Little Richard - Very Best of Little Richard Review
Posted by Jesse Coy on 08.15.2008
Original 50’s recordings by this rock ‘n’ roll legend are reissued. Find out why you need to get this sort of rock ‘n’ roll by any means possible. And if you don’t agree, we have only three words to say to you… “shut up… WHOOO!”
Little Richard Very Best of Little Richard
July 2008
Specialty Records
I did see that old debate pop up in a recent column here as to who is better, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones. My only response to that? Listen to some good old classic rock ‘n’ roll from the 50’s, where it all began, and the argument becomes moot. You’ll forget the question.
Who am I talking about? Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Buddy Holly, Bo Diddley, Roy Orbison, and Richard Penniman… otherwise known as Little Richard.
In the same way that there wouldn’t be punk in the UK were it not for the American pioneers, you wouldn’t have the Beatles or Rolling Stones without this rock ‘n’ roll foundation. I know it’s quite silly to get into a debate over “where it began.” And it doesn’t really matter, does it? There came a point when, as the refrain goes, “rock ‘n’ roll is here to stay” (thank you, Richard). It was and it is.
Moving on to the actual release, I have a confession to make. I am a big fan of those rock ‘n’ rollers listed above, along with a few others. So a Little Richard collection of greatest hits had long ago made it into my CD collection. This was a 2-disc collection called The Second Coming. Well, lo and behold, I discovered that the tracks on that one weren’t the original 50’s versions. Rather, that release was issued in 1971, and they were re-recordings of his hits done on Charly Records in the 60’s. So it’s actually quite strange to hear most of those tunes in their original form.
The Second Coming compared to Very Best of Little Richard is very easy to contrast. There’s a bit more funk to the latter re-recordings, and certainly more trademark Little Richard “WHOOO”-s. Being so accustomed to what I just now discovered as being re-recordings, it’s been very interesting to rediscover these tracks at the source. At their source, you definitively have that 50’s rock ‘n’ roll structure, the drumming sounding just like that train passing by that musicians were “strumming to the music that the drivers made” (thank you, Chuck).
Comparing these two versions of a similar set of songs, it’s impossible to say that Little Richard’s more charged on one set of songs or the other. There really only seems to be one speed here, which is full speed ahead.
And speaking of different versions of the material… there is The Georgia Peach, which was issued on CD back in ’91, with many of the same tunes that are on Very Best of Little Richard. How many? 20 of the 25 are shared between these two versions. Basically, extra cuts are swapped out from one to the other. And the reason for this new collection being released is a new music group coming into possession of the Specialty Records catalogue (everything Little Richard did for Specialty Records originating from ’55 to ’57).
Should you replace The Georgia Peach with Very Best of Little Richard? I’m not sure about that, and it kind of doesn’t matter, because if you don’t have either, you should get your hands on one of them. If like me you have The Second Coming, by all means, you should get this, and not as a replacement for The Second Coming, which has a second disc of some of his late 60’s or early 70’s soulful material. This disc compliments the other.
What tracks have you got on here? What hits? “Tutti Frutti,” “Good Golly, Miss Molly,” “Lucille,” “Jenny Jenny,” “Ooh My Soul,” “Baby Face,” “Keep A-Knockin’,” “Rip It Up”… plus there’s Little Richard taking a stab at “Hound Dog” and “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On.” There were also a few I’d never heard because they weren’t on the collection I had, like “Heeby-Jeebies” and “All Around the World.” Yee-haw… or, more appropriately, “WHOOOOO!”
By the way, in case you never knew, what does rock ‘n’ roll mean? What’s the root? Back in the 50’s, when you talked about rock ‘n’ rolling, it meant you were getting some. For anyone who didn’t know this, just think a little about the lyrics to “Good Golly, Miss Molly.”
Good golly, Miss Molly
Sure like to ball
When you're rockin' and a-rollin'
Can't hear your mama call
That’s rock ‘n’ roll, baby.
The 411: The root, a source… if this isn’t pure legend, I don’t know what is. These are original Little Richard recordings, where he more than “Rips It Up.” Hear the wild man hammering away on the piano, singing his lungs out, and just rocking out.
