Rumble (album)

Rumble is the second album by the American band Tommy Conwell and the Young Rumblers, released in 1988. It was the band's first album for a major label.

The album peaked at No. 103 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. "I'm Not Your Man" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart.

Production
The album was produced by Rick Chertoff. The fellow Philadelphia band the Hooters worked on the album; Jules Shear helped write two songs. Rumble contains four re-recordings of songs that appeared on the band's independent debut album.

Critical reception
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." 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 Rumble's audience the chance to experience an inventive guitar voice." 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."

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." The Toronto Star concluded that "rootsy and real as the music is, it's just a little too contrived." 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." 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.

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."