Dad's Take:It's telling that this album by one of rock and roll's original bad boys begins with an Elvis cover, turning "Don't Be Cruel" into a honky-tonk rollicker. And that the next song is a cover of Leadbelly's "Irene Goodnight." Jerry Lee Lewis was an exciting rocker with deep country roots. A hyperactive hillbilly, Lewis was always looking for trouble and had no difficulty finding it.
This classic Jerry Lee Lewis album has one big hit, "High School Confidential," but other songs like "Put Me Down" have the sound most people associate with Jerry Lee Lewis. But this album also has a ton of filler. At his best, Jerry Lee is one of my favorites. Unfortunately his output is a little bit inconsistent. Or maybe you prefer "versatile." On any Jerry Lee Lewis record, other than some greatest hits collections, you're going to get rock and roll as manic as Little Richard, Hank Williams style country, Dixieland spirituals, and bar room honky tonk. That's not a bad thing, as long as you don't go in expecting every song to be "Great Balls Of Fire." The Killer was far too ADHD to be pinned down to one musical style.
Lewis rose quickly and burned out just as fast, thanks to all that trouble he was looking for. Marrying his 13-year-old cousin was, in retrospect, maybe not such a very good idea, and it brought his career to a crashing halt after only about a year and a half. He has stuck around since then, but his prime was cut short by his actions. 1950s rock and roll liked its bad boys, but not when they really went Bad.
With all the great music he gave us in that short period, Jerry Lee Lewis leaves us with a "what if" almost as big as the ones we were left with on February 3, 1959. Fortunately, not for the same reason, but it still left Jerry Lee Lewis as one of the first tragic figures of rock and roll, brought down by his own hubris and poor judgment. Jerry Lee stuck around to have a few more hits even as late as the 1970s (especially on the country charts), and to electrify live audience all the way to now. I don't think the music world ever really forgave him, but they didn't forget him either.
Brad's Take:
When I think of Jerry Lee Lewis, I instantly think of "Great Balls Of Fire." That's the only song that I really associate with Jerry, despite how unfair that probably is. I'm just only really familiar with his fast blues rock music. It wasn't until track 9 ("High School Confidential") when I heard the Jerry Lee Lewis sound that I was already familiar with.
I was a bit bored with all of the mid-tempo filler songs in the first half of this album. Maybe it's just today, but it wasn't holding my attention until "High School Confidential." And when the next track started ("When The Saints Go Marching In") I chuckled to myself. What a random song to throw on a rock 'n roll album. But either way, it was a fun version of the tune.
Needless to say, this album was mostly underwhelming. Especially with the Little Richard album we reviewed before this still fresh in my head. This album's energy and excitement just doesn't compare to Lil Rich.
This album isn't necessarily bad or anything. I just know that Jerry Lee Lewis has better music than what was put on this album.
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