Garden Party (album)

Garden Party
Studio album by
Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band
ReleasedNovember 27, 1972
RecordedMay 11–October 16, 1972
StudioUnited Western, Hollywood
GenreCountry rock
Length36:22
LabelDecca
ProducerRick Nelson
Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band chronology
Rudy the Fifth
(1971) 		Garden Party
(1972) 		Windfall
(1974)
Singles from Garden Party
  1. "Garden Party"
    Released: 1972
  2. "Palace Guard"
    Released: 1973

Garden Party is the twenty-first studio album by Rick Nelson, this one a country rock album[1] recorded with the Stone Canyon Band in 1972. The title song tells the story of Nelson being booed at a concert at Madison Square Garden.

The Album features self-panned songs like "Let It Bring You Along", "Nightime Lady", "So Long Mama".[2] and re-recorded version's of Chuck Berry "I'm Talking About You" which He previously recorded on Spotlight on Rick 8 years later.[3] Released as a single prior to the album, "Garden Party" peaked at number 6 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart.[4] number 8 on the Cashbox singles charts.[5] and number 1 on the Adult Contemporary chart in the United States,[6] number 1 also in Canada,[7] and at number 41 in the United Kingdom.[8]

The album debuted on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart in the issue dated December 9 of that year and remained on the chart for eighteen weeks, peaking at number 32.[9] It reached No. 45 on the Cashbox albums chart where it spent for 15 weeks.[10] According to Nelson "it really took off before he expected it to, when it came out, it was like and an old album cause it was so long after the single"[2]

The album was released on compact disc for the first time by Beat Goes On on March 13, 2002 as tracks 1 through 10 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 11 through 20 consisting of Nelson's Final Decca/MCA album from January 1974, Windfall.[11] Bear Family included also the album in the 2010 The Last Time Around box set.[12]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [13]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[14]
Rolling Stone(favorable)[15]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[16]

Bruce Eder of AllMusic said that the album "playing is more subdued and lyrical on Nelson's own "Night Time Lady," and the bluesy "Flower Opens Gently By," and the album ends on the soft, bittersweet ballad "Palace Guard." There's a fair amount of melodic invention throughout, though not quite enough to make this album a classic."[17]

Billboard described the album as "a fine LP."[18]

Cashbox gave a positive review, saying that "it ranges from Dylan-type love song to goodtime stompin'.[19]

Rolling Stone described the album as "an interesting album" and noted it “I Wanna Be with You,” “Don’t Let Your Goodbye Stand,” and “Let It Bring You Along” are hardish rockers"[15]

Track listing

All tracks composed by Rick Nelson; except where indicated.

  1. "Let It Bring You Along" (Stephen A. Love) – 4:12
  2. "Garden Party" – 3:45
  3. "So Long Mama" – 3:25
  4. "I Wanna Be With You" (Randy Meisner, Allen Kemp) – 2:15
  5. "Are You Really Real?" – 3:25
  6. "I'm Talking About You" (Chuck Berry) – 3:55
  7. "Night Time Lady" – 3:50
  8. "A Flower Opens Gently By" – 3:08
  9. "Don't Let Your Goodbye Stand" (Richard Stekol) – 3:17
  10. "Palace Guard" – 5:10

Charts

Chart (1972–1973) Peak
position
US Top LPs (Billboard)[9] 32
US Cashbox[10] 45
Australia (Kent Music Report)[20] 67

Personnel

  • Rick Nelson – guitar, lead vocals
  • Allen Kemp – lead guitar, background vocals
  • Tom Brumley – steel guitar
  • Stephen A. Love – bass, background vocals
  • Patrick Shanahan – drums
  • Don Nelson – wood flute

Production

  • Producer: Rick Nelson
  • Recording engineer: Michael "Nemo" Shields
  • Photography: Martin S. Martin
  • Artistic design: Kristen Nelson

References

  1. ^ Bowling, David (2008-08-05). "Music Review: Rick Nelson – Garden Party". Blogcritics. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  2. ^ a b Homer, Sheree (2012). Rick Nelson, Rock 'n' Roll Pioneer. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland. p. 102. ISBN 978-0-7864-6060-1.
  3. ^ Selvin, Joel (1990). Ricky Nelson: Idol for a Generation. Chicago: Contemporary Books. p. 207. ISBN 978-0-8092-4187-3.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2002). Joel Whitburn's top pop singles 1955-2002. Menomonee Falls, Wisc.: Record Research. p. 502. ISBN 0898201551.
  5. ^ Downey, Pat (1994). Cash box pop singles charts, 1950-1993. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 244–245. ISBN 1-56308-316-7.
  6. ^ Whitburn, Joel (2007). Joel Whitburn presents Billboard top adult songs, 1961-2006 : chart data compiled from Billboard's adult contemporary charts, 1961-2006, and adult top 40 charts, 1996-2006. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. p. 200. ISBN 978-0-89820-1697. Retrieved September 21, 2024.
  7. ^ "Item Display - RPM - Library and Archives Canada". Collectionscanada.gc.ca. 1972-11-18. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  8. ^ "Official Charts Company". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2019-10-06.
  9. ^ a b Whitburn, Joel (1996). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Albums 1955-1996. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research Inc. pp. 10, 556. ISBN 0898201179. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Hoffmann, Frank W (1988). The Cash box album charts, 1955-1974. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. p. 268. ISBN 0-8108-2005-6.
  11. ^ "Garden Party/Windfall". allmusic.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  12. ^ "The Last Time Around 1970-1982". AllMusic. Retrieved 29 November 2024.
  13. ^ Eder, Bruce. Garden Party at AllMusic
  14. ^ Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: N". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 8, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
  15. ^ a b Maslin, Janet (1973-02-15). "Garden Party". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2024-09-08.
  16. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Omnibus Press. p. 1020. ISBN 9781846098567. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Rick Nelson and The Stone Canyon Band – Garden Party: Album Review". AllMusic. Retrieved 2024-05-24.
  18. ^ "Billboard Spotlight Pick: Garden Party". Billboard. December 9, 1972. p. 47.
  19. ^ Cash Box Album Pop Pick Review: Garden Party. Cash Box Pub. Co. 1972-12-09. p. 34.
  20. ^ Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 214. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.