Explodes

may have been known as something of a folksinger at the time of this release, and he may have subsequently become known as a artist, but make no mistake: This is a album, albeit a pretty strange one by 1964 standards. Not so much because it's weird, but because it's an uncomfortable intersection of , go-go -influenced , and hints of and songwriting. It's not a album, despite 's background; the arrangements are rather close to those used by on his mid-'60s material. Or, if you prefer, it's something of a much more -oriented . It's that hard to peg. And it's not that good, though unlike his prior effort, , it uses full electric arrangements, and wrote most of the material. For much of the set he adopts a growling voice that's not only at odds with the peppy production, but also doesn't suit him too well. When he unleashes full-out-throaty growls (as he does often on this LP), he doesn't sound tough or swaggering; he just sounds like someone who really needs to clear his throat, or at least to lighten up if he doesn't want to destroy his lungs. The songs are largely routine, studly numbers, sometimes faintly reminiscent of songs like though there's perhaps some (very) muted anti-war protest in and a bit of a gallop to the moody The only other cover is a ludicrously up-tempo, hoarsely screamed-sung version of co-written by his mother, . The album's not that hard to listen to, but it's not that pleasant to listen to either. And it must have been even harder to market, given its indecisive stylings. ~ Richie Unterberger