considered 1966 the beginning of his professional musical career, largely because formed around that time. As a celebration, he recorded . Presumably, celebrates the past and the future by juxtaposing a side of original material with a side of covers. Actually, "covers" isn't accurate -- the six oldies that comprise the entirety of side one are re-creations, with "faithfully" replicating the sound and feel of ( ), ) and ). All of this is entertaining, to a certain extent, especially since it's remarkable how close comes to duplicating the very feel of the originals. Still, it's hard to see it as much more than a flamboyant throwaway, especially when compared with the glorious second side. For the first time since , allows himself to write and -- more importantly -- record straight-ahead songs. Certainly, and had their share of great songs, but they weren't delivered as songs; they were telegraphed as art. Here, delivers songs with ease, letting the melodies glide to the forefront. There are embellishments, of course, but the end result is a lushness that's apparent even on the hard rockers. If had made all of originals, it would have been a pure masterpiece. As it stands, it's essential for the faithful -- not only for hardcore heads, but for devoted fans as well. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine