and Rivers was able to maintain his career performing them for years. During the '60s and early '70s, Rivers had been one of the most consistently successful American solo artists: his covers of previously proven R&B/blues, folk and rock/pop songs ( Chuck Berry's "Memphis," Willie Dixon's "Seventh Son," Leadbelly's "Midnight Special") and new tunes written to order ( P.F. ![]() ![]() ![]() Johnny Rivers was about 15 years removed from the recording studio and nearly 20 from a hit when he cut this album between 19. ![]()
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