Jerry Lee Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 14, 2004)
• Original Release Date: September 14, 2004
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B0002XEDVW
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #244,756 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

1. Don’t Be Cruel

2. Goodnight Irene

3. Put Me Down

4. It All Depends (On Who Will Buy The Wine)

5. Ubangi Stomp

6. Crazy Arms

7. Jambalaya (On The Bayou)

8. Fools Like Me

9. High School Confidential

10. When The Saints Go Marching In

11. Matchbox

12. It’ll Be Me

13. Mean Woman Blues (From Sun EP The Great Ball Of Fire)

14. I’m Feelin’ Sorry (From Sun EP The Great Ball Of Fire)

15. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On (From Sun EP The Great Ball Of Fire)

16. Turn Around (From Sun EP The Great Ball Of Fire)

17. Breathless

18. Down The Line

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

1958 was a tumultuous year for blonde-tressed rock and roll pioneer Jerry Lee Lewis. Recording for Sam Phillips’ legendary Sun Records in Memphis, the pumping piano man was riding high off two monster hits and began the year with another one. And he made his first album for Sun, an eponymous affair combining recent triumphs (his debut "Crazy Arms" and latest smash "High School Confidential"), a hot version of Jack Clement’s "It’ll Be Me" that was different from the single version, and romping covers of Warren Smith’s "Ubangi Stomp," Carl Perkins’ "Matchbox," and Elvis’ "Don’t Be Cruel." This long-overdue digital reincarnation of that seminal set also features the entirety of Jerry Lee’s first EP The Great Ball of Fire, which encompassed his immortal "Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On" and "I’m Feeling Sorry," and two more bonus tracks, "Down The Line" and his early ‘58 hit "Breathless." As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of rock and roll, few albums from rock and roll’s early days resonate so historically — or rock so hard — as this one does.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant '58 debut + additional EP, December 12, 2004

By	hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)

By the time of Lewis' album debut in 1958, he was well established as one of Rock 'n' Roll's original wild men. Hits like "Great Balls of Fire" and "Breathless" showed him to be a formidable piano player, a mesmerizing singer and a magnetic showman. His first long player collected a dozen sides, starting with a 1956 cover of Ray Price's "Crazy Arms" that was waxed in Lewis' audition session for Sun, and extending into 1958.

Lewis is authoritative on tracks he originated, such as the blazing "High School Confidential," as well as a series of covers. It's a testament to Lewis' iconic style that he can cover Elvis ("Don't Be Cruel"), Hank Williams ("Jambalaya"), Carl Perkins ("Matchbox") and Warren Smith ("Ubangi Stomp"), and barely give a hint of the originals. Lewis owned everything that rolled off his piano - even the trad "When the Saints Go Marching In" sounds like an original.

Varese's reissue augments the original album with a half-dozen cuts from the EP "The Great Ball of Fire." In addition to the signature hits "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" (a first take!) and "Breathless," he races up and down the keys for "Mean Woman Blues" and reworks Roy Orbison's "Go! Go! Go!" as "Down the Line."

Whether striking up the 88s or taking it down-tempo for a country tearjerker like "It All Depends (On Who Will Buy the Wine)," Lewis always sounded original. The breadth of material that Sun founder Sam Phillips picked makes this a fine single-disc overview of Lewis' seminal years at the label.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great album from a classic artist, February 9, 2009

By	S. Curnow "rocfanatic" (Central, NJ) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Glad to see this available on CD. I have the original Sun LP and its a joy to listen to it on both the original lp and on cd :) The music sounds great no matter what you're listening to it on, but for me vinyl is always the best :)