This is 45 minutes of nigh-unto-awesome rock & roll hailing from the '50s, and the only reason it gets knocked at all is that it's 45 minutes spread out over four sides of black plastic. Mind you, it makes for good dynamic range -- but then again, 45 minutes on a single album doesn't exactly stretch things, either. Who is
Larry Williams? Well, he was, in some respects, a replacement for
Little Richard when
Little Richard went off to the ministry. He certainly has some of the same qualities, but doesn't get anywhere near as hypertense as
Little Richard, which makes for a more interesting listening experience in some respects.
Williams was also the guy who popped up with "Short Fat Fannie," which manages to quote every popular rock & roll number from the time without once missing a beat, mussing its hair, or sounding contrived.
Williams also gave listeners "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" and several songs that were staples of
the Beatles and
the Rolling Stones -- "She Said Yeah" and the aforementioned "Dizzy Miss Lizzy" amongst them, elements of which you could hear in the work of
the Beatles at least for years. There's something intensely nostalgic about this release -- the label design, simple yellow and white, the fact that it's on black vinyl and you have to drop the needle, the fact that there's obvious distortion in the original recordings (digital remastering doesn't always help, either, because here there's a lot of hashing on sibilants and cymbals; treble cut is recommended), and the lack of gloss, glitter, and polish. These guys sound like they're having a great time, and the hell with slips here and there. Compare
William's cut of "Iko Iko" against later versions -- it's a nonsense song, and the version here sounds like it was a ball to do. Having to take a foot-wide plastic platter and do all those manual things with it feels absolutely right. If you can stand the fact that it's 45 minutes on two vinyl analog discs, this is a great album to have. The other significant note is that it won't be available in this form on compact disc -- this version has all the versions that were released and became hits. The compact disc sports additional tracks, and also uses alternate versions of many of the songs on the vinyl version. It's an interesting way of approaching things. ~ Steven McDonald