Little Richard
King of Rock and Roll: The Complete Reprise Recordings
Rhino Handmade
Before he devolved into a talk-show celebrity best known for saying "shut up," Little Richard found his truest muse.
It wasn't the same as the one he consulted to conquer the world in the mid-'50s, when Georgia peach Richard Penniman staggered rock and roll and all other possible circuits with pompadoured, wildman hits like "Tutti Frutti," "Long Tall Sally," "Rip It Up" and the (could it be?) semi-autobiographical "The Girl Can't Help It." Little Richard found his core muse in 1970. Call her southern soul. Call Little Richard one of her greatest exponents. The proof is this limited edition, three-disc set, the sad and thrilling document of a comeback that failed.
It collects 1970's stunning The Rill Thing, 1971's less cutting, cover-heavy King of Rock 'n' Roll, 1972's desperately titled, incandescent The Second Coming, cuts from the movie "$," and 10 astonishingly profound, country-flecked tunes from the unreleased album, Southern Child.
As the set progresses, it becomes more experimental and surprising, as if Reprise (and Little Richard) had ever less to lose. Such are the exigencies of commerce.
Even though Little Richard did tunes by the Beatles, Stones - and, particularly, Martha and the Vandellas - proud, it was his originals that propel this remarkable collection. "The Rill Thing," in particular, is fantastic. Driven by Little Richard's lower, more honest and less exhibitionist voice, it's southern soul of the most snazzy and heartfelt kind. "Freedom Blues," a minor hit written by Richard and doppelganger/secret role model Esquerita, and Travis Wammack's "Greenwood, Mississippi" launch it, and there's no looking back.
What's great about this is the music and the art and the reminiscing. What's not so great is that, just as in the original liner notes, there's little commentary on the sessions themselves.
The startlingly definitive Muscle Shoals Rhythm section contributed; so did long-time Richard associates Lee Allen on sax and the masterful Earl Palmer on drums. Both cut tracks with him at Cosimo Matassa's New Orleans studio in 1955. But that's a minor beef. The set is exceptional, southern soul (and all it connotes) at its finest.
Article comments
1 - HW Saxton
The rock stuff on his later recordings
is hit and miss.But there are some very
incredibly tasty funk jams on these LP's
like The Rill Thing and Spreadin Natta.
I used to DJ the L.R. tune "Nuki Suki"
that's included in this set it's a dirty
funk tune with a killer drum break.Get
this set if your a Little Richard fan
that already has the 50's/60's sides and
want to flesh out your collection. This
set is more for the completist collector
& likely won't appeal to those that are
not fans already.
2 - Temple Stark
And lastly ... Carlo, This work of yours now has another venue for success - and more eyes - at the Advance.net Web sites, a place affiliated with about 12 newspapers.
One such site is here.
Also please let your contact know, if you had one, that this article, is published at one more place. That helps a lot.
Thank you.
Temple Stark