Toon Jerry Paper

Jerry Lee Lewis - A Whole Lotta Jerry Lee Lewis (2012) {4CD Box Set Salvo Records SALVOBX410}
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© 2012 Salvo Records | SALVOBX410
Rock & Roll / Rockabilly / Honky Tonk / Country

Four-disc monument to the Killer, containing no filler… What with one thing and another, it took the Grand Ole Opry a while to invite Jerry Lee Lewis to make his debut. Sixteen years, in fact, from his first hits (“Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On”, “Great Balls Of Fire” ) to finally ushering the Killer onto the stage of Nashville’s Ryman auditorium in January 1973. The high temple of the country music establishment had their reasons for hesitating. Lewis was not known for family-friendly behaviour, unless one counts as such already having three families by this point – one, to the detriment of his box office, with a cousin he’d wed when she was thirteen. But he’d grown up, surely. He was pushing 40. He’d married for a fourth time, to someone old enough to vote. And he was reinventing himself as a proper country singer – he’d had hits with versions of Kris Kristofferson’s “Me & Bobby McGee”, Jimmie Rodgers’ “Waiting For A Train” and Ray Griff’s “Who’s Gonna Play This Old Piano?”. The Opry prepared to formally welcome the black sheep to the fold.

The third of three Concord albums by this version of the Quartet (with Jerry Bergonzi on tenor, Chris Brubeck on bass and bass trombone and drummer Randy Jones) is the most rewarding of the trio although each one is recommended. Brubeck and the Coltrane-influenced tenor Bergonzi take consistently exciting solos on seven standards which are highlighted by "Music, Maestro, Please," "I Hear a Rhapsody" and "It's Only a Paper Moon"; Brubeck's solo version of "St. Louis Blues" is also noteworthy.

A characteristically humongous (8-CD) box set from the wonderful obsessive-compulsives at Bear Family, documenting the Killer's '60s tenure at Smash Records. Lewis made consistently good music during this period, but the combination of his personal scandals and the British Invasion made him a pariah to radio programmers until mid-decade, when he returned to his country roots. Highlights of the set include the entirety of a Texas live show, with Lewis and his crack band rendering various early rock standards at dangerously high (i.e., proto punk) speed, some excellent duets with his (then) wife Linda Gail, and gorgeous renditions of standards like Willie Nelson's "Funny How Time Slips Away" and Merle Haggard's "Lonesome Fugitive." Lewis fans with deep pockets should grab this one immediately…

Jerry Lee Lewis - At Sun Records: The Collected Works - "What the Hell Else Do You Need?" (2015) {18CD Box Set Bear Family}
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© 2015 Bear Family Records | BCD 17254 RL
Rock & Roll / Country / Rhythm & Blues / Rockabilly / Honky Tonk

Sam Phillips didn't record anybody else the way he recorded Jerry Lee Lewis. With other artists, he pushed and prodded, taking his time to discover the qualities that made them uniquely human, but with Jerry Lee, he just turned the tape on and let the Killer rip. There was no need to sculpt because Lewis arrived at Sun Studios fully formed, ready to lean back and play anything that crossed his mind. Over the course of seven years, that's more or less how things were run at Sun: Lewis would sit at the piano and play, singing songs that were brought to him and songs that crossed his mind, and Sam never stopped rolling the tape.

Bill Evans with Don Elliott & Jerry Wald - The Mello Sound Of Don Elliott + Listen To The Music Of Jerry Wald (2014) {Solar Records}
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© 2014 Solar Records | 4569954
Jazz / Mainstream Jazz / Cool

Two extremely rare recordings featuring pianist Bill Evans as a side man. The Don Elliott album was recorded in 1958, shortly before Evans joined the Miles Davis sextet. Elliott plays trumpet, mellophone and vibes and also in the group are Hal McKusick, reeds and sax; Barry Galbraith, guitar; Ernie Furtado, bass and the future drummer of the Bill Evans Trio, Paul Motian. Evans and Motian were also in the line-up on clarinettist and bandleader Jerry Wald’s 1955 LP. Eddie Costa was the featured vibraphone player.

Jerry Lee Lewis - Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano (1972) & Sometimes A Memory Ain't Enough (1973) {2015 BGO Records Remaster}
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© 1973-73, 2015 Mercury / BGO Records | BGOCD1174
Country / Rock'n'Roll / Honky Tonk

Two Mercury label country albums dating from 1972 and 1973. Both albums reached the Top 10 US Country chart, spawning the hits 'No More Hanging On', 'Sometimes A Memory Ain't Enough', 'I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone' and 'Who's Gonna Play This Old Piano'. With his new biography getting rave reviews, Jerry Lee's profile is as huge as ever. Digitally remastered and slipcased, and with new notes by Andrew McRae.