Tuesday 9 June 2009

LITTLE RICHARD - THE "OKEH" SESSIONS (OKEH 1966-1967) Jap mastering




While Little Richard Penniman is well known for his Specialty, Mercury, Veejay, and Modern recordings (though many of the sides on the latter two labels were merely redos of his Specialty hits), he is little celebrated for these wonderful sides recorded for Okeh in 1966 and 1967. The Little Richard on these sessions is a seasoned R&B singer whose feet are deeply rooted in modern-era Southern soul. That said, there are a few traces of Motown that creep in as well -- despite the fact that the material was all recorded in Hollywood. For Okeh, Little Richard recorded devastatingly fine versions of "Function at the Junction," "I Don't Want to Discuss It," Berry Gordy's "M-O-N-E-Y," "Poor Dog," "Hurry Sundown," and Sam Cooke's "Well All Right" to mention a few. To help him pull it all off -- this was seen as a last-ditch survival effort for the singer -- Little Richard's sidemen for these dates include Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Larry Williams, Eddie Fletcher, and Glen Willings -- a crack studio band if there ever was one. In sum, the Okeh material yielded one fine, 11-track album in The Explosive Little Richard released in 1967, and three issued B-sides for its singles. Appearing on this CD for the very first time are three leftover tracks that include smoking raw versions of Fats Domino's "Rocking Chair" and Leiber & Stoller's "Hound Dog." For those who are contemplating a Little Richard CD, the Specialty sides should come first because they contain the original versions of his classics. For those who already have that material, this set is an excellent addition to the Penniman shelf. There isn't a loser in the bunch, and these performances are truly inspired, burning from start to finish; they are startling even today. In addition to the great music, soul expert Charles White's liner notes are thorough and authoritative and offer the same kind of exuberance Penniman put into these performances.
Here

10 comments:

mcsquirty said...

HI
REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR POSTS,
TRACK 1 ON THE LITTLE RICHARD POST COMES UP CORRUPT.
ANY CHANCE OF ANY SMALL FACES AND BLOOD SWEAT AND TEARS.
AGAIN MANY THANKS

Georgie Hirezola said...

I will post all the "Small Faces" albums in Jap SHM-CD reissues in the near future , in my other blog "Small Town Pleasures" where they belong....
......................
PS: I guess the Little Richard rar file is OK now!!!
I re uploaded the file....
Georgie++++++++++++

Jose A. said...

wow, i didn´t know little richard´s work beyond the fifties, and is a pity he did´n´t reach the initial success, thanks, it´s a big surprise for me!!

Psych-Soul-Sensation said...

WOW been looking for this CD for ages it seems! THANKS and both of your blogs are killer, I will for sure be browsing later on! Keep up the god work, really top notch stuff!!

Anonymous said...

raven richard did change his style in the 6t,s he had to the old style had gone stale times were changing but this is good stuff soul of the newer times thanks for this

Pagan Blood said...

Thanks a million for this Richard gem. I got this record when I was a 15 year old Mod...almost by accident.Back then we were quite aware of Little Richard's phenomenal R&B of the 50's but he had vanished into religion. When this album appeared, seemingly "out of nowhere"it showed that Richard had not only "returned" but was once again very HIP!Sadly this album was ignored and sadly it remains so today.This should have been the record that reinstated his royal standing,placing him in the top rank with those that were giving new meaning to the word SOUL!

Paolo said...

Yeah, thanks for sharing the treasure. I havent heard any of Little Richards work after the Specialty stuff. Guess i'm in for a real soulful treat!

viagra prescription said...

I loved Little Richard even though his music was not so good, but the way he dances is awesome. Huge quanity of persons admire him for his movs on stage and not for his music... Anyway, the fact is he was great.

Tommy C said...

I just found the Little Richard OKeh record and have to give you special thanks. The only stuff I knew besides his Specialty records was the Reprise records. But this is great - I love it - thank you very much!

hooch said...

many thanks indeed my friend!