Fats Domino Live at Tipitina's

An amazing piece of work – a massive eight-disc boxed set that contains every one of Fats Domino's 1949-1962 Imperial waxings. That's a tremendous load of one artist, but the legacy of Domino and his partner Dave Bartholomew is so consistently innovative and infectious that it never grows tiresome for a second. From the clarion call of "The Fat Man," Domino's 1949 debut, to the storming "Dance with Mr. Domino" in 1962, he typified everything charming about Crescent City R&B, his Creole patois and boogie-based piano a non-threatening vehicle for the rise of rock & roll. A thick, photo-filled book accompanies the disc, and there's an exhaustive discography that makes sense of Domino's many visits to Cosimo Matassa's studios. If you care about Fats Domino, this is the package for you!

An amazing piece of work - a massive eight-disc boxed set that contains every one of Fats Domino's 1949-1962 Imperial waxings. That's a tremendous load of one artist, but the legacy of Domino and his partner Dave Bartholomew is so consistently innovative and infectious that it never grows tiresome for a second. From the clarion call of "The Fat Man," Domino's 1949 debut, to the storming "Dance with Mr. Domino" in 1962, he typified everything charming about Crescent City R&B, his Creole patois and boogie-based piano a non-threatening vehicle for the rise of rock & roll.

Fats Domino - The Imperial Singles Vol. 2, 1953-1956 (1997) {Ace Records CDCHD 649}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 219 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 152 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 17 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1953-56, 1997 EMI / Ace Records | CDCHD 649
Early Rhythm & Blues / Rock & Roll / New Orleans R&B / Swamp-Pop / Piano Blues

The second volume of Ace's comprehensive series spotlighting Domino's '50s singles has both sides of 14 of his singles from 1953 to early 1956, presented in chronological order. (A couple of songs from a 1956 LP are tacked on as the final two tracks.) Only one of these songs is likely to be familiar to the average rock & roll fan, that being "Ain't That a Shame," Fats' first really huge pop hit and indeed one of the first big rock & roll hits of any kind. Several other big R&B hits are sprinkled throughout the disc, though, these including "Going to the River" (which actually even made it to number 24 in the pop charts in 1953), "Please Don't Leave Me," "Don't You Know," "All By Myself," "Poor Me," "Bo Weevil," and "Don't Blame It on Me."

Fats Domino - The Imperial Singles Vol. 3, 1956-1958 (1998) {Ace Records CDCHD 689}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 215 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 142 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (jpg) -> 19 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1956-58, 1998 EMI / Ace Records | CDCHD 689
Rock & Roll / Early Rhythm & Blues / New Orleans R&B / Swamp-Pop / Piano Blues

The third of Ace's series covering all of Domino's A- and B-sides has the tops and flips of 15 singles from 1956-59. This was Fats' commercial peak, and some of his biggest smashes are here, including "Blueberry Hill," "I'm in Love Again," "I'm Walkin'," and "Whole Lotta Loving." For those listeners who weren't around during the era, however, many of the 30 tracks will be unfamiliar, as he had plenty of minor hits that haven't made it into oldies radio rotation; also, most of his B-sides were chart hits (almost always more on the R&B listings than the pop ones) in their own right.

Released as part of Capitol/EMI's Legends of the 20th Century series, this single-disc collection is an excellent summary of Fats Domino's legendary singles. Technically, it doesn't have all the hits – it's missing such gold singles as "Bo Weevil," "It's You I Love," and "Wait and See" – but it has every classic: "The Fat Man," "Ain't It a Shame," "I'm In Love Again," "My Blue Heaven," "Blueberry Hill," "Blue Monday," "I'm Walkin'," "Whole Lotta Loving," "I'm Ready," "I Want to Walk You Home," "I'm Gonna Be a Wheel Some Day," "Be My Guest," "Walking to New Orleans," "My Girl Josephine," and "Let the Four Winds Blow," among others. Yes, it's essentially the same as many of the other greatest hits collection, but it's done well, sounds good, and, at 25 tracks, is quite generous, making it an ideal choice for most listeners.