Rockin' At the Universal

Album Review

Recorded at an August 22, 1985 concert at the Universal Amphitheater in Los Angeles (some of the performances are actually from another show in Chicago from 1983 but aren’t credited as such) less than four months before his death on New Year’s Eve, this set catches Rick Nelson at a point where he had reconciled his teen idol pop beginnings with his later country-rock direction. Originally issued as an LP by Silver Eagle Records in 1986, this conglomerate live set is pretty well recorded and features Nelson doing lightly rearranged out versions of several of his hits, including “Travelin’ Man,” “Hello Mary Lou,” “Poor Little Fool,” “Lonesome Town,” and the sly, resigned “Garden Party,” as well as a fond, pleasant duet with Fats Domino on “I’m Walkin’.” It won’t change anyone’s opinion of Nelson or his body of work, but fans will undoubtedly enjoy it.