Rock 'n Roll Gumbo

Professor Longhair | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 25, 1990)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Windham Hill Records
• ASIN: B0000030LH
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,387 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #50 in Music > Indie Music > Jazz > Traditional Jazz

Track Listings

1. Hey Now Baby

2. Junco Partner

3. Meet Me Tomorrow Night

4. Doin' It

5. How Long Has That Train Been Gone

6. Mean Old World

7. Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu

8. Mardi Gras in New Orleans

9. Jambalaya (On the Bayou)

10. Tipitina

11. Mess Around

12. Stagger Lee

13. Rum and Coca-Cola

14. (They Call Me) Dr. Professor Longhair

Editorial Reviews

From Grove Press Guide to Blues on CD

With top-of-the-line recording quality, songs drawn from the very fabric of New Orleans's musical history, and a tight band featuring Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown on guitar and fiddle, this set remains quintessential Longhair-and thus quintessential New Orleans boogie piano. An added horn track (the album was originally recorded sans horns in 1974) on one song ("Mardis Gras in New Orleans") is a minor quibble. (J.T.) -- © Frank John Hadley 1993

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Yup, The Absolute Best, May 14, 2001

By 

Mark K. Mcdonough "Mark McDonough" (Reston, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rock 'n Roll Gumbo (Audio CD)

This is a truly remarkable collection of music, with taut, blistering versions of many of Professor Longhair's best-known songs. Excellent guitar work by Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown adds some extra spice to the mix and the Professor is cranked -- extraordinarily energetic performances, but always with that syncopated swing -- never just fast and frenetic.

I don't even think I could pick a favorite song on this one... the version of "Stagolee" is a real standout. No matter how many half-hearted renditions you've heard by other artists, you can feel the lowlife menace of the lyrics. But then there's "How Long Has This Train Been Gone." And the cleverly re-worked "Rum & Coke." And a great "Junco Partner." And so on.

It's amazing to contemplate that this stuff was recorded when the Professor was relatively old and not all that healthy -- and according to the liner notes, only a few days after his uninsured house burned down. He sounds absolutely on top of the world and at the top of his form.

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Masterful Fess, September 20, 2000

By 

Fess's Biggest Fan (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rock 'n Roll Gumbo (Audio CD)

Fess has been gone now for exactly twenty years. We'll not see the likes of this titan again.

Try to get a handle on this man's greatness. More than any other musician, he defines a whole genre of music. Dr. John, Earl King, everyone of any consequence on the New Orleans musical scene, the whole lot of them owe him everything.

The guy spent much of his life struggling to make ends meet, employed as a janitor. Listen to the rolling opening bars of "Tipitina's" on this disc and wonder how this could possibly be.

Everyone says that Crawfish Fiesta is his best album. I don't know. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't get any better than this. "Doin It," "Big Chief", "Junco Partner," "Mess Around," they're all here.

You really, really need to listen to this disc if you have any interest at all in New Orleans music and where it comes from.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Girls Call Him Little Old Lovin' Man, January 4, 2002

By 

Mad Dog "maddog6969" (TimbuckThree, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rock 'n Roll Gumbo (Audio CD)

This is the album that got Profesor Longhair back into the spotlight of the New Orleans musical scene. He'd been a popular bandleader years before, but had landed on hard times. The producers of this collection heard he was still around and found him working for minimum wage sweeping floors. They swept him away, helped him put together a band and this classic album resulted.

Fess pulled together elements of blues, jazz, boogie, rhumba and calypso and melted into his own Creole stew. This collection includes many tunes that never sounded better than when played by Fess. His take on "Rockin' Pneumonia" will get your toes a tappin' in no time. "Hey Now Baby" shows off his unique blues approach, as does "Mean Ol' World". Excellent interpretations of "Jambalaya" and "Stag-O-Lee" and some originals (Tipitina and Dr. Professor Longhair) mix well with the rest to yield a can't miss New Orleans classic. The boys may have called him Dr. Professor Longhair, but the little girls must have known him better.