New Jerry Lee Lewis Album 'Rock & Roll Time' and Biography

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...tar-studded-new-album-rock-roll-time-20140624

Who would have thought that not only would Jerry Lee Lewis outlive his Sun Label bandmates, (Johnny Cash, Elvis, Carl Perkins) but that he'd be the only major 50's rock n roller to still be releasing new albums? Wow!

On that link you can here a sample of his new song 'Rock & Roll Time', its actually quite good.

He's also apparently got a new Biography coming out on the same day as the album! It's called 'Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story' but who knows whether it'll be truthful or not!

 

From the chapter "Jerry Lee Lewis" by Jim Miller, The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll, 1980, p. 67:

 

is this still due for release in october?

 

Yep. October 27th is the release date. I'm very excited, as you probably are too. Despite the guest personnel of guitarists Doyle Bramhall II, Jon Brion and Kenny Lovelace and vocalists Vonda Shepard and Bernard Fowler, it should be a great album. There are no odd pairings or duets with artists such as Kid Rock.

 

Jerry Lee Lewis.

 

Down in the comment section of the RS article, author Murray Silver, who wrote Great Balls Of Fire with Myra, really isn't impressed with the thought od new biography:

"Murray Silver • 22 days ago
How could the same magazine that featured my book and the movie it spawned on its cover in 1989 not challenge Lewis's contention that "there wasn't no truth" in any of the other books when, in fact, mine was the first AUTHORIZED biography and Charles White penned the second, and that the Bragg book is nothing but the same old story served up with a fresh brown sauce of flowery prose; Nick Tosches without the hellfire. Lewis says he waited until the right time to set the record straight and you didn't have the guts to challenge him on the record? The record was officially straightened with "Great Balls of Fire: The Uncensored Story of Jerry Lee Lewis" in 1981, and the latest version has been warped to avoid the unpleasant and inconvenient truth, a book which the author abandoned midway through due to the inability to get anything of substance out of Lewis that HADN'T been told before and was forced to finish by the publisher. Either Jerry Lee Lewis is lying now or he lied to me because the story hasn't changed. All I can say in conclusion is this: The Bragg version of this oft-told tale will not be what God hears from Jerry Lee Lewis on his judgment day, and the rest has been heard countless numbers of times over the past 40 years."

I would agree with him that Nick Tosches Hellfire is one amazing book on JLL. I disagree that God is definitely going to get any straight answers on Jerry Lee's judgement day.

 

funny kid rock is actually a really good friend of jerry lee

 

... and Roy Orbison! Just don't wantcha to leave out the TX connection. But yes, amazing that Jerry Lee is still active in a studio.

 

The album is streaming on the WSJ Speakeasy:

http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2014...g-on-rock-roll-time-exclusive-album-premiere/

 

How is it?

 

The biography's release is tomorrow. Five hundred and twelve pages? Great balls of fire!

 

Thanks

 

I never picked up Young Blood (shocked to learn how old that album is), Last Man Standing or Mean Old Man... duets albums make me nervous. But this one is subdued and sweet. Think I'll get Rock and Roll Time, love the title track.

 

Young Blood is great, so is Rock and Roll Time.

 

Jerry Lee hates Youngblood. Everything was recorded separately and pieced together.

I really enjoy both Last Man Standing and Mean Old Man, duets and all. Not all of the duets are vocals - if it's Ringo he's playing drums, Robbie Robertson plays lead guitar, Page rips the solo through Rock And Roll, etc.

I can't think of any cuts where anybody overshadows the Killer, that's for sure.

 

My copy of the book arrived yesterday.

 

From a review in The Guardian, this comment got my attention:

I'll be buying my copy tomorrow.

 

Heard "Big Boss Man" from the album on Sirius the other day. As a song choice the word warhorse is an understatement and the vocal/performance are pretty ordinary, sorry. With all the great country/blues/r&b songs out there, he picks BBM? Hope the rest is better and I too am encouraged that there are no duets. Those albums aren't horrible but we want to hear JLL while he still can.

 

the album features several performances that are better than this one. I agree its a poor song choice.

 

Love the new album, just thumbed through the book so far.

God bless The Killer!

 

Rock and Roll time is a brilliant album. Guests include Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Daniel Lanois, Neil Young, Nils Lofgren,Robbie Robertsson and Neil Young. But it a not a duet - album like his previous two. Actually the one duet is with Shelby Lynne in Kristiffofersons Rainbow.
Songs are a mix between obvious but great Rock and Roll covers -Little Quennie and Promised Land to lessexpected ones like Bob Dylans Steochild. One of my favorites are the title track.
With Jerrys own great band, Jim Keltner as drummer and producer plus all the famous guests the album has a very autentic sound. There are of course some great piano-licks but the Killer actually plays guitar on two tracks.
With great albums this year from Willie Nelson 81, Leonard Cohen 80 and now Jerry Lee Lewis 79-there is certanely hope for the future.