| Rumble | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers |
| Cover: | Rumble (album).jpg |
| Released: | 1988 |
| Genre: | Rock |
| Label: | Columbia[1] |
| Producer: | Rick Chertoff |
| Prev Title: | Walkin' on the Water |
| Prev Year: | 1986 |
| Next Title: | Guitar Trouble |
| Next Year: | 1990 |
Rumble is the second album by the American band Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, released in 1988.[2] [3] It was the band's first album for a major label.[4]
The album peaked at No. 103 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.[5] "I'm Not Your Man" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.[6]
The album was produced by Rick Chertoff.[7] The fellow Philadelphia band the Hooters worked on the album; Jules Shear helped write two songs.[8] Rumble contains four re-recordings of songs that appeared on the band's independent debut album.
The Washington Post called Conwell "a likable roots-rocker who turns out energetic bar-band music, and the attempt to turn him into something else is misguided at best."[9] The Philadelphia Inquirer determined that "Chertoff, perhaps mindful of the hit-singles potential of some of these songs, might have clipped the engaging guitarist too close to the vest in a few spots, denying Rumbles audience the chance to experience an inventive guitar voice."[10] The St. Petersburg Times deemed the album "a savage, blues-based, booze-soaked rock 'n' roll romp that proves a bar band can graduate to major-label status without letting corporate pressure douse its fiery conviction."[11]
The Boston Globe wrote that Rumble "has a few simplistic rock anthems, but comes alive in its striking ability to merge blues and rock with a near-gospel fire."[12] The Toronto Star concluded that "rootsy and real as the music is, it's just a little too contrived."[13] Comparing Conwell to Bruce Springsteen, The Gazette opined that the frontman needed to develop more "vision, if he hopes to proceed beyond Stray Cats-bar band status."[14] The Chicago Sun-Times thought that "Rumble sometimes sounds like the vinyl equivalent of a Brat Pack film, one of the better ones." The Chicago Tribune listed Rumble as one of the 20 best albums of 1988.[15]
AllMusic called "I'm Not Your Man" "as great a roots rocker as the late '80s produced, and reason enough for the group to get its shot at the big time."