Customer Reviews

The Very Best Of Little Richard

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Fifty-plus years after budding blues singer Richard Penniman transformed himself into the prototype wild man rock `n' roller Little Richard, these seminal sides on Specialty retain every bit of their invention and abandon. Recorded in New Orleans with the rock 'n' roll pillars of Earl Palmer's second-line drumming and Lee Allen's muscular, swinging saxophone, Little Richard's best singles are as good as any rock 'n' roll records ever recorded. His outlandishly raw and seductive vocals stretched the microphones to their limits, just as his hammering on the piano often threatened to shake his instrument apart.

The hits are radioactive elements of the rock 'n' roll lexicon, their radiance undimmed by fifty years of tribute, imitation and repetition. Starting with 1955's "Tutti Frutti" Richard waxed a string of scorching sides that included "Long Tall Sally," "Good Golly, Miss Molly," "Rip It Up," and "Ready Teddy," each invested with a level of vocal exuberance unmatched by his contemporaries. Even when he'd take a breath and drop the key below the top-edge of his range, as on the mid-tempo "Slipin' and Slidin' (Peepin' and Hidin')," his voice remained edgy, and his instrumental battles with Lee Allen reaped brilliant rewards. Richard wrote or chose songs whose themes matched the newly acquired independence felt by mid-50s teens. Even with the lyrics tidied up here and there, the sexuality was hard to miss, and coupled with the brazenness of Richard's vocals (and Lee Allen's sax), it's easy to see how rock 'n' roll menaced 1950s Eisenhower America.

Even with all this inventiveness, as early as 1956 some of Richard's singles began to sound repetitive. "Heeby Jeeby" and "She's Got It," for example, borrowed liberally from their predecessors. Later in the year, Richard's label head, Art Rupe, maneuvered him into the title song of "The Girl Can't Help It," written by Bobby Troup. The production retains the New Orleans phrasings and edgy vocals of Richard's earlier sides, but adds stagey background singers. Richard still had plenty of thrills in him, however, laying down "Lucille" and "Jenny Jenny" to fill out the year. In between he dropped the Lloyd Price styled ballad "Send Me Some Lovin," penned by Price's brother, adding dynamics to accommodate a bluesier tune.

The rock 'n' roll blast furnace was stoked again in 1957 with the raucous "Keep A-Knockin'," but shortly thereafter Richard quit the business to attend bible college. His vacillation between preaching and rocking (that is, the sacred and the profane) prompted Specialty to issue older sides as new singles in 1957, charting his last U.S. hits with 1955's "True Fine Mama" and 1956's "Good Golly, Miss Molly." A pair of tin pan alley standards, "Baby Face" and "By the Light of the Silvery Moon," hit the U.K. top-20 in 1959, but it wasn't until he returned to touring in 1962, and found fans in the Beatles, that he once again placed himself on the U.K. chart with 1964's "Bama Lama Lou." Filling out the CD are surprisingly sedate covers of Leiber & Stoller's "Kansas City," and one of Richard's original Specialty audition demos, the blues "Baby." Closing the disc is a live medley from 1964 that gives listeners a sense of Richard's commanding performance, even as his band played more soulful than New Orleans raw.

This set's extras are interesting, but don't compare to the visceral brilliance of the singles, all of which have been available on numerous vinyl and CD collections over the years. Specialty's 1991 release for example, "The Georgia Peach," offers the same hits with a different selection of bonuses, and Great Voices of the Century's "Rip it Up: The Hits and More 1951-1957" offers a broader view that includes sides from RCA and Peacock alongside the requisite Specialty recordings. This latest set comes in a tri-fold digipack featuring excellent full-panel photos and an insert booklet with more photos and liner notes by Billy Vera. This is a terrific one-disc shop for those who want a focused introduction to Little Richard's best-loved Specialty sides. 4-1/2 stars, if allowed fractional ratings. [©2008 hyperbolium dot com]

Was nice to be able to listen to Little Richard's music again. I lost all my original 850 45rpm records in a house fire back in 1992. Glad because these recordings are the original cuts and not the one he released in later years.

When I was finally ready to pick up a Little Richard collection, this is what I got and it rocks! Great sound quality, compared to previous collections.

I never thought I would enjoy this cd as much as I do. I wanted some of his music, but I ended up loving all the songs from it.I listen to it at least twice a month. A marvelous experience. This was the beginning of Rock and Roll. you cant go wrong with Little Richard. In these days I enjoy listening to him more than Chuck Berry. It's a shame he never had the same succes in the 1960's that he achieved in the 1950's. His music is timeless. Real good compilation of his best known songs.

Wow, what memories. The song selection is great. The CD has great stereo sound and clarity. If you like Little Richard, you'll want this CD in your collection.

For a Richard fan trainee, it's what the Dr. [Rock] ordered! If one can live with the audio loss at the start of "Tutti Frutti", there's plenty here to make one's big toe shoot up in his/her boot: the full length "Ooh My Soul! (longer sax solo than on the 45rpm); one of the rough demos sent by Richard to Specialty in early 1955, "Baby" [later titled "Baby, Don't You want A Man Like Me?" and recorded professionally by Specialty and Modern, about 10 years apart]; and the rarer than rare medley from June 4th, 1964, with "Ain't That a Shame"/"I Got A Woman"/"Tutti Frutti", all showcasing great g-box work by either Dewey Terry or Glenn Willings.
The deeper-pocket deeper-afficionado might wanna spring for the Ace Box with about 90% of what a 1950s' Richard fan could dream of.
But the matter at hand is a nice package, with a great booklet, with nifty notes by Billy Vera (a few mistakes, but baby....that is R & R!).

Grab your jeans and T-shirt, check your hair and get ready to rock and roll. The prettiest man in rock and roll is fixing to take you back to the early days of rock!!
Little Richard is going to do his hits and make your knees shake and your liver quiver. This collection really brought back the memories and put a smile on my face.
If you remember the fifties as a great time of your life, you need to get this album.
Later gaters!!!

Each and every track here will blow your socks off. The irrepressible Little Richard absolutely blasts these songs out and yet with exquisite lyricism. He shows an immaculate sense of timing and how he manages to get the words out so quickly is beyond me. His raw, screaming voice just grabs you and won't let go. From the top speed of tracks like Tutti Frutti and Ready Teddy, through to the slow ones like Send Me Some Lovin' and Can't Believe You Want to Leave, all you'll want to do is turn up the volume and play them again.
The sound is beautifully balanced and as raucous, tearing it up, as it should be. Some might not like digital remastering but it sounds good to me. Great piano and sax. I saw Little Richard on film years ago doin' all these tracks. He'd been filmed live in a theatre where he was climbing all over the walls and singing from the tops of the columns. What a guy - relive it all right here - a great album!

Its my dad's music and he all ways told me this was way before PRINCE he , he did give the beatles their start and so many people did listen to his music i have it in my Ipod, THANK'S Dad for , the Tip.

I'll tell ya what, he was flamboyant, that's a fact but man could he tear it up! LR was one hell of a rocker!

You cannot go wrong with this CD!