Product Description MCA has newly repackaged their classic 20-cut Louis Jordan compilation to include the same jumpin' jives at a lower price! Choo Choo, Ch'Boogie; Saturday Night Fish Fry; What's the Use of Getting Sober?; Caldonia; Ain't Nobody Here But US Chickens; Run, Joe; Barnyard Boogie, and more. .co.uk With 20 originals from Louis Jordan's 1940s and early '50s heyday at Decca Records, Best Of is the definitive collection of the blues-jazz bandleader-singer's work. Most of the cuts are up-tempo jumpers with lyrics that tell sly tales of the black experience in mid-century: the house-partiers in "Saturday Night Fish Fry" end up in the slam, while the institution of marriage occasions a warning in "Beware". Jordan also dabbled in Latin and Brazilian rhythms on "Run Joe" and "Early in the Morning", and even added a major ballad, "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Cryin'", to the standard repertoire. A major influence on Ray Charles, James Brown and Chuck Berry, Jordan is a must-hear. --Rickey Wright
J**D
Raw energy counterpoints great polish
I know next to nothing about Louis Jordan but had heard a programme about him on Radio 6 which left me interested and when I spotted this compilation soon after at a great price on Amazon, I thought it would be worth sampling. I was right. This is great music. It is easy to see, as other reviewers have noted, how Jordan foreshadows rock n'roll though I must own up to not being too keen on that genre on the whole. Jordan, however, is much more to my taste. This is confident, sassy, bold swingy jazzy stuff. There is a humour in many of the lyrics; I think there are probably euphemisms a plenty too. I have no idea why Louis Jordan is a less familiar name these days than Louis Armstrong, a contemporary. Perhaps he stayed just slightly the wrong side of the 'race records' divide to win him universal acclaim. Rock n'roll, it seems to me, was all too often hijacked by white boys and its essence distilled. If you want a glimpse of what that essence was all about, sample some Louis Jordan for yourself - irresistibly mixing a polished and accomplished sound with a backbeat of raw energy, it's very easy to love.
R**.
Disappointing.
This CD did not include his best tracks, Saturday night fish fry, choo choo chaboogie, nobody here but us chickens, Caledonia and can see why the seller never included a track list. You will be more than disappointed if you paid £20 for this CD which should be sold in Drop bargain record store for a £1:00.
