Customer Reviews

Legends of Specialty

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

 

 

What a GREAT disc! And it's just ONE of the fine offerings in the Legends of Specialty series; maybe the best one at that. 23 smoking tracks from the Specialty vaults showing Larry Williams in excellent form throughout. All the hits and influential cuts ("Bony Maronie", "Dizzy Miss Lizzy", "Slow Down", "Short Fat Fannie", "Bad Boy"), not to mention great covers (Lloyd Prices "Just Because", Huey 'Piano' Smith's "Rockin' Pneumonia", Aaron Neville's "Zing Zing")and many many more. I can't even imagine how they cooled down the original vinyl 45's that paired "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and "Slow Down."

Great rock 'n' roll vocals and piano from Williams complemented by several different swingin' studio combos. Little Richard's band appears on one track, and tracks recorded in New Orleans feature the likes of Lee Allen on sax and Art Neville on piano. Rene Hall provides some stinging guitar here and there, and Ted Brinson (bass) and Earl Palmer (drums) form the rhythm section on most of the tracks. And if that's not enough to get you clicking "Buy," dig this: TWO tracks co-written by Sony Bono! That's right, you get both "High School Dance" AND "You Bug Me Baby" (a Williams/Bono co-credit!).

The sound quality is great, having been produced mostly (if not exclusively) from the original master tapes. The track selection is first-rate, with some great B-sides, previously unreleased tracks and alternate takes. The liner notes are quite good, giving an overall perspective of Williams' career, and particular notes about each song. The track-by-track listing gives master numbers and recording dates, and the personnel at each session are detailed.

Five stars. Must buy.

One of the poorest mastering jobs I have heard and surely one of the worst cover designs ever. Whoever did the mastering obviously had no idea how Larry's great Specialty records sounded. Unfortunately this CD was issued before Billy Vera became involved with the reissue program of Specialty material. The sound is strangely 'muddy' and way too compressed, which gives the tracks a tunnel echo effect which simply isn't on the original tapes. If you want to hear Larry Williams how he should be heard in crystal clear sound, invest your cash in the UK Ace CD "The Bad Boy Of Rock'n'Roll" (CDCHD 709) or better still, chase up the 47 track 2CD set on Ace - "Larry Williams At His Finest" (CDCHD2 1021). They are both streets ahead of this rubbish.

Larry Williams is one of the many kings of Rock and Roll. And although his sound was completely derived from two other Specialty recording artists (Little Richard and Lloyd Price) doesn't and should not take away from his greatness as a rocker. He sounds just like Lloyd on his classics "Just Because" and "Lawdy Miss Clawdy. Short Fat Fannie hit #1 on the R&B charts in July of 1957 and was his biggest hit. The title of this cd couldn't be more appropriate for Larry Williams and Hank Ballard and Gene Vincent were the three baddest boys(men) of 50's Rock and Roll.

Terrific CD. If you're old enough to know of Larry Williams, you won't be disappointed. All the hits are here as well as tunes that weren't hits but are worth hearing just the same. The Beatles covered several of his tunes. This CD has all the Larry Williams you'll ever need---and then some!!! Highly recommended!!!

This one from the Specialty vaults came OH SO CLOSE to fulfilling a completist collector's dream. OK, so I knew I wouldn't be getting either of his two "comeback" hits - Mercy, Mercy, Mercy [a # 23 R&B/# 96 Billboard Pop Hot 100 in 1967 under the billing Larry Williams & Johnny Watson], and Nobody [a # 40 R&B in 1968 under the billing Larry Williams & Johnny Watson With The Kaleidoscope]. Both of those were recorded for Okeh in the years following his release from prison for a narcotics offense, and this is a Specialty retrospective.

But I do think, in a 23-selection CD, they could have made it an even two dozen and added Let Me Tell You Baby, which was the flipside of his first charted hit in 1957, Just Because, which went to # 11 R&B in April.

But both sides of the other three hits are here for the former Lloyd Price band member [and one-time valet]. Short Fat Fannie, which made it to # 1 R&B/# 5 Billboard Pop Top 100 in the summer of 1957 had High School Dance as the flipside, and that is regarded as a "follow along" hit. The A-side is a clever amalgam of names from among numerous other hits of the day. Late in 1957 the driving Bony Moronie made it to # 4 R&B/# 14 Top 100 b/w You Bug Me Baby, which scored at # 45 Top 100.

By this stage Specialty thought they had a successor to Little Richard, who had bolted the music scene for religious reasons, and when listening to his frantic wailing on many of the cuts you can see why. And it registered on one of the giants waiting in the wings because, even though only the A-side of the Dizzy, Miss Lizzy/Slow Down pairing made it to the Pop Top 100 in April 1958 [# 69], the B-side, along with Bad Boy and Dizzy, Miss Lizzy, were among the earliest Beatles recordings, reflecting this vastly underrated artist's influence.

Unfortunately, other demons got in the way of this talented pianist from New Orleans, and when he couldn't face them any more he committed suicide on January 7, 1980. He was just 44. Why he is not yet in the R&R Hall Of Fame, while some like Gene Vincent and Eddie Cochran are, defies explanation.