Rock Me Baby Review: 1973

Cassidy's Teen Idol Plastic Image Challenge

Published in the UK on January 27, 1973, New Musical Express’s one-page album review of David Cassidy’s Rock Me Baby (Bell) was titled "Cassidy: Outside The Plastic Image". The review opened with a candid assessment of teenybop phenomena like The Monkees and Osmonds, noting that “nine times out of 10, when you have a teenybop phenomenon like the Monkees or Osmonds, the main thing in their favour is looks. You don't expect to find any grey matter beneath the plastic smile.” The piece went on to explore whether Cassidy could break free from his Partridge Family teen idol image, praising the album’s more mature, rock-oriented sound while acknowledging the challenge of escaping the “plastic” teenybop label.

Article Text Excerpt

CASSIDY: OUTSIDE THE PLASTIC IMAGE

DAVID CASSIDY: "Rock Me Baby" (Bell).

Nine Times out of 10, when you have a teenybop phenome-non like the Monkees or Osmonds, the main thing in their favour is looks. You don't ex-pect to find any grey matter beneath the plastic smile.

Legacy

This review reflects the early 1973 tension around David Cassidy’s transition from teen idol to serious solo artist — a key moment as he pushed for credibility beyond The Partridge Family. Original January 27, 1973 NME issues fetch £20–£60 on eBay (higher if mint). A must-have for David Cassidy collectors.

Do you have this NME review in your archive? Ready to look beyond the plastic image? Share in the comments!

CASSIDY: OUTSIDE THE PLASTIC IMAGE

DAVID CASSIDY: "Rock Me Baby" (Bell). Nine Times out of 10, when you have a teenybop phenome-non like the Monkees or Osmonds, the main thing in their favour is looks. You don't ex-pect to find any grey matter beneath the plastic smile.

Usually in these cases talent doesn't really matter- be-cause for 18 months or even less, people buy the artists' re-cords, copy the way they dress, and generally behave in a hys terical way Irrespective of the music.

David Cassidy's first solo al-bum, "Cherish", was as expect-ed. Average. Pretty songs, ave-rage voice. Nothing too deep, nothing too heavy-going. An al-bum you could put on and not be annoyed by.

And if you were a Cassidy fanatic there was the attractive album sleeve to look at, with full details of his fan club ad-dress on the reverse side.

That's why this second al bum is, for me, a surprise. Unlike the situation with Donny Osmond, we haven't had to wait for Cassidy's voice to break-and yet this could almost be someone else singing on the al-bum.

Gone is the average Mr. All-American voice. In its place there are definite shades of Col-in Blunstone's husky, breathless

voice, matched by a new strength.

Cassidy shows he has the ab ility to put over a sad lyric in an almost gut-wrenching manner.

Cassidy did promise that this album would be different. "I think it's good, it shows a lot of different colours at least a lot different from 'Cherish'," he told me. "It's more of an exten-sion of myself. I had a lot more to do with it."

So the new freedom of "hav ing much more to do with it" has taken darling David outside the plastic image and shown us just what he is capable of.

Two tracks are his own com-positions "Two Time Loser" and "Song For A Rainy Day", which he co-wrote with Kim Carnes.

"I write most of my songs during the lunch hour when we are filming the 'Partridge Fami ly' TV show," he says.

He could have become ego tistical and put all his own com-positions on the album. Instead, he's been selective, and certain-ly his songs do stand up well alongside the other material-which includes the two recent hits, "How Can I Be Sure", the Felix Cavaliere /Eddie Brigati composition, and "Rock Me Baby", on which David plays

guitar. He He isn't, then, devoid of mus-ical talent. "I'm a pretty fair guitar player," he said a few months back.

Unfortunately, information on the session musicians who play with him on this set isn't

available. A pity because they're Incredibly together and put the final seal for approval on the music.

Cassidy's composition, "Song For A Rainy Day", has some remarkable guitar work a la Wishbone Ash towards the end. When it's mixed with Cas-sidy's 'new' voice, the result is quite weird and freaky.

You might think this is sac-rilege, but Cassidy includes the Moodies classic "Go Now". He doesn't ruin it... but just the same. I listened to it last, in tre-pidation.

For me the most remarkable thing is the way he sounds so similar to Colin Blunstone. Is Cassidy the new Blunstone, I ask myself? Could the day come when Blunstone will re cord a Cassidy song? Thoughts of Cassidy sitting in his lunch hour listening to "Ennismore" flash through the mind.

Anyway, this album should definitely raise David Cassidy's musical rating. But it won't, of course. While I was playing it I was interrupted four times by different people, each one enqu iring of the record.

"Hey that's a nice bit of guit ar work", one said. "Who is it?" But when I said David Cassidy they screwed their faces up. Musical snobbery is still rife.

The only way the man will be able to prove his worth is at his live concerts in March. Follow ing early bad reports from America he's currently been receiving good reviews there.

So things are looking up.

Of course, the deciding fac-tor will be the band he has with him. "I have a regular backing band," he told me, "and al-though the main reason people come along is to see me a lot of them come to hear me as well."

I just hope some of the musi cians on the album are in his regular band.

Credit must go to producer Wes Farrell, who has wrapped up this whole package very neatly. Farrell is the man who put Cassidy alongside Elvis in terms of greatness. It seemed a joke when he first said it, yet Cassidy at last has proved he has talent an added extra when you look at the plastic publicity machine behind him.

This album will undoubtedly do extremely well. Unfortunate-ly it will probably only be bought by the converted those who bought the last al bum and adorn their bedrooms with pictures of Cassidy.

It deserves more recognition than that, because if it were by Joe Bloggs and the Knickers it would still be a fine album. Musically it's together, vocally Cassidy proves he has a voice and superb control

TRACKS-Side 1: Rock Me Baby: Lonely Too Long; Two Time Loser; Warm My Soul; Some Kind Of A Summer; (Oh No) No Way. Side 2: Song For A Rainy Day: Soft As A Sum-mer Shower: Go Now: How Can I Be Sure; Song Of Love.