I love how on this album, all of the credits for Ronnie’s work are credited to Ronald Padavona. In an interview in his later years, Ronnie claimed that he did this on this album (and only this album) so that his parents could, just once, see their name on an album. It is also interesting to note that guitarist David Feinstein is Ronnie’s cousin, and his guitaring on this album, when given the real chance to shine, is exceptional.
The album opens with “Hoochie Koochie Lady”, a title that leaves you in no doubt as to the heritage behind the music. Very much in the boogie style that a lot of Ronnie’s previous work had been, it is upbeat enough even when it is not what you probably expect coming into the album. This is followed by the similarly styled “First Avenue”, one that does tend to over harp on the title of the song by the end.
“Never More” is a real Deep Purple type tune, much more in standing with the hard rock scene that the band grew towards, with guitar and keyboard combining beautifully. Whether this was written to appease the two producers I don’t know, but the change from the opening two songs is significant. This is followed by “I’m Coming Back to You”, which has an early Elton John feel about it with the keyboards and complementing guitar riff. It mightn’t quite pop like it could but it is an entertaining track.
“Sit Down Honey (Everything Will Be All Right)”, with its piano heavy riff as the base of the song, reminds me remarkably of the song “Old Time Rock and Roll” by Bob Seger. Now his song wasn’t written until 1979, with this being back in 1972. I wonder if there was any inspiration for that track from this song, because there are some very similar pieces between the two. Even Feinstein’s guitar solo at the close of the song has that same sort of tune to it. Perhaps it is just the style of the song that Seger was trying to copy for his tribute to the time, but it is an interesting comparison.
“Dixie Lee Junction” is a strange song. The first half is very Led Zeppelin-ish in its guitar and vocals output, before it concludes in another full blown boogie and blues number, again giving Ronnie a rather easy job on vocals to just bounce along his lyrics with the music. It’s almost two songs combined into one. Very... strange. More was to come with “Love Me Like a Woman”, which sounds like it is straight out a blues hall in the 1930’s, or even a saloon from the 1800’s if you ignore the slight injection of electric guitar, which does come in strong at the end of the track.
The album concludes with “Gambler, Gambler”, the third hard rock song on the album, still heavily blues influenced and with that boogie piano, but the guitar and vocals make it worth the wait.
It is amazing just how much your feelings about an album can change over a period of time depending on how much you are listening to it, and probably in the environment you are listening to it. Anyone growing up with this album, taking in the music of the day, would have a much easier time of getting on with the album than, say, someone going back as being a fan of Dio and listening to it. And for all of us growing up in the 1980’s that’s the predicament we found ourselves in. And as with all of Elf’s three albums, though I listened to them when I first got them in the 1990’s, there was no real joy there, and the quickly found their way onto the shelves.
Coming into the past few weeks as I prepared to record this podcast episode, I have listened to this album more than I have collectively previous to this. I have let it go, let it play, and after several go’s around I found a way in. Those opening two tracks with their boogie rock feel can dictate how you feel about the album just as it is starting. Especially if you are not really a fan of blues or boogie rock. But after repeated listens, I found my way in, through “Never More” and “I’m Coming Back to You”, which are a much better hard rock sound than those opening two songs, and that allowed me to get through to the end of the album. And then, over more repeated listens, I found the album was much more enjoyable than I had ever felt before.
It is true that it still isn’t my style of music, and that will forever be the case. But there are some things you can hang your hat on. Ronnie’s vocals here are amazing. I mean, they always are, but here they are supreme. It’s a different style of song that he is singing, but purely listening to him sing is always worth the price of admission. And David Feinstein’s guitaring is great. I think he has some really good moments on this album that actually lift the songs when they come along. The drums and keys hammer together nicely, and overall all come together in a good style.
This won’t be to everyone’s taste. Realistically, it isn’t to MY taste. But 50 years on it still has some persuasive argument about it, such that it is worth listening to even just a couple of times to experience where one of the greatest vocalists of all time really began to come of age. That alone is worth a few moments of your day.
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