Complete with a comprehensive booklet, tri-fold jewel case, and 25 of the
very best early rock and roll you will ever hear, how could anyone, anywhere,
of any gender, age or religion not love The Very Best Of Little Richard?
From rock and roller to preacher to commercial pitchman, Little Richard is a
cultural icon as much as Elvis, the Thunderbird, Coke and any other American
institution you can name. Rock and roll has certainly birthed a score of original
artists — “Little” Richard Penniman is (as he will gladly
“woo hoo!” it in your face) the original original.
The great thing about this set is that it pretty much captures everything you’d
ever need from a Little Richard compilation. Starting with the one-two-three
punch of “Tutti Frutti,” “Long Tall Sally” and “Good
Golly, Miss Molly,” we flow nicely into a semi-rare tune, “Slippin’
And Slidin’ (“Peepin’ And Hidin’”), the B-side
of “Sally.” “Slippin” has an interesting history (described
in CD’s booklet), and is one of those songs, like so many early rock and
roll hits, that began as an entirely different animal (with a different title
and lyrics, no less) recorded earlier by lesser-known R&B cats — before
it was rewritten and recorded by Little Richard. Songs like these are gems of
pop history, illustrative in their genealogy about how things were done way
back when.
“Rip it Up” and “Ready Teddy” follow — the latter
with its low sax lead especially rips! There’s “Heeby-Jeebies,”
“She’s Got It,” “All Around The World,” “Lucille,”
“Jenny Jenny,” “Miss Ann,” “Keep A-Knockin’”
“Ooh! My Soul,” “Baby Face” and more more more! What
I love about Little Richard’s tunes are how overtly sexual they are —
the lyric, the pace, his voice — the guy was getting away with a whole
lot way back when. There is the famous story how the lyrics were changed basically
on the spot for “Tutti Fruitt.” Pat Boone covered “Tutti”
and “Sally,” in an attempt to make them more palatable for a ‘white’
audience, who really only wanted Little Richards’ raunchy versions anyway.
Such is the tale of rock and roll revisionism.
The bonus tracks make this package even more special. There’s the demo
of “Baby,” the very same demo Little Richard sent to Art Rube of
Specialty Records that got him signed. There’s a rehearsal outtake of
“Hound Dog” and a live medley of “Aint’ That A Shame/I
Got A Woman/Tutti Frutti,” recorded at a Paris concert in 1964. All of
these are just icing on an already pretty delectable cake. The Very
Best Of Little Richard might just be the most complete package of Little
Richard tunes collected on one CD. Twenty-five songs made up of hits, B-sides,
and extras, a solid booklet with informative linear notes — this collection
from Specialty Records is really something to “whoo hoo!” about.
~ Ralph Greco, Jr.
