Customer Reviews

Having a Good Time

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although the later cuts seem to go into a more basic blues vein, the cream of the crop are the first dozen or so cuts. I have never as an adult felt more of a sense of giddy fun than when listening to "We Like Birdland," "Well I'll Be John Brown," "Don't You Just Know It,"etc. There is a dense heavy sound to the cuts, but don't let that fool you. Huey and his Clowns are there to have fun, and don't you forget it! The lyrics are basically nonsense, but that rhythm section is awesome, really tight. It's hard to explain what makes this band so great, but maybe it is their ability to have so much fun while playing some really funky, but silly, New Orleans style piano based rock'n'roll. If you are ever in the mood to just let go, act about ten years old, and yet feel funky at the same time, this is the album for you. Don't think any deep thoughts, just party!

As many of the other reviewers have said, Huey Smith was in the great tradition of New Orleans piano players and this is a really good collection of his work. It will be played a lot at our house when Mardi Gras rolls around again (with Professor Longhair et al). The only thing that prevents me from giving five stars is the absence of "Sea Cruise".

This first volume compilation of Huey 'Piano' Smith and his Clowns is now difficult to get hold off. Its worth the effort though if you are a fan of New Orleans music from 1957 to 1960.

Kicking off with the rightly famous "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu" we get to hear both the vocal version and the instrumental versions. Huey Smith wrote a number of other classic tracks of which perhaps the best known are "Little Liza Jane" and "High Blood Pressure".
The backing of the Clowns is fabulous as you would expect, as it contained many well known New Orleans musicians.

My only slight surprise after getting this album was that although Huey Smith is well known as a Piano player, the Piano isn't actually featured that much, and tends to be buried underneath the band (still audible but low in the mix a lot of the time), and Smith rarely plays solos. This is a minor reservation but if you were expecting a recording along the lines of Prof Longhair or Dr John you might be disappointed.

Huey "Piano" Smith never got the recognition or acclaim that he deserved.

Many of these tracks are unreleased.

A certified winner! Just put it on "shuffle".

As the CD title states, 'The Very best of ...', and that is exactly what you get with all 24 tracks. There is something about the sound that was captured on tape back then ... a sound that cannot be copied and will stay with us forever.
If you're a Huey 'Piano' Smith fan, then this is for you. Included is the best R&B/R&R(call it whatever you want)track ever recorded. 'High Blood Pressure'.

Lots of songs on here sound like rewrites of one another.

I would spend, at most, $4 for the CD. (That is either as 4 MP3 songs or $4 for the whole CD.)