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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
BIG JOE TURNER: SHOUT,RATTLE AND ROLL, January 1, 2009
This review is from: Shout Rattle & Roll (Audio CD)
Four discs-74,67,67,71 minutes each approximately. Digitally remastered-the sound is good considering the age of the masters. There is a bit of distortion on a few of the earliest tracks,however,it's well in the background,and does not ruin the music. This music can be enjoyed on several levels: as historic music from an age now long passed,as the beginnings of what became rock and roll,and as plain good music that ensures the listener a good time. A number of tracks are in the mid-tempo range to insure the listener will tap his foot.
This is music that must have sounded great blasting out of a jukebox or over a tinny car radio. The time period covered is from 1938 to 1954. Turner's big voice(he wasn't called that simply because of his size) can be heard over pretty much the same backing and arrangements. His band(except in the beginning of this set with the great Pete Johnson,whose solo tracks should be heard elsewhere)usually consisted of the usual bass,drums,piano,guitar backing,with a saxophone or two honking in complimentary fashion. Jazz listeners will note that Art Farmer turns up in Turner's band in 1948,playing trumpet with several other horns. Solos are either horn(s)or piano,and are short in duration. The slower numbers here are in more of a big city blues style,and serve as a good counterpoint to the faster tracks. Turner's style,while never really changing,can be heard from his rougher beginnings to a much smoother,sophisticated style. Quite a few of the tracks were written by Turner,which shows his skill at writing good unpretentious songs with good arrangements.
The booklet is up to the usual Proper Records standards-plenty of photos and information about Turner and his life. Each disc is inside a cardboard(unlined) holder,with everything inside a stiff outer cardboard box. This is one of those instances when I'm glad I write reviews on Amazon-to be able to let others know about this,(and other good music)so that others might be enticed to take a listen to some great music. Music that,somehow,got lost in the shuffle-which is a crime. This belongs on the shelf of everyone who likes good music,the voice of a great r&b/blues shouter,and/or the beginnings of rock and roll.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most underrated R&B singer ever!, April 10, 2010
This review is from: Shout Rattle & Roll (Audio CD)
Big Joe Turner was one of a kind. Larger-than-life in both size and voice, he commanded an audience throughout his 40-plus year recording career. This Proper box set is as great as it gets. My only complaint is that there's not even more songs! Turner's music combined blues, jump blues, R&B, swing, jazz, and early rock and roll. If only today's singers could sound this great. But unfortunately, as with most great singers and musicians, his work went largely unnoticed, especially to white audiences. Due to the abomination of the then-segregation of radio, very few black performers could not find a white audience. By the time of de-segregation in the early-1960's, he was sadly largely forgotten until his death in November 1985 (not 1987 like the enclosed booklet says). He died poor, even though he never retired from recording or live performing. But people like Miley, Britney, and Madonna are millionaires many times over. The business just isn't fair!
This 4-CD set comprises nearly 100 of his best songs (although in my opinion I can name bad songs of his on one hand and still have fingers left over). The early songs are more jazzy/bluesy, the songs then get progressively more into swing and "jump" blues, and finally into 1950's-style R&B and rock and roll, like his biggest hit "Shake, Rattle and Roll" which was covered by both Bill Haley and Elvis Presley (I find Turner's version superior to the others, of course). Some of the songs DO get a tad bit repetitive, for instance Roll 'Em Pete, It's Allright Baby and Rebecca are pretty much different versions of the same song, with different titles. Same for Born to Gamble and Life Is Like a Card Game. By the way, some of the lyrics to these songs are really quite funny: in "Lucille" he sings "You're the sweetest gal I know/she made me walk from Chicago to the Gulf of Mexico"...that's a sweet gal?! In "Life is Like a Card Game" and "Born to gamble" he sings "I know my luck is gonna change/if I try hard enough!" (Which doesn't make any sense, you can't change luck, you either have it or you don't!) Also, I swear that both versions of Lucille included here sound identical, despite the enclosed booklet claiming that it's two different versions recorded years apart by different musicians. Joe was an improviser, who did not like to memorize a lyric sheet (he couldn't really read anyway, never went to high school---such was the case for poor blacks in the 1920's). A very minor flaw, but to me a very minor one. But, for any of the repetitiveness, and as good as his backing musicians were (especially the also underrated Pete Johnson, whom Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and others HAD to owe a great deal of debt to), Joe's voice is the real star of the show here. It's huge, deep, and commands your attention. This box set includes a big fat booklet that tells the story of Turner's musical career. The liner notes are excellent. The quality of recordings is exceptional (although the first song, It's Allright Baby, isn't too good, but it is a live recording). Five stars is not enough!
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