Little Richard compilation help...

I'm sure this has been discussed, I did do a search and ended up with 20 pages of results, the first 10 pages of which yielded nothing of use, so I'm starting a new thread.

Here's what I'm looking for: I would *ideally* like a 2CD set of his best material from throughout his career (not limited to 50s stuff) that is a fairly recent remaster. There doesn't seem to be a domestic release that fills the bill. I know there's a 42 track comp from Austrailia (2000) called The Great Little Richard. Are there any other options available?

Thanks!

 

Find an Ace set...

 

If it's still around, Ace CHM729 covers up to 1964. Unlike some other "hits" comps, it includes Bama Lama Bama Loo.

 

The Ace stuff really kicks some real Lucille. The box is just shock-and-awe....

 

OK, so I picked up the 1991 comp on Specialty, The Georgia Peach, covers 25 tracks from '55-'57. FWIW, this comp is the one AllMusic seems to think is best. Credits are: "Digital Transfers by Gordon Skene". "Digital Remastering by Kirk Felton, Fantasy Studios 1991".

Sound quality is pretty good, analog-y and warm, but I'm not hearing a lot of tape hiss, and at the end of every song is a weird echo-ey effect that is homogenous throughout, I'm wondering if this is "digital echo" or some kind of added processing? But my main problem is that the music and the band seem to be in a different room 5 miles down the road from Richard. May have been recorded this way, but vocals seem to be mixed way too prominently, drowning out the sound of the instruments.

Anyway, still looking for a good comp, I'd love something that is a 2-disc set that covers his whole recording career, but that may not exist. Advice please!

Mark

 

I have The Georgia Peach and I agree that it sounds a bit weird. For the 50's stuff, there's the Rhino 18 Greatest Hits which came out in the 80's. I like the sound of this better than The Georgia Peach.

You probably won't find a career spanning disc since he recorded for so many different labels. There's the Specialty stuff, the Vee Jay stuff, the Okeh stuff, etc.... I thought I read that Rhino Handmade has some Little Richard on the way.

 

Get the 22 Classic Cuts from Ace.

 

Mark,

As previously stated, find the Ace UK set. Here is a link to one anthology:

http://66.232.131.72/cgi-bin/SearchCatNo.asp?intSite=1&strProdID=CDCH195

Highly recommended!

Bob

 

You can divide Little Richard's career into three parts more or less (without considering the pre-Specialty period). There was the Specialty period that contains most of his well known songs, then his withdrawl from rock'n'roll into Gospel and brief return to rock'n'roll in the mid sixties (this is the least well known and least documented period of his career). Then the early seventies comeback of sorts that produced a couple of albums. Most of the compilations concentrate on the Specialty sides; with the Georgia Peach and the Ace comp being good representations. The early seventies stuff is available in comps (IIRC, there is a two CD comp coming out soon from this period). I don't know what's available from his middle period, but there was recently a feature on Fresh Air about this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4195063.

 

I agree---this is THE ONLY one to get. FANTASTIC sound quality Nothing else even comes close.

 

OK, next Little Richard comp is in. It's "The Masters" a 2CD UK import on Eagle from 1997. With a name like "The Masters", I was hoping that indicated it was concerned with sound quality, and was drawn from the original master tapes.

This set is not drawn from his classic period, but from his first come-back circa 1963-65 where he appeared on Vee-Jay. So the classic songs are re-recordings, not the well-known originals.

Clearly, a lot of these tracks SMOKE with energy and vitality, but the sound really lets it down. The CD has very budget-looking artwork, and no indication of a mastering engineer, and it sounds like a budget comp, too. Which is really too bad, 'cause a lot of this could be really good if treated properly. A shame. :thumbsdn: