****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
There are so many confusing things about this album, but let's start with the title. Originally, this was a self-titled album by Attila, the drums-and-organ duo featuring a pre-solo-career Billy Joel which is frequently referred to as The Worst Rock Album of All Time. But it was later reissued, and I can't figure out if the title of this reissue is supposed to be Rollin' Home or Revenge Is Sweet. The former seems to be written in bigger letters on the cover, but then the cover also says that Joel's former band the Hassles are featured on here, and they're totally not. And then it also inexplicably says "Single" at the top of the cover. So I'm splitting the difference and assuming the Revenge Is Sweet refers to the Attila portion of this album (which is actually the entire album) and leaving it at that.Okay, so let's move on to the music. I bought this hoping for a disasterpiece on the level of Kevin Federline's solo debut, but I don't really see what the big deal is. This is never going to be anyone's favorite album, but it's not bad. It's right in line with other heavy psychedelic rock bands of the day, like Blue Cheer or Iron Butterfly, a style that would eventually coalesce into heavy metal. It's not the most subtle music ever created, particularly in the drumming of Jon Small, but both of them are proficient at their instruments, and it's possible to hear some of the instrumental flair that Billy Joel would eventually bring to his solo albums. Tracks like the funky "California Flash" and the title track (actually, since there's also a song here called "Rollin' Home", I guess it's one of two possible title tracks) are reminiscent of early Deep Purple, with their prog leanings and reliance on distorted organ. Of course, since Attila doesn't use any guitars, they rely on organ a hell of a lot more than Deep Purple ever did. Still, the performances here are pretty fun, and the would-be jazz workout "Amplifier Fire" and the rocker "Tear This Castle Down" are fun listening for anyone who enjoys 60's rock. "Tear This Castle Down" in particular has some nice vocal melodies by Joel, sounding kind of like a low-rent Guess Who at times.Probably most of these songs could have stood a little more polishing, and in terms of sophistication it all suffers badly in comparison to the direction in which Billy Joel took his career immediately following this work. Still, if the duo had stayed together and continued to record music, I think this would have ultimately been considered a good formative album from them. Anyone who denounces this as the worst rock album ever either hasn't actually listened to it, or is some old fuddy duddy who doesn't know what rock and roll is anyway. If you come across this, pick it up.Incidentally, the original album cover was way cooler than the one I've got, but I don't think it's available anymore. Whatever version you get should be fine.
