Johnny Rivers in Action!/Changes (1997)

A superb compilation of Johnny Rivers' third and eighth albums, providing a good look at two sides of his studio work, the lean, stripped down rock & roll of In Action! juxtaposed with the more ornate and ambitious sounds of Changes. Rivers became more sophisticated in many unexpected ways as time went on; In Action! shows him covering the Beatles' "I Should Have Known Better" in a punchy, lively rendition, where Changes has him incorporating the string arrangement of "Eleanor Rigby" onto John Phillips' "California Dreamin' ... Read More

A superb compilation of Johnny Rivers' third and eighth albums, providing a good look at two sides of his studio work, the lean, stripped down rock & roll of In Action! juxtaposed with the more ornate and ambitious sounds of Changes. Rivers became more sophisticated in many unexpected ways as time went on; In Action! shows him covering the Beatles' "I Should Have Known Better" in a punchy, lively rendition, where Changes has him incorporating the string arrangement of "Eleanor Rigby" onto John Phillips' "California Dreamin'." He is in excellent voice throughout, and seldom gets too far from rock even on the most heavily orchestrated songs from Changes. The analog-to-digital transfers are excellent and the sound is genuinely impressive, even by BGO's usual high standards. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi Read Less