There have been a number of
Smiley Lewis
compilations over the years, including some fine ones: the signature
EMI
release of
The Best of Smiley Lewis
, the
Proper Introduction to Smiley Lewis
, the two-volume
Smiley Lewis Story
, and
Bear Family
's definitive four-disc box set
Shame, Shame, Shame
, that collected every side he ever cut. That said, other than their original box set, none of them comes close to
's single-disc
Smiley Lewis Rocks
comp. Rather than merely present 36 chronologically recorded sides for
Colony
and
Imperial
from 1950-1958, it contextualizes them. Though
Lewis
began recording in 1947, his biggest years were the '50s, those in which he recorded his regionally popular
"I Hear You Knocking"
"One Night"
(whose later sanitized and vastly inferior versions were recorded by
Gale Storm
Elvis Presley
, respectively, with greater success -- yes, you read right,
Presley
's version of
utterly pales in comparison with the
' original. Of the rest,
"Shame, Shame, Shame"
"Bumpity Bump"
are here, as well as versions of
"Blue Monday,"
"Rootin' and Tootin,"
"Lillie Mae,"
and many other New Orleans standards. Yet, it's not simply track selection that makes this set so righteous: it's the sound of
Cosimo Matassa
's New Orleans studio at work with the musicians that played on these sides that made them so unique: drummer
Earl Palmer
, saxophonists
Lee Allen
Herbert Hardesty
, and trumpeter and bandleader
Dave Bartholomew
-- who wrote or co-wrote the majority of these tunes. The players' spontaneity to capture on tape whatever was happening is apparent on this set. At the heart of it there's
' voice, an enormous and expressive instrument capable of transferring so much to the listener: from raucous joy and wildness to tenderness and heartbreak, seemingly without effort. His guitar playing exemplifies the Crescent City sound, full of rhythmic invention and tough, R&B groove. The liner notes by
Bill Dahl
are peerless for their historical authority. The digitally remastered sound is better than any previous collection on the market; it's full, warm, and immediate. For anyone interested in rock & roll's real roots, New Orleans music, or jump blues and classic R&B,
is indispensable. ~ Thom Jurek