| Best Always | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Rick Nelson |
| Cover: | Best Always.JPG |
| Released: | April 19, 1965 |
| Genre: | Rock and roll |
| Length: | 28:08 |
| Label: | Decca |
| Producer: | Charles "Bud" Dant |
| Prev Title: | Spotlight on Rick |
| Prev Year: | 1964 |
| Next Title: | Love and Kisses |
| Next Year: | 1965 |
Best Always is the twelfth studio album by rock and roll and pop idol Rick Nelson, and his fifth for Decca Records, released on April 19, 1965. Jimmie Haskell arranged the album and Charles "Bud" Dant produced it. The LP contains a mix of covers of old and recent hits that included four songs also having chart success: "My Blue Heaven" by Fats Domino from 1956, "Since I Don't Have You" by the Skyliners in 1959, "You Don't Know Me" by Ray Charles from 1962 and "I Know a Place" by Petula Clark.
The single, "Mean Old World", debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 in the chart dated March 20, 1965, reaching number 96 in a two-week stay.[1] Another single, "Lonely Corner", spent a week on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart in the issue dated August 29, 1964, peaking at number 113.[2]
The album was released on compact disc by Ace Records on March 10, 1998 as tracks 1 through 12 on a pairing of two albums on one CD with tracks 13 through 24 consisting of Nelson's 1965 album, Love and Kisses.[3] Bear Family included the album in the 2008 For You: The Decca Years box set.[4]
Richie Unterberger of AllMusic says Best Always" isn't bad but "there's little to distinguish it from the other easygoing pop/rock albums he made during the period", suggesting "Nelson stretches his vocal range on the cover of the Skyliners' 'Since I Don't Have You', and gives a taste of his upcoming move into country with a version of 'You Don't Know Me'.
Billboard stated that the covers Nelson recorded "are given fine interpretations."[5]
Cashbox described it as "a compilation of mixed tunes, some soft and some driving. Along with his recent single, "Mean Old World," Nelson bounces through "I Know A Place" and the while back "Since I Don't Have You."[6]
Record Mirror thought the album was "genuinely entertaining" and claimed that each track was "given single treatment, rather than a general album sound".[7]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music called the album "Disappointing"[8]
| Year | Title | U.S. Hot 100 | U.S. Cashbox[9] | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 | "Lonely Corner" | 113 | 105 | |
| 1965 | "Mean Old World" | 96 | 94 |