David Cassidy - Rock Me Baby

David Cassidy was striking while the iron was cooling. Rock Me Baby followed a few months after his previous album Cherish went gold domestically. Rock Me Baby would stall just outside the top 40 at 41. His solo career would fare better in the UK and Australia but in North America but it certainly seemed like the gold run for The Partridge Family and David's solo career had come to an end in the first half of '72. 

It must have been incredibly perplexing for a young 22-year-old David, who seemed to be trying to step out of the bubblegum pin-up world he was confined to. Like a lot of people who grew up in the '70s The Partridge Family was essential television, but actually listening to the music outside the confines of the show was a lot to ask. I liked The Osmonds, but I wouldn't be caught dead listening to Donny. Icky ... germs.

When I found a copy of Rock Me Baby I snapped it up. Why not? The album cover looked cool, although the back cover was goofy. My oldest son popped downstairs while I was playing the album and saw the cover and asked me, "Why is he humping the post?" I hadn't thought of it that way, I just though he was making a veiled phallic reference by showing his wood.

Maybe it's just me but when I hear David's voice it reminds me of Cher. Something in the tone or his vibrato. It's not a shot, just an observation. I'll be the first to give props too. His voice was powerful and mature and belied his youth. He was dare I say it, soulful?

The songs here are actually pretty good, and a few are actually downright catchy. The record sounds really good and the performances are top shelf. Bell Records hired the best of the best to flesh out the songs. Studio aces from Hal Blaine and Jim Gordon on drums to the holy guitar trinity of Louie Shelton, Dean Parks, and Larry Carlton were among the musicians on the album.

Wes Farrell, who also produced The Partridge Family records, was behind Rock Me Baby. I wonder how much input David had into the production and song selection? My guess is quite a bit and that Wes was there trying to harness David's musical aspirations and vision. David wrote "Two Time Loser" a really nice string laded ballad on side one, and with Kim Carnes wrote "Song For a Rainy Day" that opens side two. They're among the best songs on the album.

The album plays it relatively safe and despite a desire to be taken seriously, David Cassidy was fighting an uphill battle for credibility. The title track was a really fun, almost glam infused, light rocker that is probably the best track on the album. This may have been a middle of the road safe for family consumption record but David really was giving it his all.

Listening to this now half a century later (goodness when I did get old) I no longer carry the same prejudice against those who were pretty enough to grace the page of Tiger Beat. This was a young man with a big voice who had the talent to deliver but was trapped by the very machine that made him famous. 

The Partridge Family would record until 1973 and the show would stop production early in 1974 and would live on in syndication. David wasn't even 25 and he'd lost his day job.