It's been speculated that was recorded in late 1961 right before left for , possibly with everything being cut in one session. If that was the case, it might account for the grind-it-out feel of these ten small-combo sides (probably with on sax and on keyboards), which are lacking in noteworthy songs with the possible exception of (aka ). , of course, brings committed singing and playing to the session; he was too much of a pro to give anything less than that to everything he did in the studio back then. Even by the adjusted standards of 's brand of , however, these songs just sound too similar to each other to rate among his better work, often sticking to a slow-to-mid-tempo shuffle and near-identical chord progressions. Fact is, when follows the arrangement's so similar that at first you're wondering whether it's (though it isn't). does have a renowned if slightly cruel lyric, though, especially when . changes to a stuttering tempo and complains, "I gave you seven children/And now you want them back!" Still, even that particular song was done more memorably on 's famous concert album a few years later. Note that the version of is different from the one that came out on a single in 1965, which added a piano overdub. The 2004 CD reissue on adds eight previously unreleased bonus tracks from the same era that do much to elevate the disc's listenability. Several of them escape the monotonous shuffle of tempos for something faster, more swinging, and rhythmically more Latin-influenced. None of those bonus songs (all co-written by ) are great, but they're acceptably enjoyable and accomplished. One of these, is actually an extended version of a track that did appear on a single, but all of the other extras appear here for the first time in any form. ~ Richie Unterberger