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VINTAGE ROCK 'N' ROLL & ROCKABILLY
Jerry Lee Lewis ->
Bob Luman
| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Ace CDCH 326 |
Live At The Vapors Club |
● CD $18.98 |
Ol' Jerry Lee keeps on pumpin' em out - this live
performance was recorded on the Killer's 55th birthday in front of friends
and fans in Memphis. Mostly concert favorites like Chantilly Lace/ Wine
Spo-Dee-O-Dee/ Me And Bobby McGhee/ Whole Lot Of Shakin'/ Will The Circle
Be Unbroken, delivered with the customary high energy. 12 cuts. (MB)
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Ace CDCH 332 |
Honky Tonk Rock 'N' Roll Piano Man |
● CD $18.98 |
Sometimes I worry that someone has taped everything the
Killer ever did, but this reissue actually has a reason to live. In the
mid-Eighties, Jerry Lee released several records on the SCR label. Ace has
already reissued one of these as the fiery Live At The Vapors Club
(Ace CDCH 326), and this 15-track disc concentrates on many of the studio
recordings from the period. Instead of being a straight reissue, this is a
remix job, with some instrumentation that producer Dave Travis considered
extraneous lopped off, and new guitar overdubs from Sun specialist Eddie
Jones. The changes neither improve or dismantle substantially, although
the new mixes place the piano and vocal farther in front, where they
belong. The songs aren't all that great (many showed up on two
early-Eighties MCA LP's), but the performances are a cut or two above his
usual of the period. JG)
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Ace CDCH 348 |
Pretty Much Country |
● CD $18.98 |
The third of Ace's repackagings of the Killer's mid-eighties
SCR material is much like the second, Honky Tonk Rock And Roll Piano
Man (CD 332), and not only because it shares several songs in common.
Both discs offer an intermittently excited Jerry Lee leading a band of the
usual suspects (Bob Moore on bass, Buddy Harmon on drums, Kenny Lovelace
on guitar and fiddle), with guitar overdubs added recently by Sun
specialist Eddie Jones. Historical revisionism aside, the remixes are
noticeably superior to the original issues, although I wish producer Dave
Travis had scraped off the backing vocals when he grafted on the new
guitar. Song quality varies on this ballad-heavy collection, but when the
Killer bothers (about half the time), it's worth the ride. Ace's first SCR-era
CD, Live At The Vapors Club (CD 326) is live, highly recommended,
and probably not recorded at The Vapors Club. (JG)
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Bear Family BCD 15408 |
Up Through The Years 1956-1963 |
● CD $19.98 |
This incredible CD, featuring 24 of The Killer's Sun sides,
misses the mark for being THE Jerry Lee CD to buy for the stupidest reason
-- I can almost understand not having Milkshake Mademoiselle , but
some idiot left off High School Confidential ! And instead we get
stuff like the definitely sub par LP cut of Don't Be Cruel and such
non-important stuff as John Henry and Carry Me Back To Old
Virginny . With those complaints gone, let me say that the sound is
fantastic, courtesy of Boppin' Bob Jones, and besides the big hits (you
know what they are) includes lots of my fave minor hits like Lovin' Up
A Storm / Break Up / Down The Line / Big Blon' Baby , plus lots of
shots from the famed hair-combin' photo session.
GM
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Bear Family BCD 15420 |
The Definitive Edition Of His Sun Recordings
1956-1963 |
● CD $169.98 |
| This is it - rock'n'roll's version of the Rosetta stone, the
Blarney stone, Stonehenge and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. When you
graduate from the greatest hits collection this is the foreboding door
that beckons. This 8 CD box set of Sun & Phillips recordings has
expanded upon the 209 track LP version, adding a further 35 cuts.
Everything is programmed in chronological order so you can hear the way
Jerry Lee develops a song, which actually isn't all that often since he
usually knocked 'em off in one take. The 4 takes of High School
Confidential and the 3 takes of Milkshake Mademoiselle is about
as indulgent as it gets. The sessions begin with the November, 1956
session that produced his first Sun 45 Crazy Arms/ End Of The Road
and ends with a pair of August, 1963 dates where Sam Phillips has Lewis
rockin' up a variety of music styles on tunes like Hong Kong Blues
, Love On Broadway and Carry Me Back To Ol' Virginia , with
strings and chorus, an approach they'd tried throughout the 60's. In
between there were close to 200 songs cut, most with the nucleus of Lewis
on piano, Roland Janes on guitar and J.M. Van Eaton on drums. There are
dozens of astounding numbers here and virtually everything else is
fascinating due to Lewis' unique stylistic approach to the wide variety of
material he tackled. Who else but Jerry Lee would have the audacity to
shake it up on Old Time Religion , Hand Me Down My Walking Cane
, Deep Elem Blues and even The Marines' Hymn . You'll get to
hear some outrageous studio patter and even the legendary religious
discussion with Sam Phillips during the recording of Great Balls Of
Fire . So in a nutshell, you get 246 songs, original versions of all
Sun singles, tons of unissued stuff, all remastered from the mastertapes
plus a deluxe LP size booklet with fantastic vintage photos and an up to
date (1989) discography of everything in the Sun vaults. Jerry Lee's quest
to put his personal stamp on every tune ever recorded (see the Bear Family
Mercury reissues for the continuation) includes Frankie & Johnny/
Matchbox/ Ubangi Stomp/ Ooby Dooby/ Settin' The Woods On Fire/ Hound Dog/
Jambalaya/ Sweet Little Sixteen/ What'd I Say/ Mexicali Rose/ Be Bop A
Lula and on and on. (AE)
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Bear Family BCD 15467 |
Live At The Star-Club Hamburg |
● CD $19.98 |
On April 5, 1964
the Killer performed at Hamburg's famed Star Club accompanied by British
band The Nashville Teens and stormed his way through 13 classic rock 'n
roll tunes including Mean Woman Blues/ Money/ What'd I Say, Parts 1
& 2/ Great Balls Of Fire/ Lewis Boogie/ Houd Dog/ Whole Lotta Shakin'
Goin' On and others. In keeping with Bear Family's high standards the
sound as remastered by Bob Jones is impeccable and the cover has a nice
shot of the Star Club and the booklet features several dynamic photos from
the gig. (FS)
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Bear Family BCD 15608 |
The Greatest Live Shows On Earth |
● CD $19.98 |
Until Bear Family gets around to transferring its landmark
Killer LP box sets to CD, top-rank reissues like this will keep us fans
very happy. This 72:38 disc includes two shows, a 1964 Birmingham date and
a 1966 Fort Worth gig, originally released as The Greatest Live Show On
Earth/ More Of The Greatest Live Show On Earth, respectively. The LP
titles don't lie, especially the first. At Birmingham, the chosen
repertoire was perfect for Jerry Lee (heavy on Chuck Berry and Little
Richard), and it features him at his rockin' peak. The Fort Worth date is
not as consistently mesmerizing, although the small band is excellent, and
the song selection still ideal, with more of a tilt toward country. Along
with the earlier Live At The Star Club (BCD 15467), this is one of
the best live recordings ever. For anyone who cares about rock'n'roll or
country music, this CD is indispensible. JG)
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Bear Family BCD 15783 |
The Locust Years And The Return To The
Promised Land |
● CD $199.98 |
8 CDs, 162 cuts, roughly 8 hours, essential Subtitled
"and the return to the promised land," this typically hefty Bear
Family set replaces the first of three landmark "The Killer" LP
boxes, including all of Jerry Lee's Smash studio recordings from 1963 to
1968. (His live albums of that period are already available on two
indispensible Bear Family discs.) The breadth and the consistency here are
astonishing, especially since the mid-Sixties are usually considered the
period between his Sun triumphs and his return to the charts with What
Made Milwaukee Famous, Another Place Another Time, and She
Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye, all included here. There are some dud
Sun rerecordings as well as Lincoln Limousine, a JFK memoriam that
may be the weirdest thing the Killer ever cut (think about that), but 90
percent of what's here is amazing, from early rockers like I'm on Fire
early on to Disc 8, which offers yet another show from the Fort Worth 1966
stand that previously yielded "More of the Greatest Live Show on
Earth". A 48-page booklet by Colin Escott improves on the excellent
booklet he wrote for the LP release, augmented by Ari Bass's rigorous
discography. So shut up and buy this. You know you want to. (JG)
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Bear Family BCD 15784 |
Mercury Smashes ... And Rockin' Sessions |
● CD $239.98 |
The second compilation of Jerry Lee's
Mercury/ Smash sides - 10 CDs featuring all of his recordings from 1970 to
1978 with the exception of the London Sessions and the live albums which
will be issued separately.
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Collectables 5694 |
The Mercury/ Smash Years Recordings |
● CD $14.98 |
14 tracks - live and studio - Jenny Jenny/ Memphis/ I Got
A Woman/ No Particular Place To Go/ Long Tall Sally/ Chantilly Lace/ Turn
On Your Love Light, etc.
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Collectables 6012 |
The Very Best, Vol. 1 |
● CD $14.98 |
24 classic Sun rockers - Whole Lot Of Shakin' Goin' On/
High School Confidential/ Sixty Minute Man/ Milkshake Mamoiselle/ Real
Wild Child/ Ooby Dooby/ Pinl pedal Pushers/ Good Goilly Miss Moll,
etc.
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| JERRY LEE LEWIS |
Magnum 040 |
Live In Italy |
● CD $12.98 |
16 lives tunes taken from a couple of shows in Milan and
Rome, Italy in April, 1987. I've heard better live sets from Jerry Lee on
record but he certainly isn't asleep at the piano or anything. I guess the
muddy recording quality is the main reason I'm not too impressed with the
shows, but Jerry Lee's mumblin' and stumblin' over the lyrics also
contributes to the general humdrum quality. His daughter Phoebe and his
sister Linda Gail are the backup singers, the band (uncredited) is pretty
good and the Killer's piano pounding is, as always, impressive. Highlights
are Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms with the gals and a fine honky
tonk tune, There Must Be More To Love Than This . In essence this
is fine for collectors but if you don't have a large Lewis LP collection
you could find something else more essential. High School Confidential/
Jackson/ What'd I Say/ Mona Lisa/ One Of Those Things We All Go Through
, etc. (AE)
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| MARGARET LEWIS |
Ace CDCHD 572 |
Lonesome Bluebird |
● CD $18.98 |
27 tracks, 70 min., good Margaret who? The word I've heard
is that Ace released this set because on their earlier compilation of Ram
label recordings, Shreveport Stomp (Ace CD 495), the few cuts by
Lewis attracted some positive response. Be that as it may, this full
program devoted to her performances, even with Ace's stringent production
values, suggests that she was rather deserving of her anonymity. Most of
these numbers, particularly the late 50's to early 60's cuts, are pretty
amateurish. Her versions of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven and
Elmore James' Dust My Blues are particularly scary. On the other
hand, the demos included here of her later work as a successful songwriter
are occasionally pretty good. I particularly like her demo of Reconsider
Me, a major country hit in 1975 by Narvel Felts. (DH)
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| LITTLE RICHARD |
Bear Family BCD 15448 |
The Formative Years |
● CD $19.98 |
This is your chance to get all the pre-Specialty recordings
on one clean CD. OK, so the RCA sides were recently reissued on (RCA (UK)
89965) and the Peacock on Ace (CHA 193). But you have to have all the
alternate takes and now that they're all on CD, well, why not? Spring for
it! The Bear Family crew have put out a fine package with good photos and
notes by Rick Coleman who also did the booklet for the Specialty box. This
may be Richard's formative years, but the recordings are still great,
ranging from fine blues ballads to Roy Brown type shouters. (
RF)
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| LITTLE RICHARD |
Specialty 2154 |
The Essential Little Richard - 20 Of His
Greatest Hits |
● CD $12.98 |
All his greatest Specialty sides, with a few non-essentials
like Baby Face/ By The Light Of The Silvery Moon. 20 cuts in all,
with photo-filled scrapbook insert. Ooh my soul!
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| LITTLE RICHARD |
Specialty 7012 |
The Georgia Peach |
● CD $15.98 |
If there's anyone out there who doesn't yet have a Little
Richard greatest hits compilation, this is the one for you - chock full of
25 howlers in chronological order. Chances are that every Penniman fave
you can name is here, as well as less chartworthy, but equally great cuts
like I Can't Believe You Wanna Leave/ Kansas City/ Hey Hey Hey Hey
and more. Compiler Billy Vera's notes are astute and usually on the mark,
but this material (which has already come out on Specialty, Ace and Rhino
CD's) could have really benefitted from a more creative repackaging angle.
(MB)
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| LITTLE RICHARD |
Specialty 7063 |
Shag On Down By The Union Hall |
● CD $15.98 |
24 tracks, 53 min., recommended Billy Vera, notes writer
& compiler for this volume, says it best when he writes that the music
here comes from Little Richard's most creative period (1955-1957) when
everything (music, lyrics, production & promotion) were a cohesive
whole. The soloists include Lee Allen (tenor sax), Justin Adams (guitar),
Joe Tillman (tenor Sax) and Grady Gaines (tenor sax). We even have pioneer
electric bassist Lloyd Lambert's band backing him up on an early version
of Long Tall Sally. Half the CD is made up of master takes not
included in the 1991 compilation, including Directly From My Heart,
I Got It, Boo Hoo Hoo Hoo (I'll Never Let You Go) and She
Knows How To Rock. Those of us who have the Specialty boxset will
notice that I Got It and Bama Lama Bamo Loo differ in length
of time. (EL)
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| THE LIVELY ONES |
Ace CDCHD 957 |
Surf Rider/ Surf Drums |
● CD $18.98 |
Reissue of both Lively Ones LP's on one CD, originally
released by Del-Fi in 1963. The Lively Ones, originally known as The
Surfmen, were one of the top surf bands in Southern California. Jim
Masoner(lead gtr.), Ed Chiaverini(gtr.), Ron Griffith(b), Joel
Willenbring(sax) and Tim Fitzpatrick(d) were from Orange County and by all
accounts really got the surfers a-stompin' at places like the legendary
Retail Clerk's Hall in Buena Park. Great sound mastered from the original
master tapes on these 24 tunes. Surf Beat/ Misirlou/ Let's Go Trippin'/
Happy Gremmie/ Tuff Surf/ Bustin' Surfboard , etc., and no drippy
vocals either! (AE)
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| TRINI LOPEZ |
GNP 2216 |
The Best Of Trini Lopez - All The Original
Classics |
● CD $16.98 |
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| ROBIN LUKE |
Bear Family BCD 15547 |
Susie Darling |
● CD $19.98 |
If Robin Luke were any more wholesome looking, he would be a
glass of milk. As it is, he was a minor teen idol who played the ukulele
and hit it big in 1958 with Susie Darlin'. These songs (all 31 of
them!) were recorded between 1958-62, and include many demos and other
previously unissued stuff. Sure, he sounds like an Elvis/ Buddy Holly
wanna-be a lot of the time, and yes, he finds the subject of teen romance
endlessly fascinating; but despite it all, songs like Won't You Please
Be Mine/ Everlovin'/ Five Minutes More/ Sugar have a certain charm.
Not surprisingly, the early cuts are better than the sixties tracks, which
often suffer from wretched strings and hokey backup singers. And as usual
Bear Family has done an excellent job with everything including the liner
notes - the pictures of Luke with Sam Cooke and The Everly Brothers are
less telling than the one of him in the high school chemistry lab. (JC)
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| BOB LUMAN |
Sparkletone 99010 |
.. Rocks - His 50s Recordings |
● CD $19.98 |
Collection of Bob's 50s rocking sides cut before he hit it
big in 1960. It includes his 1955 demo session with Mac Curtis's band and
his commercial recordings from 1957-59 including many cuts not originally
issued - some with great guitar from james Burton. Includes Stranger
Than Fiction/ Hello Baby/ No use In Lying/ Red Cadillac & A Black
Mustache/ Whenever You're Ready/ Wild Eyed Woman/ / Everybody's Talkin'/
Svengali/ Class Of '59/ Love Creator, etc.
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