Before his brief turn as a rock & roll star with Atlantic,
Willis cut a lot of material for OKeh in much more of an R&B/jump blues vein. This 26-cut collection includes all of his early and mid-'50s R&B hits -- "My Story," "Goin' to the River," "Don't Deceive Me," "You're Still My Baby," and his most famous number from this period, "I Feel So Bad" (revived by
Elvis Presley, among others). The influence of
Joe Turner,
Charles Brown, early
Lloyd Price, and similar performers is strongly felt;
Willis could shout competently, but was much better on the emotional R&B ballads. Not as strong or distinctive as his Atlantic material, this includes several cuts that were previously unreleased or previously unavailable in the U.S. ~ Richie Unterberger