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JELLY ROLL KINGS 1962 RECORDINGS UNDER FRANK FROST'S NAME

Stuart Jefferson | San Diego,Ca | 02/11/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"One disc 28 minutes in length approximately. The sound is very good-fairly clean and crisp,but with some of the warmth still evident from the (1962) recording era. The booklet has an overview of Frost's life and his music. It's to bad that ALL the tracks from this Sun Records session aren't included. The original vinyl album had 2 more tracks not found on this release-"Just Come On Home",and "Everything's Alright". However there's 1 track on this release that isn't on the vinyl album-"You're So Kind". Why can't Collectables (sic) Records get it right?



This album features,besides Frank Frost on vocals and harmonica,Jack Johnson-guitar,Sam Carr-drums,and an unknown bass player. This is the trio (minus the bass player) that went on to become fairly well known as the JELLY ROLL KINGS,who released several albums of similar music. If you like that group,this is where it all started. After this release the group went on to record for the Jewel label ("Harpin' On It") under Frost's name in 1966,which is a continuation of their sound.



If you're new to this great little band,and like electric-Mississippi-juke-good-time-down-home-blues,this is something you should hear. Their rough and tumble arrangements and unpolished sound became very popular starting in the era when they recorded as the JELLY ROLL KINGS later in their careers. The tracks on this set revolve around Frost's untutored yet energetic harmonica playing. Johnson's guitar,on this set,is used mainly as fill for Frost's singing/playing. Only occasionally is there any kind of guitar solo. Carr's drumming,as always is straight forward without any frills. Together they have created a sound that harks back to the post-war era of down-home,yet electrified blues,that came to the fore in the late 40's and continued on. As usual on Frost/"KINGS" releases,there are a few instrumentals ("Now Twist","Crawl Back","Jack's Jump") sprinkled throughout,which show off Frank Frost's skills as a player,and are a nice contrast to the vocal tracks.



For some reason Frank Frost/JELLY ROLL KINGS aren't as well known as they should be. Their style of playing has changed little over the decades,and is a good example of juke-party-time blues heard usually only regionally,usually in small local clubs. With the passing away of these types of musicians,the music too is in danger of being forgotten. And that would be a shame -for this music has a quality not found in other types of music,even within the blues field. On listening to this music,you are transported back to a seemingly simpler time. A time when music was played for others to enjoy. And that's the feeling you'll get when you hear this set."