Just Wanna Rock 'n' Roll

Recording information: Mother Music Sound Recorders, Orange, CA.
Arrangers: Janna Merlyn Feliciano; José Feliciano; Barry Fasman.
A fine guitarist with an equally fine voice, José Feliciano slipped easily between styles -- from folk to Chicano soul to light rock, all laced with his subtle Latin rhythms -- always sounding somehow exactly like himself. Feliciano's commercial peak came with his version of the Doors' "Light My Fire" in 1968, but he charted several LPs into the mid-'70s while he was with RCA Records. This set, originally issued on LP by RCA in 1975, is a little bit different for Feliciano in that it features more electric guitar, and while it isn't exactly blistering thrash rock, it has more of an edge than Feliciano usually aimed for in his outings. Highlights include lightly funky reworkings of "I Can't Get Next to You," Marvin Gaye's "Ain't That Peculiar," and a lovely version of the Flying Burrito Brothers' "Hot Burrito # 1." ~ Steve Leggett