On Impulse! / There Will Never Be Another You

This set combines two of Sonny Rollins' LPs for Impulse Records, There Will Never Be Another You and On Impulse!, both of which were originally issued in 1965. There Will Never Be Another You featured the saxophonist playing a live set (in the rain, apparently) with pianist Tommy Flanagan, bassist Bob Cranshaw, and Billy Higgins and Mickey Roker on drums. Rollins is in fine form, playing standards including a nearly 17-minute version of the title tune. He wanders off the microphone frequently, though, which is a problem, and it makes this otherwise very nice set less than essential. On Impulse! is a much stronger outing, with Rollins turning out signature takes of “On Green Dolphin Street” (there’s also a version of “On Green Dolphin Street” on There Will Never Be Another You, and “Three Little Words” also appears in both of these set lists) and “Hold ‘Em Joe,” and three other pieces with a solid quartet featuring pianist Ray Bryant, bassist Walter Booker, and drummer Mickey Roker. Combined, these two LPs show us where Rollins was in 1965. He had a restless soul, though, and bigger and more exploratory recordings were waiting around the corner.