Album Reviews

I haven't heard Mo-Fi's hybrid SACD reissue containing twice as much music, but I have compared this limited edition 180g LP sourced from the original tapes with the Ace German boxed CD set that I own and the deep, richly dimensional mono LP laughs at the flat, cardboardy and cold sounding CD.

During the mid-'50's, 'Little' Richard Wayne Penniman helped move rhythm and blues to what became rock'n'roll with his raucous, outrageous, sexually suggestive originals such as 'Tutti Fruiti,' 'Ready Teddy,' (written, along with 'Rip It Up, 'Good Golly, Miss Molly'[not on this LP] and others by a white Mississippian named John Marascalco, who was inspired after hearing 'Long, Tall Sally' on the radio), 'Slippin' and Slidin',' 'Long Tall Sally,' and many of the others featured in this album classic featuring the sweaty, pencil-moustachiod one, mouth wide open, on the cover.

Little Richard's live performances were as outrageous and over the top as his records and he influenced every other pianoplaying rocker, especially Elton John. Of course The Beatles were also heavily influenced and covered some of his tunes. Why stop there? Virtually every major '60's rock star from Mick to Bowie to Hendrix cite Penniman as a major influence, if not directly on their music, then on their desire to be a rock'n'roll star

The few non-familiar, non-hits on this set demonstrate the Macon, Georgia-born singer's affinity for New Orleans boogie-woogie and other roots music then beginning to coalesce around the new sound.

Little Richard appeared in the early 'rocksploitation' movies 'Don't Knock the Rock' and 'The Girl Can't Help It,' where his high energy antics added humor, excitement and especially the much sought after 'Negro danger' that upset the older white folks and had the kids transformed and excited. Kind of like Barck Obama's candidacy, come to think of it!

This record, culled from mono recordings made in 1956 and 1957 isn't what we call 'high fidelity,' but they still sound mighty fine because they were simply miked, recorded live to all vacuum tube electronics and performed at J&M Studio, a tiny (15'x16') New Orleans studio. Backing Little Richard on most of the tunes are the legendary drummer Earl Palmer (Fats Domino, Ritchie Valens, Eddie Cochrane, Larry Williams, etc.) the equally legendary New Orleans pianist Huey Smith and gritty tenor sax great Lee Allen, who also played on Fats Domino, Lloyd Price and many other legendary sessions and who retired to Southern California and worked in an an aeronautical manufacturing facility until being 'rediscovered' by The Stray Cats and The Blasters. Allen even played a few stadium gigs with The Rolling Stones.

All of these great musicians can be heard literally, as never before on this exceptionally fine sounding, though admittedly 'historic' recording. The sound is as good as these tapes will ever sound and while not hi-fi in the modern sense, you will be transported in time to the sessions, filtered through the less than pristine but still vital and dynamic sound. The drums and sax parts and of course Little Richard' raucous vocals (you have to feel sorry for the engineer who tried so hard and mostly succeeded in avoiding overload) have never sounded so dimensional and harmonically and texturally right. I have an original Specialty copy of this album and there's no comparison, though I think the original has some added studio reverb that Mo-Fi chose to leave off to give you what's on the tape and nothing more.

Little Richard was one of the first rockers to play a stadium gig. He played at Chicago's Wrigley field in Chicago at the height of his original success, retiring soon thereafter in October, 1957 to pursue a career as an evangelist minister. Penniman only recorded spiritual music for a few years before returning to Specialty around 1964, but he never attained the same level of popularity. That was just around the time The Beatles hit the scene, heavily influenced by Penniman. The circle remained unbroken!

There are not many copies of this limited edition LP left so don't kick yourself later, get it while you can because no rock'n'roll record collection is complete without it.

The 8 rating for sound is simply because of the relatively primitive production. The record deserves an 11 for restoration. These tracks have never sounded this good.