2 LPs on 1 CD: THE KILLER ROCKS ON (1972)/BOOGIE WOOGIE COUNTRY MAN (1975).
Personnel: Jerry Lee Lewis (vocals, piano); Jerry Lee Lewis; Billy Sandford, Jerry Kennedy, Billy Sanford (guitar); Kenneth Lovelace, Kenny Lovelace, George Binkley III (fiddle); Sheldon Kurland, Martin Katahn, Lillian Hunt, Bishop William Fitzpatrick, George Brinkley, Martha McCrory, Stephen Clapp, Samuel Terranova, Stephanie Woolf, Solie Fott, Stephen Clapp, William Fitzpatrick, Byron Bach, Brenton Banks, Marvin Chantry, Gary VanOsdale (strings); Hargus "Pig" Robbins (piano); Bill Strom, Billy Storm (organ); Bob Moore (bass guitar); Dolores Edgin, Joseph T. Babcock, Mildred Kirkham, Ray C. Walker, The Jordanaires, Neal Matthews, Gordon Stoker, Hoyt Hawkins, Dolores Dinning Edgin, Millie Kirkham, Joe Babcock (background vocals); Chip Young, Harold Bradley, Johnny Christopher, Pete Wade, Ray Edenton, Tommy Allsup, Jerry Shook, Dale Sellers (guitar); Lloyd Green, Pete Drake (steel guitar); David Darling, Albert Coleman, Buddy Spicher (strings); Charlie McCoy (harmonica, vibraphone); Buddy Harman (drums); Trish Williams, Ricky Page (background vocals).
This BGO reissue of two of Jerry Lee Lewis' Mercury albums catches the Killer in his prime. While it's true that many had forsaken the rock & roll iconoclast as just plain weird, the U.K., Europe, and many of the music's critics hadn't -- and thank God. These two albums, issued in 1971 and 1972, respectively -- though some of the tunes were recorded as early as 1960 -- are a pair of his finest. Check his reading of "C.C. Rider" (done in true Nashville/countrypolitan style), the piano boogie version of Joe South's "Walk a Mile in My Shoes," and a smokin' version of Fats Domino's "I'm Walkin'," just to name very few. Suffice to say that there isn't a track here that Jerry Lee Lewis fans can live without, and for those who thought the man was nothing but a caricature after the '50s, pair this two-fer with his recent rollicking Last Man Standing album and there is proof enough in this: Jerry Lee could still stomp your ass in an alley blindfolded. They don't call him the Killer for nothing. ~ Thom Jurek
Professional Reviews
Uncut (p.172) - 3 stars out of 5 - "[He's] still in fine voice."
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