Frank Ifield - Ain't Gonna Take No For An Answer (2022)

Ain't Gonna Take No for an Answer is a leaner follow-up to Someone to Give My Love To, built around Ifield's recording of the Michael Nesmith "Joanne" and a handful of other singles. Except for a slightly excessive production at the outset of "Count Up to Ten," this is a pretty restrained album overall that stands stylistically in Ifield's output roughly where Elvis Presley's two post-comeback Memphis albums did in his career, bringing the international country star back to basics. If the beguiling romanticism of "Joanne" doesn't grab the listener, then Ifield's rendition of "The Nearness of You," showcasing the singer's extraordinary range even more vividly, probably will. And Ifield's mid-'70s re-recording of "I Remember You" compares very favorably with the 1962 original, showing off his more mature phrasing and a richly mellowed voice in a beautifully subdued setting. ~ Bruce Eder