20 Beat Classics [IMPORT]

Georgie Fame

Product Details

• Audio CD (February 25, 1991)
• Original Release Date: 1982
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Polygram UK
• ASIN: B000006V5Z
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #136,081 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
Japanese limited edition issue of the album classic in a deluxe, miniaturized LP sleeve replica of the original vinyl album artwork. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent introduction to a music industry legend, February 18, 1999

By	[e-mail] (Commack, NY) - See all my reviews

Its a shame that Georgie Fame (and his seminal band the Blue Flames) has not enjoyed more recognition in the US for his talents and contribution to the music industry. Georgie (real name Clive Powell)is one of those cats who is more influential than famous. Check out 'Yeh Yeh" - lyrics by the legendary Jon Hendricks, music by Mongo SantaMaria) which was a monster hit in Britain in 1964. Or Georgie's version of Willie Dixon's "I Love the Life I Live" -- no doubt the best version of this tune ever recorded. Now, a quick trivia question. The drummer's style sounds familiar, doesn't it? Listen closely.Why that's Mitch Mitchell! Yep. Mitch left the Blue Flames in October of 1966 to join the Jimi Hendrix Experience. You can't go wrong with this CD. And while Georgie has done somne great stuff over the last 20 years (he's been Van Morrison's music director since about 1990 while recoding some great albums with the likes of Robben Ford and Ben Sidran, for example. John Mclaughlin-- pre Mahavishnu-- was Georgie's rhythm guitar player in late Sixties for another) the stuff on this disc-- all originally recorded between 1964 & 1966) will grab you, suck you in, blow your mind and make you a devotee of this jazz/blues giant.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The King Of The 1960s London R&B Scene, December 1, 1999

By	Peter Savage "seriously" (Near Portland, ME USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

If you weren't there, you wouldn't know. But Fame was the undisputed king of the R&B club scene, with a fanatical following. Why wasn't he a bigger star? Too sophisticated, too musical for an era that was gravitating to loud guitars and crass 'blooze' jamming. In contrast, there was nothing crass or gormless about Fame and the Blue Flames. Listening to this CD brings it all back. Until he popped up as Van Morrison's music director, I'd honestly thought he'd died. [And you should check out the 1990s CDs he appears on with Morrison, they're great]. Now what we need is for some record company to have the intelligence to re-release the whole catalog -- 'Live At The Flamingo', his early ska sides, 'Fame At Last,' 'Sweet Thing'. High spots of this record include an amazing 'Ride Your Pony,' and 'Funny How Times Slips Away.' One thing that made me smile: it's amazing how much this resembles some of Elvis Costello's output. I'm thinking of 'Punch The Clock,' but also some of his recent 'soulful' work. That, BTW, is a compliment, to both.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good-Time Rockin' Blues, June 3, 2001

By	Kurt Harding "bon vivant" (Boerne TX) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

To most Americans who have heard of him, the name Georgie Fame brings to mind his cheesy novelty hit Bonnie and Clyde. Others, who are more musically advanced, know of him as a sideman for and a producer of some memorable Van Morrison albums in the 1990s. But few of us ever knew him as a star in his own right. I bought 20 Beat Classics on the strength of an amazon recommendation and my curiosity about a musician who added much to the continuing success of the legendary Morrison. On the first listen I was less than impressed, but on subsequent listens the CD began to grow on me. Sure its primitive, at times it is even lame, but at other times it is excellent. Fame covers a lot of ground here, touching on compositions by artists as varied as James Brown and Willie Nelson. My favorites are the rocking Yeh Yeh, the jazzy Moody's Mood For Love, a very soulful rendition of Nelson's Funny How Time Slips Away, In The Meantime, Blue Monday, and I Love the Life I Live. The lowlight is My Girl and the switching of some lyrics in an otherwise decent rendition of Papa's Got A Brand New Bag. These should be listened to in the spirit of the times in which they were recorded. When heard from that perspective, Fame comes across as a hip musician whose play was very much on the edge in its day. If you liked the sounds of Them, the Kinks, and the Yardbirds you are almost sure to like this fine assortment of good-time rockin' blues.