Little Richard
(Collector's Choice Music)
These three albums, released in the early 1970s, were designed to update the sound and image of an artist who had a string of 14 Top Ten hits during 1956 through 1957 at a rate of one about every six to eight weeks. But by the time the first of these albums - The Rill Thing (1970) - had been released, Little Richard had already been relegated to the oldies circuit as a performer and even though his songs were beginning to be used in soundtracks and appearing on other artists' albums, his own brilliant electrifying recordings had pretty much disappeared from the radio airwaves and jukeboxes to be found mostly only in the bargain bins of record stores. The last of them - The Second Coming - was released in September of 1972, three months before his fortieth birthday. Now that the idea of rock and roll belonging only to the young - not that a forty year old should be considered old by any stretch - is dying a well deserved death it seems ridiculous to think that such a great artist would have been put out to pasture at that point in his life and career. Of course any songwriter's creative juices can start to flow thin after twenty years of output; how many times can one write about losing/finding/betraying/being betrayed by one's baby? Even great rock and roll composers like Stevie Wonder and Bob Dylan who deal in an even wider variety of themes have had their slumps. But they and other senior rockers like John Fogarty, Van Morrison or Bruce Springsteen - all in their sixties - are still pretty formidable on stage and even still sell the odd disc now and then.
Richard Wayne Penniman, the Georgia Peach, the Originator, the Innovator, the Architect of Rock and Roll is/was, as a performer at the equal of all of the above and more and possibly, probably, the superior of most of them. The vote on this end - this writer having seen all of the above in their prime - comes down on the side of the affirmative. That hearing these albums doesn't quite match the bone shaking excitement of hearing "Good Golly Miss Molly" or "Long Tall Sally" for the first or the five hundredth time is irrelevant. Compare the recordings of Little Richard of the 1970s to the recordings of Little Richard in the 1950s and they come up a little short. Compare them to the recordings of some of the young pups of the 70's and you have to use the accomplishments of older artists in other genres and fields - B.B. King, Pablo Casals, the recently departed Les Paul, Brando in "The Godfather", Satchel Paige - as a yardstick.
Making concessions to their time, the main instrumental thrust of the music was shifted from Richard's piano playing to electric guitar. Commercially it was the right move. The guitar had become and likely will remain the true King of Rock and Roll. But even greats like "Sneaky Pete" Kleinow on The Second Coming and Travis Womack on The Rill Thing (the best of the three recordings) couldn't bring these albums quite up to the level of quintessential Little Richard music; he has only ever really needed his version of the Justice League of America - Alvin "Red" Tyler on baritone sax, Lee Allen on tenor, Earl Palmer on drums, bass player Lloyd Lambert and one of the Mighty Ivory Twins Baldwin or Steinway to move the heavens and earth. His personal problems - including alleged cocaine use - may have been the main factor in holding things down to a simmer. But if drug use had actually been completely responsible for preventing rock and roll musicians from making great music the 1970s would have been one very mild and quiet decade. And despite it all the Voice was still in top form; the excitement still palpable; the thrill far, far from gone.
The music of the three albums is best described as "swamp rock," a sub-genre best exemplified by folks like Credence Clearwater Revival and Johnny Jenkins among others. The Rill Thing- produced at Muscle Shoals by Richard himself -can be recommended without hesitation. The other two, however, should not be dismissed. They are uneven but there are plenty of bright spots on them to justify their place on your shelves. The King Of Rock and Roll is hampered - but not much - by its faux live recording approach and sounds a little busy but it is tremendously better than the reviews of the time would have you believe. Richard's version of Hank Williams' classic "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" is solidly and positively in the country R&B territory of Arthur Alexander and - to a certain extent - Leon Russell and Booker T and the MGs; "Born On The Bayou" is flat out exquisite.
Robert "Bumps" Blackwell who produced Richard's early hits also produced The Second Coming which contains eight (out of nine) cuts written or co- written by Richard including "It Ain't What You Do, It's The Way How You Do It" co - authored by Kleinow (mis-credited as "Kleinman"). This one, which reunites Richard with not only Blackwell but also Palmer and Allen - Chuck Rainey in the bass chair this time out - is more miss than hit but, like "King" is better than contemporary reviews reflected. "Nuki Suki" featuring Allen's saxophone, what seems to be an improvised spoken word vocal and "Shaft" style wah wah guitar, may have you pushing the "repeat" button. "Rockin' Rockin" Boogie", a conscious evocation of Richard's glory days music - percussive piano and all - doesn't fall much short of accomplishing its mission; "Thomasine" comes even closer.
It may be a sin to quote a considerably lesser recording artist whose star was just about to rise shortly after the original release of these albums but -and you won't ever again read these words in conjunction with this byline - Meat Loaf was right; two out of three ain't bad.
Standout Tracks: "Born On The Bayou"; "Brown Sugar"; "Thomasine" RICK ALLEN
