Customer Reviews

Love That Louie: The Louie Louie Files

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I don't think there are that many Louie-philes out there, but I thought I'd add my review anyway. There have been a few other Louie compilations released over the years, but they've often contained a few "real" covers and then some novelty/joke tracks. This album is a definitive history of the song.

It starts with the original version by Richard Berry. Most people won't recognize it, because most of us grew up hearing the Kingsmen's version. This version has never been on CD before, due to copyright issues.

After that are 3 songs that influenced Mr. Berry's songwriting. "El Loco Chacha" in particular is a gem of a find. Beyond those 3 are bunch of covers. I don't think I had heard the Beach Boys' version before, but it's fantastic. They stick to the Berry version and incorporate 2 modulations.

Finally, the album finishes off with Louie "knock-offs;" songs that were sequels of the original. I don't like those as much, but they're interesting.

All in all, if you're fascinated with Louie history, this album will not disappoint. It also comes with a great booklet which contains a "mini-history" of the song.

If you want to capture a bit of musical history, this is a great album for doing it. Addressing the popularity of the tune Louie Louie and its many changes and permutations, Love That Louie leads you along the path that Louie Louie followed.

This disc is a treasure. Since I'm 62 years old, I am very familiar with a lot of these different versions that I danced to during my college years, but even I had missed a few of the latter versions. The book that comes with disc enlightened me about the origins and progression of the song and the disc itself has really good recordings of the original releases.

I bought this disc about 6 months ago, and I am still pulling it out to play in rotation because it is just that good and totally irresistible to me. My favorite cut? Number 10, Louie Louie by The Sonics. The Sonics were an obscure group that released their version of Louie Louie in 1965. Their version was instantly my favorite and I fell in love with it immediately. I was very pleased and happy find The Sonics version on this disc. It is great to listen to it again after so long and hear how their version seems to eerily hint about the punk music movement far, far, in the distance.

Always loved the song. It was more than a song that had "a beat you could dance to". The establishment hubbub over it was a watershed in the emergence of baby boomer consciousness in the 60s. Used this CD to explain an important piece of pop history to my kids (pun intended). Good collections of covers but the Kingsmen version is still the best.

More Louie Louie than you deserve. Every track is individual enough to maintain interest until played out, then hit repeat. The history, the inspirations, the legacy. You need this