Vinyl Albums - Comments by David M. McKee

Vinyl Albums - Comments by David M. McKee

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Member	Item		Review/Comment
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - The Return Of Rock (1965)	Anyone who thinks that great rock 'n' roll records stopped being made during the Beatles era should give this a listen! As well as possibly the ultimate versions of rock 'n' roll / rhythm 'n' blues standards such as Roll Over Beethoven, Sexy Ways (previously recorded at Sun as both Cool Cool Ways & Carrying On), Corrine, Corrina (re-recorded during his final Mercury sessions in 1977) & Got You On My Mind, there's several new songs of which I Believe In You (with Jerry's best ever piano solo?) & Baby, Hold Me Close are the best. Without a doubt Jerry's finest studio rock 'n' roll album (great "mix" too!). 5 out of 5 Outtakes: Mathilda / The Wild Side Of Life / Just In Time / Skid Row Of these outtakes one song was issued a few months later on Country Songs For City Folks & another a year later on the Memphis Beat album. Just In Time & Skid Row were first issued on an early 80's bootleg EP, & then officially via Bear Family a few years later. Skid Row in particular is as good or better than virtually anything on the Country Songs For City Folks LP, a truly remarkable performance & song! This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - The Greatest Live Show On Earth (1964)	Although inevitably over-shadowed by the wilder (& better-recorded) Live At The Star-Club, Hamburg, this is still a storming performance. Jerry purposely avoided most of his usual hits & included several new (at least to him) songs. Buck Hutcheson (the guitarist at this concert) can recall the entire band rehearsing these songs with Jerry at his home a few days beforehand, quite a rarity for Jerry to do any rehearsing! Highlights include Who Will The Next Fool Be (later recorded in the studio for Elektra in 1979) & High Heel Sneakers (released in slightly edited form as a single). 5 out of 5 (No known outtakes) Note: This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Memphis Beat (1966)	Considering that nearly half of the songs on this album are outtakes from previous albums it blends together remarkably well! The song Memphis Beat itself though OK is a slightly contrived combination of Breathless & Chuck Berry's Memphis. Far better are Just Because, Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee (though both earlier & later versions are probably superior), Big Boss Man & George Jones' She Thinks I Still Care. Again there's a couple of unnecessary covers that add little to the originals, particularly Hallelujah, I Love Her So & Too Young (great piano solo though!), & there's the notorious Lincoln Limousine, his "tribute" to John F. Kennedy that sounds more like a car commercial! 3 out of 5 Outtakes: What A Heck Of A Mess / Rockin' Jerry Lee What A Heck Of A Mess was issued as the B-side of Sticks & Stones, while Rockin' Jerry Lee (one of the stronger rock 'n' roll performances from this era) was first issued on a 70s bootleg & then officially in the late 80s. Non-Album Session: Memphis Beat / Twenty Four Hours A Day / Swinging Doors / If I Had It All To Do Over Presumably dissatisfied with the album version, Memphis Beat was re-cut here for a single, backed with If I Had It All To Do Over. Swinging Doors was released on the 1971 Would You Take Another Chance On Me album, & Twenty Four Hours A Day remained unissued until a bootleg EP in the early 80s (& then an official release a few years later). Additionally, an alternate take of Memphis Beat was issued on the 1969 I'm On Fire compilation, & remixes (minus strings) of the other 3 songs were released via Bear Family in the 80s. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. For the full blog, see http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - By Request: More Of The Greatest Live Show On Earth (1966)	Jerry's third official live album from the '60's & without doubt the weakest. Part of the reason is the relatively poor mix (why on earth couldn't US Smash record & mix as as well as German Philips did with Live At The Star-Club, Hamburg?), & another reason is that Jerry seems a little below form for the period, particularly on side two (compare the Paris 1966 bootleg for example). Having said this there's some very good performances indeed, in particular Little Queenie, How's My Ex Treating You, Green Green Grass Of Home, What'd I Say (Part 2) & I'll Sail My Ship Alone. Others are rather weak, particularly Money (which sounds almost insipid compared to the powerful Star-Club version) & You Win Again. 3 out of 5 Outtakes: Blue Suede Shoes / Crazy Arms / Lovin' Up A Storm / Mean Woman Blues / What'd I Say (Part 1) A mono acetate of the uncut first show (featuring all songs from the original LP up to & including What'd I Say (Part 2) plus all of the above outtakes) was discovered in the mid 90s & issued by Bear Family. Pretty much all of the outtakes are sensational versions, & if this had been released in 1966 instead then I wouldn't hesitate to give it 5 out of 5! Note: This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - She Still Comes Around (1969)	Another superb country collection (almost but not quite the equal of the previous album), with highlights including the singles To Make Love Sweeter For You & She Still Comes Around (To Love What´s Left Of Me), as well as Today I Started Loving You Again, Louisiana Man & There Stands The Glass. One of the weaker tracks is the re-make of Let's Talk About Us (where's the intro?!), and in fact it wouldn't be until late 1969 when Jerry would again cut a convincing rock 'n' roll performance in the studio. 4 out of 5 Outtakes: Slippin' Around / I Can't Have A Merry Christmas, Mary (Without You) Slippin' Around was issued as the B-side of She Still Comes Around (To Love What´s Left Of Me), while I Can't Have A Merry Christmas, Mary (Without You) (b/w In Loving Memories) was issued as an A-side in November 1970. Note: This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - The Golden Hits Of Jerry Lee Lewis (1964)	Review Re-recording hits from a his previous label might not seem like the ideal way to start a long-term contract but for better or worse this was pretty much standard practice at the time (Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Gene Vincent & Bill Haley were amongst many others who re-cut their big hits during the '60's). The results were mixed: there's far too many musicians on these; the girly backing vocals are often insipid & annoying; & Jerry's voice sounds slightly hoarse in places. At least a few songs compare favourably to the Sun originals though: both Breathless, Break Up & in particular Down The Line are all much more driving & wild than the '50's versions; You Win Again includes all of Hank Williams' verses (not on the Sun single); & Your Cheatin' Heart remains Jerry's best studio version. 3 out of 5 Outtakes: Hit The Road, Jack / Wedding Bells / Just Because / He Took It Like A Man / Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee / Johnny B. Goode / Hallelujah I Love Her So / You Went Back On Your Word / Pen & Paper / The Hole He Said He'd Dig For Me The two-day September 1963 Golden Hits session produced lots of mostly excellent additional material that was gradually released over the next 4 years. These, together with the session below, would've made a great 1964 studio album (an album that I would definately rate 5 out of 5), but instead they were issued as follows: Hit The Road, Jack & Pen & Paper were released as Jerry's debut Smash single in late 1963; The Hole He Said He'd Dig For Me was released as the B-side of She Was My Baby (He Was My Friend) in 1964; You Went Back On Your Word was released as the B-side of the 'live' High Heel Sneakers 1964 single, & with Johnny B. Goode, on The Return Of Rock; Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee, Hallelujah I Love Her So & Just Because were released on Memphis Beat; Wedding Bells & He Took It Like A Man were released on Soul My Way. In addition, a slower & superior alternate version of Hit The Road, Jack was first released in 1964 on the stereo (though not the mono) version of the various artists All Time Smash Hits album, & an alternate version of The Hole He Said He'd Dig For Me was released on the 1969 European-only compilation I'm On Fire. Non-Album Session: I'm On Fire / She Was My Baby (He Was My Friend) / Bread & Butterman / I Bet You're Gonna Like It This February 1964 session produced two great A-sides (I'm On Fire & She Was My Baby (He Was My Friend)), a B-side (Bread & Butterman) & the storming closing rocker on Soul My Way. An alternate take of I'm On Fire was released on 1969 compilation of the same name. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield - for full blog see http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/2009/09/jerry-lee-lewis-smash-mercury-years.html 1 person found this review helpful. ✔︎ Helpful Review?
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Sings The Country Music Hall Of Fame Hits Vol. 1 (1969)	The production was starting to sound a little formulaic & predictable by this point (did the backing vocalists really have to join in on the 2nd verse of every song?), but with Jerry's performances & the material being so strong here it doesn't distract too much. It's almost impossible to pick highlights from these two albums, but I'll try: I Wonder Where You Are Tonight, I´m So Lonesome I Could Cry, Mom And Dad´s Waltz, Sweet Dreams, Jackson (with Linda Gail Lewis) http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html 5 out of 5 Outtakes: You Belong To Me / My Blue Heaven Both of the Sings The Country Music Hall Of Fame Hits albums were recorded over three days in late February 1969. You Belong To Me was finally released on Country Class in 1976, while My Blue Heaven wasn't issued until the mid '80's. These are two of Jerry's finest ever recordings, so perhaps the only reason they weren't originally issued is because they didn't quite fit the 'Country Music Hall of Fame Hits' theme? This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Sings The Country Music Hall Of Fame Hits Vol. 2 (1969)	The production was starting to sound a little formulaic & predictable by this point (did the backing vocalists really have to join in on the 2nd verse of every song?), but with Jerry's performances & the material being so strong here it doesn't distract too much. It's almost impossible to pick highlights from these two albums, but I'll try: He´ll Have To Go, Why Don´t You Love Me (Like You Used To Do), Pick Me Up On Your Way Down, One Has My Name, Sweet Thang (with Linda Gail Lewis)... 5 out of 5 Outtakes: You Belong To Me / My Blue Heaven Both of the Sings The Country Music Hall Of Fame Hits albums were recorded over three days in late February 1969. You Belong To Me was finally released on Country Class in 1976, while My Blue Heaven wasn't issued until the mid '80's. These are two of Jerry's finest ever recordings, so perhaps the only reason they weren't originally issued is because they didn't quite fit the 'Country Music Hall of Fame Hits' theme? This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis And Linda Gail Lewis - Together (1969)	Following a deserved big country hit single with “Don’t Let Me Cross Over” & the interest over the duets on the “Sings The Country Music Hall of Fame Hits” albums, Jerry & sister Linda Gail Lewis recorded a further eight songs in one session in June 1969. Linda Gail still sounded a little inexperienced in places, but highlights include “Milwaukee Here I Come”, “Secret Places” & “Earth Up Above”. The weakest track to my ears is “Roll Over Beethoven”, though it sounded much better when performed as a duet live, & was a minor US pop hit... 4 out of 5 (No Known Outtakes) This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield - See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Live At The International, Las Vegas (1970)	Jerry's fourth & final 'live' album to be released while he was with Smash-Mercury, this was compiled from several concerts taped in May 1970. Inevitably the compiler(s) concentrated mostly on Jerry's country material, though the actual concerts featured a far greater variety of music. The individual performances on the album (with the possible exception of Flip, Flop & Fly) are all first-class, but the album lacks excitement & atmosphere despite the fact that some fake audience noise has been added. 3 out of 5 Outtakes: Sweet Little Sixteen / Medley: Jenny Jenny - Long Tall Sally Tutti Frutti / C.C. Rider / High School Confidential / Medley: Down The Line - I'm Movin' On (with Linda Gail Lewis) / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Oh Lonesome Me / Your Cheatin' Heart / Smoke Gets In Your Eyes / Invitation To Your Party / Blue Suede Shoes When The Grass Grows Over Me / Jackson (with Linda Gail Lewis) / Staggerlee / Today I Started Loving You Again (1st version) / One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart) / Shoeshine Man / Great Balls Of Fire / Mean Woman Blues / You Are My Sunshine / Homecoming / Got You On My Mind Again (with Linda Gail Lewis) / What'd I Say / Mexicali Rose (slow & fast versions) / Today I Started Loving You Again (2nd version) Taped over two nights (six shows) in May 1970, most of the above outtakes were released on a vinyl box-set by Bear Family in the mid '80's (though they've never been released on CD). The exception is an alternate version of Today I Started Loving You Again which has only been issued (unnoticed by most fans) on The Mercury Years Vol. 2 (1969-1972) compilation CD. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - The "Killer" Rocks On (1972)	By 1972 (following the commercial success of the uptempo Me And Bobby McGee) Jerry felt ready to start recording rock 'n' roll albums again, albeit this time with a very "pop" production (strings, girly backing vocals, etc, which actually works well here). Jerry's performances were almost all superb on this album, with inspired vocals & piano through-out. Highlights include Don't Be Cruel, You Can Have Her, You Don't Miss Your Water & Walk A Mile In My Shoes. Unfortunately they felt it neccesary to revive two songs from Soul My Way which sound very out of place here (far better would've been the more recently recorded Big Blon' Baby & No Traffic Out Of Abilene), hence the less than full marks. 4 out of 5 Outtakes: Think About It Darlin' / No Traffic Out Of Abilene Think About It Darlin' was issued on the flipside of the Chantilly Lace single (as a double A-side) & then on the Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano album. The superb No Traffic Out Of Abilene was recorded as a proposed A-side that never materialised, & was instead hidden on the patchy Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano album. A real shame, and this over-looked gem remains one of my all-time favourite Jerry Lee Lewis recordings. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - I-40 Country (1974)	Oh dear. Most of the best material from these sessions was clearly already released on the Sometimes A Memory Ain't Enough album, with the remainder released on this dirge. With a more sympathetic producer there's some OK songs with He Can't Fill My Shoes & Cold, Cold Morning Light being highlights, but as it stands this is without a doubt the worse proper album of Jerry's entire career. 2 out 5 Outtakes: The Gods Were Angry With Me Apart from two songs taped in February 1974, both the Sometimes A Memory Ain't Enough & I-40 Country albums were recorded over three days in July 1973. The one outtake (released in the mid '80's) is nothing special though at least it's not as over-produced as most of the other issued songs. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Soul My Way (1967)	Both Sun & Smash had by this point tried pretty much everything over the past 9 years to revive Jerry's career, so this time they tried a (sort of) Soul album with several songs featuring little or no piano! This was complete heresy to many fans (though interestingly it got pretty good reviews in the UK music press at the time), but to my ears some of Jerry's finest ever recordings are on this album. Highlights include the mid-tempo It´s A Hang Up Baby (a song that would probably feature in my top 10 favourite ever JLL recordings), Holdin' On (a slow pop-soul ballad), Shotgun Man (a funky James Brown-type number written by Jerry's life-long friend Cecil Harrelson), Treat Her Right, Turn On Your Lovelight & the rockin' I Bet You´re Gonna Like It. In fact if it wasn't for a couple of mediocre covers (Hey Baby, Dream Baby) I'd give this album full marks! 4 out 5 (No Known Outtakes) Note: This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Country Memories (1977)	The sparkling return to form on Country Class pretty much stayed with Jerry for the final two Mercury albums, this one & Keeps Rockin'. Again there were many highlights, including the country-pop big hit Middle Age Crazy (a song I love on record but I'm not too keen on 'live'), the slow & fast Who's Sorry Now, Jealous Heart, Come On In, the dixieland Country Memories, & the only rock 'n' roll song Tennessee Saturday Night. I can live without Georgia On My Mind (I've always preferred Ray Charles' version) & the mixing could be a little better in places, but otherwise an extremely good album. 4 out of 5 Outtakes: Ivory Tears The one unissued cut (at least until the mid '80's) is the first of two attempts at recording a beautiful Mack Vickery song. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Country Class (1976)	In February 1976 Jerry finally had surgery to correct his sinus problem, &, combined with laying off the booze a little, the change in his voice was breathtaking! A few of the songs on this album were recorded prior to the surgery but overdubbed later, but most of them were recorded afterwards live in the studio & without overdubs for the first time in several years. The fact that the 1969 You Belong To Me fit so effortlessly into this album proves just how dramatic the vocal improvement was, the production is sympathetic & restrained, & the songs are without exception excellent. The many highlights include No One Will Ever Know, I Sure Miss Those Good Old Times, The Old Country Church, After The Fool You´ve Made Of Me, The One Rose That´s Left In My Heart & The Closest Thing To You. Probably the only weak-ish track is also the only (restrained) rock 'n' roll song Jerry Lee´s Rock´n´Roll Revival Show, but even that's OK. Jerry's best Mercury album of the '70's. 5 out of 5 Outtakes: I Can't Keep My Hands Off Of You / The Fifties / Harbour Lights I Can't Keep My Hands Off Of You is a very nice slow modern country song though it's marred by the very hoarse vocals (it was recorded prior to Jerry's sinus operation & was never over-dubbed later); The Fifties is a contrived rocker that's very similar to Jerry Lee's Rock 'n' Roll Revival Show; and Harbour Lights was very nearly released on the original album (at a July '76 performance Jerry even performed the song & announced that it's from his new album!). All three were issued in the mid '80's. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Keeps Rockin` (1978)	Like Odd Man In in 1975, this was another attempt to (pretty much equally) combine rock 'n' roll & uptempo songs with slower material, though this album has the edge. Again a very strong track selection, including the modern "outlaw" country I´ll Find It Where I Can, The Last Cheater´s Waltz, Wild And Wooly Ways, Don´t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes, Pee Wee´s Place & the semi-disco(!) Before The Night Is Over. A couple of performances are more pedestrian (in particular Blue Suede Shoes), but overall this was a fine end to Jerry's 15 years at Smash-Mercury. 4 out of 5 Outtakes: The Last Letter / Let's Live A Little / Sittin' & Thinkin' / Corrine Corrina / Life's Railway To Heaven / Ivory Tears / You Call Everybody Darlin' / Lord I've Tried Everything But You / You're All Too Ugly Tonight With the possible exception of You're All Too Ugly Tonight every one of the unreleased songs from these sessions is superb, & it's a mystery why Mercury didn't release these (along with a few earlier outtakes) as an album after Jerry moved to Elektra in 1979, though perhaps his albums weren't selling so well by this time? As it is they all remained in the can for nearly a decade. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 1st May 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - In Loving Memories (1971)	Gospel music doesn't appeal to everyone but I love this album. Mostly produced by Jerry & Linda Gail & very well mixed (check out how loud the piano is on this album!), this album features a good mixture of fast, medium & slow songs, all performed with great feeling. Highlights include In Loving Memories, He Looked Beyond My Fault, The Old Rugged Cross, I'll Fly Away & I Know That Jesus Will Be There (featuring Linda Gail's greatest ever vocal on a Jerry Lee Lewis recording). 5 out of 5 Outtakes: Cheater Pretend (with Linda Gail Lewis) / Handwriting On The Wall (with Linda Gail Lewis) / Black Mama Although released first, the bulk of the In Loving Memories album was actually recorded after the There Must Be More To Love Than This album (though there was some cross-over). Handwriting On The Wall was issued as the B-side of Me & Jesus in 1972, while the other two outtakes had to wait until the mid '80's for release. Cheater Pretend is a fine country duet that (if recorded a year earlier) would've fit effortlessly on the Together album, but Black Mama is one of the worse songs Jerry's ever recorded & deserved to remain unreleased! It's to his credit though that he could even make a song like this sound convincing, such was his form during the 1969-1972 era. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Another Place Another Time (1968)	Mostly quickly recorded in one day to cash-in on the surprising success of the single of the same name, this album features some of Jerry's best ever country performances with every song being a gem. Amongst the many highlights are What´s Made Milwaukee Famous, On The Back Row (just listen to that soaring vocal!), Walking The Floor Over You, I´m A Lonesome Fugitive, Before The Next Teardrop Falls, All The Good Is Gone, & the first truly great duet with Linda Gail Lewis, We Live In Two Different Worlds. 5 out of 5 (No known Outtakes) Note: This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Southern Roots (1973)	After the London experiment Mercury decided to try the same again in Memphis, this time with modern soul luminaries. The results were again mixed though, mostly due to a few very unsuitable songs for Jerry. Meat Man, Just A Little Bit, Born To Be A loser, Big Blue Diamonds & That Old Burbon Street Church are all very worthwhile, but When A Man Loves A Woman & Blueberry Hill are embarassing & The Revolutionary Man has the most annoying backing vocals I've ever heard on a JLL recording (with the possible exception of the 1979 Elektra cut of Rockin' Jerry Lee!). 3 out of 5 Outtakes: Honey Hush / All Over Hell & Half Of Georgia / I Sure Miss Those Good Old Times / Cry / Raining In My Heart / Margie / Silver Threads Among The Gold / Take Your Time All of the above outtakes (plus a faster Hold On I'm Coming, a longer edit of Haunted House as well as several rehearsals & re-mixes) were finally issued by Bear Family in 1987. Most of these are vastly superior to most of the songs on the original album (& in particular Cry, Raining In My Heart & Margie), & could've greatly enhanced a very patchy album. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis And The Nashville Teens - Jerry Lee Lewis "Live" At The "Star-Club" Hamburg (1965)	Not released in the USA until many years later, this European album (the French issue is shown above) is rightly often cited as the wildest rock 'n' roll album of all time! Ably backed by The Nashville Teens (with Ramsgate's own Barry Jenkins on drums), here is Jerry's wildest performance ever captured on tape. There's even an excellent forthcoming book (I know this because I proof-read it!) largely based around this land-mark album. I won't even attempt to pick highlights this time as everything on here is beyond amazing! 5 out of 5 Outtakes: Down The Line Not released on the original album due to the vocals being too quite during the opening seconds, this unbelievably wild version was first issued on the rare German-only various artists Star-Club Show 6 LP. Note: This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye (1970)	Here it is, the very pinnacle of Jerry's country music "come back"! Since Another Place, Another Time Jerry's studio recordings had sounded very "straight" & polished, but now he was starting to loosen up again, improvising & ad-libbing more (by the mid-'70's Jerry's ad-libs would sound rather tiresome but here they sounded fresh & spontaneous). Amongst the many highlights are the hit singles Once More With Feeling & She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye; the hard-rockin' Brown Eyed Handsome Man & the near-rockin' Workin' Man Blues & Wine Me Up; the country-blues Since I Met You Baby; & the beautiful version of Waiting For A Train (a song he attempted several times at Sun). A strong candidate for Jerry's finest ever album. 5 out of 5 Outtakes: Love Of All Seasons / In Loving Memories A superb Linda Gail Lewis composition, Love Of All Seasons is unlike anything else Jerry's recorded, though it's certainly not country or rock 'n' roll which is probably why it wasn't issued at the time. Nevertheless it would've made a far more interesting album closer than Echoes, a song which was previously released on the She Still Comes Around album. Like many Smash-Mercury outtakes, Love Of All Seasons was finally released in the mid '80's. In Loving Memories was released the following year on the album of the same name, & also recorded at these sessions were inferior early versions of both this song & Once More With Feeling. These were issued in the mid '80's. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Touching Home (1971)	Another very good album (shown above with the more common 2nd edition sleeve), though it pretty much follows the formula of the previous album with one great rocked-up oldie (Please Don´t Talk About Me When I´m Gone) & a mixture of slower songs both old & new. Other highlights include the superb title track (one of his best), Mother, The Queen Of My Heart, Time Changes Everything & Coming Back For More. Another fan's favourite is Help Me Make It Through The Night though I personally have never been too keen on the song. 4 out of 5 Outtakes: The Hurtin' Part / Another Hand Shakin' Goodbye These two outtakes were released on the follow-up album Would You Take Another Chance On Me. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Would You Take Another Chance On Me (1971)	Jerry's voice changed considerably during the years 1969-1973, getting gradually deeper & thicker, & already he was sounding quite different by this album. There was also a gradual shift towards country-pop ballads, such as the title track & For The Good Times, both of which I personally have never been too keen on. There were some great performances though, in particular the brilliant Me And Bobby McGee, as well as the wild re-recording of Big Blon' Baby, Lonesome Fiddle Man & (resurrected from a 1966 session) Swinging Doors. 3 out of 5 Outtakes: Someday You'll Want Me To Want You / No Honky Tonks In Heaven / I Don't Know Why I Just Do / And For The First Time No Honky Tonks In Heaven was released 15 months later as the non-album B-side to Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano, whilst the other 3 songs remained in the can until the mid '80's. All four songs are superb, & would've enhanced the original album greatly if replacing some of the weaker issued recordings. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - There Must Be More To Love Than This (1970)	Another strong album featuring the "looser" JLL that we heard on She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye. No rock 'n' roll this time but the unbelievably fast Sweet Georgia Brown more than makes up for this! Other highlights (as well as the title track) include Bottles And Barstools, I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know & Charlie Rich's Life's Little Ups And Downs. However a couple of weaker & less memorable songs were starting to appear on the albums now, the inevitable result of trying to release 2 or 3 albums of new material per year. 4 out of 5 Outtakes: Alvin The only outtake from the March 1970 sessions that produced the bulk of the There Must Be More To Love Than This album, this song (supposedly written by Jerry) remained in the can until the mid '80's. Also probably recorded at these sessions was It's The Real Thing, a song for a Coca-Cola radio commercial that's available on a '70's vinyl bootleg LP. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Country Songs For City Folks (1966)	Most casual observers believe that Jerry Lee Lewis only started giving greater emphasis to his country recordings after the success of Another Place, Another Time in 1968, but he actually released his first country-orientated album three years earlier albeit with a pop-rhythm 'n' blues emphasis (which basically means saxophones & organs instead of fiddles & steel guitars!). Highlights include Green Green Grass Of Home, Detroit City (Tom Jones discovered both songs via this album!), City Lights, & an up-tempo re-cut of his first single, Crazy Arms. The album is only really marred by a couple of songs such as Ring Of Fire & King Of The Road that add little to the great original versions. 4 out of 5 Outtakes: Baby (You've Got What It Takes) (with Linda Gail Lewis) The one non-album track from these sessions was released on the flip of the Green Green Grass Of Home 45. Note: This from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - The Session (1973)	No doubt inspired at least partly by the successful "In London" albums by Howlin' Wolf & Chuck Berry, this was an attempt to get Jerry to record with many (supposedly) rock "superstars" in London. The results were apparantly a clash of egos, a lack of willingless by Jerry to learn new songs, & his alcohol abuse starting to spiral out of control. So it's not surprising that the resulting double album is a very mixed blessing. The two newly written songs Jukebox & (especially) Music To The Man are excellent, as are Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee (best ever re-make?), No Headstone On My Grave, Johnny B. Goode, Pledging My Love & Trouble In Mind, but some of the other revivals are far less successful musically (I've always found this version of What'd I Say particularly bad). It would've made a 5 star single album, but as a double... 3 out of 5 Outtakes: Goldmine In The Sky / Singing The Blues / (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction / Be-Bop-A-Lula / Dungaree Doll / I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby These outtakes were first issued in 1986 when The Session was re-released as two single albums by Bear Family. Goldmine In The Sky is a heart-felt slow gospel song which would've sounded very out of place on the original album (though perhaps would've made a nice B-side); (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction & Be-Bop-A-Lula are slowed-down dirges; and both Dungaree Doll & I Can't Give You Anything But Love, Baby are just brief jams. So only Singing The Blues was perhaps worth issueing originally though that's nothing special either. A few rehearsals & alternate takes from these sessions are available on bootlegs. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Sometimes A Memory Ain`t Enough (1973)	Things were really starting to go downhill by this point. Although Jerry's voice was still good (it would get far worse within a year or two), the material was getting weaker, & for this album & I-40 Country his usual Nashville producer Jerry Kennedy was replaced by Stan Kesler whose production here made Jerry Kennedy seem like Sam Phillips! But if you can get past the production sludge there's several highlights here including Ride Me Down Easy, I'm Left, You're Right She's Gone, The Morning After Baby Let Me Down & I Think I Need To Pray. 3 out of 5 Outtakes: (See I-40 Country) This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Who’s Gonna Play This Old Piano (Think About It Darlin') (1973)	Again we were getting more & more modern heavily-produced country-pop ballads, but this album features something new: a dixieland horn section! These are only featured on two songs (the title track & Bottom Dollar) but they help liven which is in truth a very mediocre album with relatively few other real highlights apart from the brilliant No Traffic Out Of Abilene (some may also include Too Many Rivers but to my ears Jerry over-does the ad-libbing & spoils an other-wise very good performance). 3 out of 5 Outtakes: Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow (vocal version) The so-called instrumental version of Parting Is Such Sweet Sorrow (which actually features backing vocals) always sounded more like it was meant to have a lead vocal, & this was confirmed when the vocal version was finally issued in the mid '80's. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html
David M. McKee 30th Apr 2015		Vinyl Album Jerry Lee Lewis - Odd Man In (1975)	If anything his voice was sounding even worse on this album, & there was now the added problem of hearing a 2nd vocal in the background on some songs, the result of "leakage" when overdubbing. A real pity, as there's not a weak song on this album & Jerry's clearly trying his best. It's also the first real attempt to mix rock 'n' roll & country (plus a little gospel) equally on one album. Highlights include Don´t Boogie Woogie (When You Say Your Prayers Tonight), You Ought To See My Mind, I Don´t Want To Be Lonely Tonight, That Kind Of Fool & A Damn Good Country Song. If it wasn't for the vocal problems I'd give the album 5 out of 5, but instead I'll give it... 4 out of 5 Outtakes: The House Of Blue Lights / Lord What's Left For Me To Do / Great Balls Of Fire / The One Rose That's Left In My Heart The House Of Blue Lights is my favourite JLL version of the song despite the fact that his voice sounds so hoarse (he went on to cut more versions in better voice in 1986 & 1994), & Lord What's Left For Me To Do is a very good country song. Less essential are Great Balls Of Fire (an interesting "old Tyme" arrangement marred by poor vocals) & an early rejected version of The One Rose That's Left In My Heart. All 4 songs were issued in the mid '80's. Also recorded (& again released in the mid '80's) was an alternate vocal version of A Damn Good Country Song. This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the whole blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html