Little Richard, Soul Man?

In 1966 Little Richard signed to OKeh Records who teamed him up with Larry Williams in an attempt to reposition Little Richard as a mainstream soul proposition. The first single, Poor Dog, featuring Johnny 'Guitar' Watson, and its follow up, The Commandments Of Love, lived up to their hopes, updating his musical sound and putting him back in the R&B Top 50. A third US single, I Don't Want To Discuss It, later covered by Delaney And Bonnie and Rod Stewart, was less successful as Little Richard was touring in the UK when it came out.

The Explosive Little Richard was Little Richard's first album for OKeh and was released in 1967. As well as original material it featured a number of popular contemporary soul standards such as Wilson Pickett's revival of Land Of A Thousand Dances and the Motown hits Function At The Junction and Money (That's What I Want), as well as oldies Well (Sam Cooke) and Don't Deceive Me (Chuck Willis). The results are uniformly atmospheric and commanding, showing that Little Richard had the potential to be a major player in the sixties and seventies.

While touring in the UK he also recorded the fine Get Down With It at Abbey Road, released as a single here on Columbia. It is added here as a bonus track, but despite the implied claim of the generally helpful liner notes, it is sadly not the original studio recording but an extended live version.

A lack of sales and general unhappiness with the new direction led Little Richard to resort once again to live re-recordings of past hits, with predictable long term results, making this possibly in his case a final glimpse of an artist with the prospect of future glories ahead

Rock, Soul, and Jazz

The first CD issue of Little Richard's debut album on Epic/Okeh is a must-have for LR collectors and casual fans. Although there are two 1950s tunes (Chuck Willis' "Don't Deceive Me) Please Don't Go" and Barrett Strong's "Money"), there are no arrangements grounded in that era - the production is strictly '60s, and quite progressive for the time. Larry Williams, also of Specialty Records, who had his greatest record successes based upon the barrelhouse beat of his "mentor" in the '50s, became his Producer in the '60s, and with Arranger Arthur Wright, came up with something different - a big band sound with a touch of Motown, a sound which would be echoed later by groups like Blood, Sweat, and Tears. You don't believe me? Play Richard's uptempo "I Need Love" from this collection and then play "Lucretia McEvil". Dig? Case closed. Other acts, including Tom Jones, must have spun these sides more than once.
Richard's first session for Epic/Okeh happened in 02-66 and produced the regional and R & B hit "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail" and "Well" [aka "Well, Alright!"], a Sam Cooke tune devised during the historic 1962 U.K. tour when Sam, Gene Vincent, and a new group called the Beatles got together. (LR had already cut it in early '64 for Specialty but it got put temporarily on the shelf). This session was unlike most others in his first R & R comeback period, '62 to '65, as quality control was obviously a catchphrase. Although he had made several outstanding cuts for Vee Jay and Modern, too many times it seemed as if second-rate was okay and some material was issued which never should have been. Here LR is given notable support. "Poor Dog" was a driving Rock and Soul 4/4 item and "Well" was more Rock and Jazz. They are typical interesting cuts from the session. (Although "Poor Dog" is presented here in a later abbreviated, album version, originally in stereo, now, mystifyingly in mono. What gives?).
A later session yielded "(You're My Girl) I Don't Want To Discuss It", a *should-have-been* smash hit if there ever was one. Apparently, the radio station programmers and dee-jays didn't hear what Delaney & Bonnie, Rhinocerous (who also duly noted "I Need Love"), and Rod Stewart heard. It is totally contemporary in approach, yet it sounds fresh and new. From the spoken introduction (probably by Larry Williams), to the toe-tapping rythym and beautifully arranged chorus, it's an instant favorite for anyone who gets a chance to listen.
"Commandments Of Love", the only other chart-maker from these sessions, is much more "standard", a ballad well delivered, although sounding a bit over-rehearsed - a criticism which could be leveled at almost all the OKeh sessions. Richard sounds interested, sounds professional, but never really digs in emotionally. Another example would be the Willis number. His vocal technique is amazing, the best in the field, but we get the feeling he was looking at his watch while he was cutting it.
Another depressing aspect is in a couple of arrangements of Rock and Soul classics - "Land of a Thousand Dances" and "Function at the Junction". It seems that the powers-that-be actually wanted Mr. Penniman, the Rock and Roll Originator, to copy others. It's a tasty repast but the recipe is a little tired. Not a meal fit for...a King.
Historians and collectors don't get excited by track number one, the bonus cut, "Get Down With It". It's *not* the Europoean studio version arranged by Reg Guest, as shown. CBS 8116 was released only in Europe, backed by Fats Domino's "Rosemary" and features a guy named Reggie Dwight (aka Elton John). What is pressed is the well-known version from the "Okeh Club" - the popular album "Little Richard's Greatest Hits, Recorded Live". (BGO, can you please correct this on another edition?).