Jerry Lee Lewis
1965
Amanda: I feel obligated to say how creepy Jerry Lee Lewis is. He married his thirteen-year-old cousin (once removed; does anyone know what the hell that means?) and all his wives died in mysterious ways. He actually inspired me to try to find out when statutory rape laws were enacted. I couldn't find any starting dates, but most cases seemed to be recent. Oh well, I guess he would have been arrested.
Since this blog is not modeled off Virginia Woolf's writing style, I should probably get to the matter at hand (A-O!). This album is actually the style of music I usually love but it is probably my least favorite rock and roll album so far. Of course, you have the cliches of "Great Balls of Fire" (I saw a dance routine to that once) but you also have some unexpected ones like "Your Cheatin' Heart". Good, not great.
RATING:
Brie: I know no one is going to get this, but every time I hear "Great Balls of Fire" I think of the book Rising Sun by Michael Crichton. One of the characters mouths the words to that song throughout the book.
The album got off to an overwhelming start. "Money" and "Matchbox" are very fast songs and it takes a bit of time to get used to. Once you get to "What'd I Say" it isn't as crazy, and you can take a breather. With "Good Golly Miss Molly" it got crazy again and then I was left thinking about Little Richard. Overall, the album was good but it wasn't a stand out as far as rock 'n' roll goes. I wouldn't seek it out again.
RATING:
Lewis gives a great performance, but this was probably a better live show than album. The song list seems like an oldies revue. And the band doesn't sound that great, or maybe it was poorly recorded. I find this album good in parts, I could listen to the first few songs again.
ReplyDeleteStandout track: "Money (That's What I Want)"