Review: Little Richard

 Little Richard - Little Richard

Rating: 9/10 (Classic)

Track Listing (highlights are bolded):

1. "Keep A Knockin'"

2. "By the Light of the Silvery Moon"

3. "Send Me Some Lovin'"

4. "I'll Never Let You Go (Boo Hoo Hoo Hoo)"

5. "Heeby-Jeebies"

6. "All Around the World"

7. "Good Golly, Miss Molly"

8. "Baby Face"

9. "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey"

10. "Ooh! My Soul"

11. "The Girl Can't Help It"

12. "Lucille"

Review:

Compiling the last batch of his golden rock n' roll singles, this album is another slab of Little Richard goodness. Yes, it is pretty much part two of Here's Little Richard, but come on, are you going to complain about more of this magnificent rock n' roll? He created one of the finest musical formulae of the 50s, and this record has the same concentration of that greatness as the last. Who cares if it's the same style? Wildass screaming, loose and frenzied R&B grooves, unbeatable catchiness, how could this not be a success the second time around?

Though, if there is a development that makes the rockers on this one slightly different, it's that Little Richard is mastering the art of the buildup. "Heeby-Jeebies" is an excellent example of the old style: charging from the get-go at full speed and not letting up for a second. It's a terrific approach in its own right, but the rest of the singles on this album prefer to build up the tension before exploding in your face. Compared to the one-shot blast of "Heeby-Jeebies," "The Girl Can't Help It" works more like a pressure cooker. Already building up with the horn intro and the backup vocalists announcing the chorus, they use each verse in a call-response fashion to increase the song's power. You can hear Little Richard singing more and more passionately until it all dissipates in one mighty scream. It may seem subdued compared to "Ready Teddy" or "Rip It Up," but it ends up kicking just as much ass by the way they perform the composition.

This new technique he adapted consistently enhances the gut punch of each rocker. "Ooh! My Soul" may deceive you with its soft vocal intro, but it's one of the speediest in his catalog. The song is such a monster that even the master is straining to unleash the vocal stampede of the verses, but it only sounds so heavy because he gives those softer vocal respites to provide contrast. "Good Golly Miss Molly" steals the piano introduction from his previous classic "True Fine, Mama," but it is more effective here. Playing the piano part at a faster tempo not only super-charges the melody but also provides a very natural entrance to the kickass vocal performance. "Hey-Hey-Hey-Hey" runs a crazy-fast pace, but it delivers a few verses before allowing the chorus to pull the listener into its mad rave-up. Every song is just as wild as "Long Tall Sally," but their buildups make them varied in their attack plan.

The bookends take the cake though, easily the pinnacle of Little Richard's artistic development. "Keep a Knockin'" utilizes tension-and-release to transform a rock n' roll song into an invigorating, almost mini-operatic piece. The drum intro sounds like his girl is actually knocking at his door, and when she doesn't stop, he furiously screams at her with that thundering chorus. The whole song is one enraged verbal assassination directed at the woman behind the door, every verse raising the stakes until you realize his girl will NEVER come back in. It's an annihilating, dramatic rock and roll masterpiece that only a powerhouse like Little Richard could have performed. 

"Lucille," however, is a very different matter. The quiet, tight groove has a strange flavor, more mysterious than kickass for a change. He delivered one of his most aggressive vocal performances here, where every lyric almost sounds like a threat. Even the loud/soft contrast between the vocals and bass is unnerving, as if he's jumping out of nowhere and grabbing me by the throat. It has all the formal elements of a typical Little Richard song, but it stands out noticeably from the rest in how it can terrify in a subtle way.

Sadly, like last time, the slower stuff isn't that effective. "I'll Never Let You Go" is fairly impressive and still rock n' roll at heart, but the rest of the material is seriously dissonant with the rockers. At least the R&B ballads on the previous album matched his gritty spirit as a whole. These poppier show tunes don't gel with his image as a whole. What are lines like "to my honey, I'll croon love's tune" doing on a Little Richard record? "Baby Face" and "Send Me Some Lovin'" feel out of place as well, and why should a song about spreading rock n' roll "all around the world" be so lacking in edge? I wouldn't say any of these constitute a significant weakness (anyways, would you rather hear Doris Day sing "By The Light Of The Silvery Moon?"), but it was still a stupid commercial decision on the part of the label.

Nevertheless, the record successfully demonstrates that although he was an entertainer, Little Richard was just as much a great artist. Yes, he had a formula, but he pushed its potential to the max and found a couple of fantastic directions to take it. It's no wonder he must have realized that there wasn't much more he could do with his creation and quit the business for a couple of years (I know the reason he gave, but I'm not buying it). Still, this and Here's Little Richard preserve this rock n' roll excitement to be cherished forever. Listen to this and the previous album today if you haven't. You haven't lived until you've heard Little Richard scream "GOOD GOLLY MISS MOLLY" at the top of his lungs.