Country Fever is the sixteenth studio album by American singer Rick Nelson, and his ninth for Decca Records,[1] released on April 17, 1967, on Decca Records. which features Nelson's composition of "Alone" and a cover of Bob Dylan's "Walkin' Down The Line", Nelson's earliest Dylan cover.
| Country Fever | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | April 17, 1967 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 28:53 | |||
| Label | Decca | |||
| Producer | Charles "Bud" Dant | |||
| Rick Nelson chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Country Fever | ||||
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The sessions also produced a couple of numbers taken from old Sun Records by Elvis Presley; "Mystery Train", which was included on the album.[2] He sampled the classic country catalog, including "You Win Again," "Funny How Time Slips Away," and "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle Blow." "Alone" was a self-penned tune while "Walkin' Down the Line" was the first Bob Dylan song that he recorded.[3] These songs formed a kind of semi-autobiographical trilogy, as he sketched himself as a desolate but determined loner.[2] Jimmie Haskell arranged the album and Charles "Bud" Dant produced it, this was the last of fifteen consecutive Nelson studio LPs, produced by Charles "Bud" Dant.
The album was released on compact disc by Ace Records on June 23, 1998 as tracks 12 through 24 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 1 through 12 consisting of Nelson's 1966 album, Bright Lights and Country Music.[4] Bear Family included the album in the 2008 For You: The Decca Years box set.[5]
Reception
edit| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
| New Record Mirror | [6] |
| The Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [7] |
| Billboard | [8] |
Richie Unterberger of AllMusic said that "Country Fever continued the country direction of Nelson's previous album, Bright Lights & Country Music, and the approach of each record was similarly weighted toward interpretations of country classics".[1]
Record Mirror described the album as "one of his consistent perfromaces" and stated that "His own compostition is more than honky-tonk can rare with treatments by long-time country greats.[6]
Track listing
editSide one
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Take a City Bride" | Gib Guilbeau | 1:57 |
| 2. | "Funny How Time Slips Away" | Willie Nelson | 2:56 |
| 3. | "The Bridge Washed Out" | Mel Melshee, Jimmy Louis, Sandra Smith, Slim Williamson | 1:47 |
| 4. | "Alone" | Ricky Nelson | 2:38 |
| 5. | "Big Chief Buffalo Nickel (Desert Blues)" | Jimmie Rodgers | 2:01 |
| 6. | "Mystery Train" | Junior Parker | 2:26 |
Side two
edit| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Things You Gave Me" | Glen Hardin | 1:52 |
| 2. | "Take These Chains from My Heart" | Hy Heath, Fred Rose | 2:36 |
| 3. | "(I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle" | Hank Williams, Jimmie Davis | 2:38 |
| 4. | "Walkin' Down the Line" | Bob Dylan | 2:23 |
| 5. | "You Win Again" | Hank Williams | 2:50 |
| 6. | "Salty Dog" | Zeke Morris, Wiley Morris | 2:35 |
References
edit- ^ a b c Unterberger, Richie. "Rick Nelson - "Country Fever" - Album Ratings & Reviews". Allmusic. Retrieved 2023-10-08.
- ^ a b Selvin, Joel (1990). Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 170. ISBN 978-0-8092-4187-3.
- ^ Homer, Sheree (2012). Rick Nelson, Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 86. ISBN 978-0-7864-6060-1.
- ^ "Bright Lights & Country Music/Country Fever". allmusic.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
- ^ "For You: The Decca Years". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
- ^ a b Jones, Peter; Jopling, Norman (23 September 1967). "Peter Jones new albums reviewed by Norman Jopling: Bumper Month for L.P.'s' Albums issued by Sinatra, Geno, John Mayall, Johnny Cash, Rick Nelson, Gene Vincent,Tony Hatch, King Curtis, Ventures, 5th Dimension, Proby, Ben E. King, Slim Whitman, Jefferson Airplane, Julie Andrews, Francoise Hardy & David Garrick" (PDF). New Record Mirror. No. 341. p. 8. Retrieved 20 May 2024.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1020. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
- ^ "Pop Spotlight & Special Merit Picks: Country Fever". Billboard. April 29, 1967. p. 48.