Jerry Lee Lewis - The Session (1973)
Jerry Lee Lewis - The Session (1973)
01. Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry) - 3:31 02. Trouble In Mind (Richard M. Jones) - 5:47 03. Early Morning Rain (Gordon Lightfoot) - 4:13 04. No Headstone On My Grave (Charlie Rich) - 5:21 05. Pledging My Love (Don Robey, Ferdinand Washington) - 2:23 play 06. Memphis (Chuck Berry) - 4:03 07. Drinking Wine Spo-Dee O'Dee (Granville McGhee/J. Mayo Williams) - 3:36 08. Music To The Man (Tony Colton, Ray Smith) - 4:37 09. Bad Moon Rising (John C. Fogerty) - 2:37 play 10. Sea Cruise (Huey "Piano" Smith) - 3:54 11. Sixty-Minute Man (Rose Marks, Billy Ward) - 3:37 12. Movin' On Down The Line (Joe Dolan) - 3:28 13. What'd I Say (Ray Charles) - 4:59 14. Rock & Roll Medley - 3:52 including: a). Good Golly Miss Molly (Robert Blackwell, John Marascalco) b). Long Tall Sally (Richard Penniman, Enotris Johnson, Robert Blackwell) c). Jenny, Jenny (Enotris Johnson, Richard Penniman) d). Tutti Frutti (Richard Penniman, Dorothy LaBostrie, Joe Lubin) e). Whole Lot Of Shakin' Goin' On (David Williams) Personnel: - Jerry Lee Lewis - piano, electric piano (13), vocals - Peter Frampton - guitar (01) - Rory Gallagher - guitar (01), bottleneck guitar (08) - Andy Bown - organ (01,08) - Albert Lee - acoustic guitar (01,03,06,14), guitar (02,04,05,07-13) - Ray Smith - acoustic guitar (01-12,14), percussion (13) - Chas Hodges - bass (01-05,08-11,13), vocals (09) - Kenny Jones - drums (01,06,07,12-14), percussion (08) - Pete Gavin - percussion (01), drums (02-05,08-11) - Mick Kellie - percussion (01,08,11,14), drums (06,07,12,13) - Matthew Fisher - organ (02,05), percussion (04) - Tony Ashton - piano (02), percussion (03,05), organ (04,09,10) - Kenneth Lovelace - violin (03), acoustic guitar (05,07-09,12) - Mickey Jones - guitar (06,14) - Gary Wright - organ (06,07,11,12,14) - Alvin Lee - guitar (06,07,12,14) - Klaus Voormann - bass (06,07,12,14) - Brian Parrish - percussion (06,07,12,14) - Gary Taylor - percussion (06,14), acoustic guitar (13) - Jerry Lee Lewis Jr. - percussion (06,07,12-14) - Tony Colton - percussion (07,12) - Delaney Bramlett - bottleneck guitar (11), guitar (13) - Thunderthings (Casey Synge, Dari Lallou, Karen Friedman) - backing vocals (13) - Steve Rowland - percussion (13), producer
The Session was done in London in 1972, at the tail end of the vogue for recording '50s rock & roll and blues stars with backup by a younger generation of British rock musicians. Although it wasn't a highlight of Lewis' career, it was actually, as hard as it might be to believe, his only album to reach the Top 40, also yielding a single that stopped just short of the Top 40 in his remake of Stick McGhee's "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee." It wasn't exactly Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, and members of the Rolling Stones backing Lewis: it was more a rotating assortment of rockers a little shy of the U.K. A-team, including Rory Gallagher, Peter Frampton, Albert Lee, Alvin Lee, Kenney Jones, Gary Wright, Matthew Fisher of Procol Harum, and Klaus Voormann. As for the record itself, which was a return to his rock & roll roots after a few years on which he'd concentrated on country music, it wasn't bad, lacking only when directly compared to his early classic rock & roll recordings. Lewis' singing and piano playing are undiminished, and the band backs him competently on a program dominated by '50s oldies remakes. There's also some more contemporary material, though, including Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" and a country-rockish take on Gordon Lightfoot's "Early Morning Rain" that might be the album's most interesting cut, if only because it doesn't sound as much like he's just retreading old glories. The problem is that if you're familiar with Lewis' Sun era, this can't help but come off as rather unnecessary, and inferior to his older rock & roll recordings, particularly on the inevitable remake of "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On." Originally a double LP, the 77-minute album was squeezed onto a single disc for CD reissue. --- Richie Unterberger, AMG
Jerry Lee Lewis, the Killer, is the rock n' roll singer-songwriter and pianist, whose enduring image will be him standing at the piano, limbs flailing, quiff flying, while he belts out "Great Balls of Fire" - his signature tune.
Lewis developed his style early, mixing boogie-woogie, rock, gospel and rhythm and blues. As a youth he was expelled from university for playing 'worldly' music. He moved to Nashville in 1955 - only to be told his music was not country enough. He wound up at Sun Records, where he worked as a session man for, among others, Carl Perkins. It was during a recording session with Perkins, that they were joined in the studio for an impromptu jam by Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash. The resulting tapes - made by the engineer as a 'souvenir'- were released as the Million Dollar Quartet.
In 1957 he shook the world with "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" and "Great Balls of Fire" and looked set to have a stellar career, however his private life became public and everything changed. While touring in Europe, news circulated of Lewis' marriage to his thirteen year old cousin (once removed), the resulting backlash caused the cancellation of the tour and an almost complete halt to Lewis career in the States. He was reduced to playing small clubs for small money, while his records struggled to get airplay. Even the subterfuge of an instrumental record, released under the name The Hawk, was rumbled, and in 1963 his contract with Sun ended. New releases for another label barely troubled the charts. Forced to look further afield, Lewis returned to Europe, where he recorded Live at the Star Club, Hamburg, the album is regarded amongst the best live rock n' roll recordings made, and stands as a testimony to his performing verve.
Despite the problems surrounding his private life, complicated by drink and drugs, Lewis carved a successful career in country music, with a steady stream of top thirty country albums. However, he probably never got the opportunity to fulfill his potential and achieve the status of his peers, such as Elvis. Lewis' contribution to music was recognized in 1986, when he was inducted into the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, he is also a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame, and in the top thirty of Rolling Stone Magazine's Greatest Artist of All Time list. A biopic of Lewis' life was released in 1989. ---amazon.com
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Last Updated (Wednesday, 02 May 2018 13:13)