The Killer Once Again-Jerry Lee's Back

CD REVIEWS

The Killer At The Top Of His Form

Jerry Lee Lewis-18 Original Greatest Hits, Jerry Lee Lewis, Rhino Records, 1984

The last time we heard the name Jerry Lee Lewis in this space was in connection with a rave review of his star-studded concert on DVD and in a CD in New York City in 2006 entitled The Last Man Standing. A couple of paragraphs below are taken from the concert and CD review because they certainly apply to this album which also gets a rave review from these quarters. The last paragraph details some of the highlights of this CD. If you need to go back to the Fifties there are plenty of his compilations to choice from but this one is a good primer. Here goes.

“…Elvis, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley. Yes those are the men who created rock and roll, as we know it. However in that list do not forget one Jerry Lee Lewis. Fate dealt him an uneven hand due to the foibles of his personal life (the subject of a movie, Great Balls of Fire, with Dennis Quaid) but his form of rockabilly/boogie woogie piano-driven music and madman presentation must be placed in the mix of influences that drove the best of early rock.

If for no other reason that that he is one of the few `still standing' from that generation it is nice to see what the Killer can do in his 71st year in concert in New York City in 2006 with a host of guests some old, some young. Clearly off these performances he has lost a couple of steps. Hell the kind of energy that Jerry Lee produced in the 1950's definitely had a short shelf life. There are some nice clips from that period intertwined with the concert, by the way.”

Of the 18 original hits from the Fifties that are included here are about 16 are must haves in any Jerry Lee compilation. When the Saints Go Marching In and Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee one can pass on (although rapper Kid Rock did an incredible cover version on PBS’s American Masters- Sun Records Legacy tribute). Starting with Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On to the salacious Big Legged Woman you get Jerry Lee when he could pound it out all day and all night. Get it.


Jerry Lee Lewis and His Friends, Jerry Lee Lewis and other artist, Enterprise, 1989

I have attempted to make a case over the past several months for recognizing the musical talents of Jerry Lee Lewis. I have in essence argued that while, for a while, Elvis was clearly ‘king of the hill’ by the time Jerry Lee got rolling he was very well positioned to challenge that role. In the long haul he probably has ‘won’ that distinction but that is the subject for endless, sports-like, controversy. What matters is how he rates in his career against his early performances. I have argued that his 2006 Last Man Standing performances on CD and DVD are the standard by which to judge his later work. I continue to stand by that premise. By that standard this 1989 performance in England comes up short.

In one of the ironies of his very controversial and scandal-filled life Jerry Lee goes back to London in this concert film. The irony, of course, is that it is his obtracization by the British over his marriage to his young cousin that broke the back of a very promising career. A little vignette at the beginning of the concert asking fans and his fellow musicians why they were there puts paid to that long ago silliness. Notwithstanding all the good vibes produced by the show before devoted fans the technical production here of the film itself (the music comes across tinny) and of the meshing among the musicians does not work overall. High School Confidential, Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On and Goodnight, Irene (with Van Morrison), yes. The rest no. If you want to buy one DVD that reflects Jerry Lee when he rocks, is technically well done and has some very nice duos get that above-mentioned Last Man Standing. This, take it or leave it.


Jerry Lee Lewis: I Am What I Am, Jerry Lee Lewis and other, Enterprise, 2001

Apparently, I cannot leave this Jerry Lee Lewis thing alone. I have reviewed several of his CDs and DVDs in this space over the past several months as I have attempted argue for his proper place in the among the founders of rock and roll. This documentary is more in the way of a musical biography interspersing archival musical segments with the story of his life. And what a life. If one rocker epitomized the slogan drug, sex and rock and roll before the 1960’s the profile of Jerry Lee Lewis could serve as the model. Many marriages, many drug problems, many setbacks, many run ins with the law many… well, you get the picture. The real reason to get this film though is that early footage, like the Steve Allen Show performance of Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On. Those performances tell the tale. They tell why he could have been ‘king of the hill’. Hell, he didn’t do so badly after all. And he would be the first to tell you that. If you only need Jerry Lee’s music there are many good compilations, including an eight CD set that gives everything from the Sun Record period. If you like a little background get this.