Search - Jerry Lee Lewis :: The (Complete) Session recorded in London w/ great guest artists

The "Killer," Jerry Lee Lewis, is Alive and Smokin' on this

George McAdams | Alabama, USA | 08/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For the longest, well since 1974 or so, I've been cradling with care "The Session" vinyl recordings from house-to-house, apartment-to-apartment. Handling the albums with care, for this is a GREAT recording. Not everyone is a winner, but there's enough wonderful tunes, played with the excitement of the moment that you forgive the "filler."



I was never what you'd call a Jerry Lee Lewis fanatic. Oh, he played well, and he had a certain amount of energy in his songs that created excitement, but he seemed to have an ego the size of a country hangover and from time-to-time he tended to do something foolish, whether it be marry his underaged cousin or get so drunk that he'd fall off the piano stool.



Then, this double album came along in 1973 or so, that I bought the following year. Joining Jerry Lee were some of the better British musicians of the time: Eric Clapton, Alvin Lee, Albert Lee, Rory Gallagher, Gary Wright (Dream Weaver), et. al., eager enough to play with Jerry Lee as to overlook his short comings.



And, while the updated liner notes tell of Jerry Lee acting sort of like a jerk, the music, nonetheless, was inspired, I think, because the Brits were playing with one of their idols.



My favorite tunes on the set are "Drinking Wine Spo-Dee O'Dee," "Memphis," "Trouble in Mind," "Be Bop a Lula," and "Singing the Blues," along with "Johnny B. Goode" and the five-song grouping at the end that consisted of "Whole Lot of Shakin' Goin' On," "Sixty-Minute Man," "Down the Line," "What'd I'd Say," and a Rock 'n Roll Medley featuring "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Jenny, Jenny," "Tutti Fruiti," and a reprise of "Whole Lot of Shakin." I get goose bumps thinking of these tunes blaring out of my old stereo, turned-up to "11" just to see if the plaster would fall off of the ceiling.



There are a lot of original recordings of Jerry Lee out there that has some of the same songs, but let me tell you, they are not played this way. And, while the liner notes discount the Killer's efforts, the music is dead on GREAT! This is a CD set for everyone who wants to recreate the energy that was the 50's and, especially, Jerry Lee Lewis."

Jerry Lee's terrifying answer to the "1968 Elvis Comeback Sp

Mike | San Jose, CA | 05/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"First, it's great that Amazon's offering this. It's a Hip-O Select release (Universal's answer to Rhino Records, offering Web-only collectors reissues). Second, what a lineup: Alvin Lee, Albert Lee, Gary Wright, Kenny Jones, Rory Gallagher, Klaus Voorman, Matthew Fisher, Peter Frampton and more, but Jerry Lee is the star here and he's cousin Jimmy Lee Swaggart's worst nightmare: howling, snarling, filled with rock 'n' roll fire. Highlights are Drinking Wine Spo-Dee O'Dee, No Headstone On My Grave, Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On (a truly insane, over-the-top version), and the Rock Medley (4 Little Richard hits capped by a reprise of "Whole Lotta Shakin"). No one expected this in 1972 (the original year of its release). Jerry Lee was making a name in the world of Country music. Just as Elvis reclaimed his legacy after years of bad movies by suiting up in black leather and beaming himself into America's living rooms, Jerry Lee headed "across the pond" and took back what was rightfully his...with a vengeance. The career-best version of "Whole Lotta Shakin"...with Rory Gallagher on over-amped slide guitar and Peter Frampton on rhythm...explodes as Jerry pleads "Let's go one time now...SHAKE me baby shake me...MOVE me Mama, move me....WHOOOOO, shake it baby shake it, HEE-YOW, shake it baby shake it...Come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on...SHAKE it baby shake it...SHAKE it baby shake it...SHAKE it baby shake it...SHAKE it baby shake it...WHOOO, Move it baby, move it...I ain't fakin', whole lotta shakin' goin' on...ONE MORE TIME NOW...I SAID, shake it baby shake it..." Seriously, folks, what are you waiting for?"

The Killer Vs. The King

Shell-Zee | Long Island, NY | 01/09/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Yesterday, Jan 8, 2009 marked what would have been the seventy fourth birthday of Elvis Aaron Presley. There was a virtual plethora of Elvis movies and documentry style shows broadcast on television. I watched "Presley By The Presleys" for the first time, getting an insightful look at The King, through the perspective of Prisilla and Lisa Marie. What struck me most here was the preciptious decline of Elvis from the mid-sixties until is untimely death in 1977. Yes, there was the great Comeback Special in 1968, that found Elvis in great shape. He looked better than ever, his voice was in top form and he reached back to his catalog of great hits like "Hound Dog", "Heartbreak Hotel" and "Don't Be Cruel". Unfortunately, there's very little else Elvis did after The Comback Special that marked the genius that once was "The King of Rock 'n Roll".



So how does this help us to understand Jerry Lee Lewis and in particular "The Complete Session", recorded in London. Well to begin with, Jerry Lee too had fallen out of favour with a contemporary audience, circia late 1960's to mid 1970'S. He really hadn't a hit record, other than a few singles that made their way into the top-fourty on the country charts. And like Elvis the whole political and social upheavel taking place accross America rendered him virtually irrelevent.



Elvis chose to reinvent himself. He donned those hideous looking sequined jump suits, played Vegas to an audience of middle-aged housewives and sang those big show numbers like "You'll Never Walk Alone", "My Way" and "If I Can Dream". He continued making movies with virtually the same trite plot, movies that even he tired of. The bottom line on Elvis during this period was that he grew old before his time. The King Of Rock 'n Roll was nowhere to be found. And just who was this over the hill, out of shape character desperately trying to recapture his former glory?



And how did Jerry Lee Lewis fare during this same period? Well, of course he was no longer the wild and wooley, piano slammin', howlin' and screemin', lovable "Killer". But did he still have the chops needed to pull off smokin' versions of "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O'Dee", "Sea Crusie", "Big Boss Man", "Memphis", "Johnny B Goode", "Whole Lot Of Shakin' Goin' On", "Good Golly Miss Molly", and "What I'd Say"? You bet he did! For not only was Jerry Lee in great voice on these sessions, but he also assembled an all star group of session players, who were equally up to the task. These sizzeling hot sessions boast the colossal talents of Eric Clapton, Rory Gallagher, Peter Frampton, Albert Lee, Alvin Lee, Kenny Jones, Matthew Fisher and Gary Wright....A virtual band made in rockabilly heaven.



So the comparison here is simple. If you could go back in time to say Ceaser's Palace, Las Vegas circa 1974 and watch Elvis on bended knee, arms extended, holding one of those gaudy satin capes and belting out "In The Ghetto" or "Crying In The Chapel".....Or if you could be a "fly on the wall" in a London recording studio during these incredible sessions, while Jerry Lee and the boys are ripping their way through the likes of "No Headstone On My Grave" or "Bad Moon Rising"...Where would you rather be? I don't know about you, but unless you can guarntee me a million dollar jackpot at Ceaser's Palace...Then fly me to London and let me hear some bonifide rip roarin' rock 'n roll classics, as only The Killer and company can provide. It just dosen't get better than this. I guarntee it!"