Little Willie John - Nineteen Sixty Six -- The David Axelrod & HB

[JSngry]

Quoth the Stards:

A rare soul treasure -- previously unissued work from Little Willie John, cut for Capitol Records by the mighty David Axelrod! The pairing is quite unique, but it's a great one -- and if anything, Little Willie John sparkles here even more than on his later King sides -- finding a hipper 60s groove that moves way past older R&B modes! Willie's vocals are still wonderful, and they're set up here with arrangements from HB Barnum -- who brings in plenty of bounce, snap, and vamp to the grooves -- similar to his more famous Axelrod productions for Lou Rawls, but rougher and grittier here in the company of John. A few cuts bring in more ambitious backings -- taking Little Willie into the same space as his longtime fan and supporter James Brown -- at least in the way Brown hit ballads during the 60s -- and given Axelrod's hand in the studio, there's a clarity here that the singer hardly would have found at King Records, who blocked the initial release of this material back in the 60s. CD features 20 tracks in all -- a number of alternates, and the master takes -- with tunes that include "Crying Over You", "Country Girl", "Suffering With The Blues", "Never Let Me Go", "I Had A Dream", "In The Dark", "Welcome To The Club", "I Need Someone", and "Early In The Morning".

Quoth AMG

Though no Little Willie John discs of material recorded after his imprisonment for murder in October 1964 were issued between that time and his death (in jail) in May 1968, he did actually record quite a few tracks for Capitol in February 1966. These recordings (supervised by David Axelrod and H.B. Barnum) were unreleased both at the time and for decades afterward, in part because King Records (John's previous label) contested Capitol's right to issue the cuts. This 2008 CD of 20 tracks from the sessions, recorded at a time when he was out on appeal, can thus be considered as a genuine lost Little Willie John album. (And despite the number of songs, there would have only been enough for one LP, since there are two versions of eight of the numbers.) For someone with a murder sentence hanging over him, John sounds remarkably unaffected and at ease, and indeed pretty much the same as he did in his classic King period, albeit a little more mature. Much the same can be said for the arrangements, which update his sound a little into the mid-'60s, but draw considerably from lightly swinging jazz and even a bit of easy listening pop in addition to soul. There are a few remakes of songs he'd cut at King, as well as some standards and R&B-oriented tunes (and, disappointingly, just one original John composition). Would this have reestablished John as a star had he won his appeal and Capitol been allowed to put the material out? Probably not; there aren't any songs that scream "hit," and that was still the name of the game in the R&B market. But if it had been somehow marketed as a comeback album, without expectations that it would be a huge seller -- in the manner that respectable efforts by R&B and rock veterans were, many times over, in subsequent decades -- it would have been well received, as John sings well and the material is sympathetic, if not quite outstanding. For all these reasons, this doesn't rank among his best work; his best King sides remain the place to start. But for the same reasons, it will be enthusiastically and justifiably welcomed by Little Willie John fans as a significant discovery, at a time when few such substantial unreleased bodies of work from soul's golden age seemed to remain at large.

And the band:

Freddie Hill Trumpet

Tony Terran Trumpet

Clifford Scott Sax (Tenor)

Jim Horn Sax (Baritone)

Gerald Wiggins Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric)

Jeff Kaplan Guitar

Tommy Strode Organ, Piano, Piano (Electric)

Dennis Budimir Guitar

Les Buie Guitar

Arthur Wright Guitar

Jimmy Bond Bass

Carol Kaye Bass (Electric)

Earl Palmer Drums

Gary Coleman Percussion, Vibraphone

All I can say is, if you like this kind of thing, you'll really like this kind of thing!

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Ho! What an effin' band!

MG

[Chuck Nessa]

Just an odd side note to say Ann's uncle Lester was prison chaplain at Walla Walla and knew Little Willie John well.

[The Magnificent Goldberg]

Just an odd side note to say Ann's uncle Lester was prison chaplain at Walla Walla and knew Little Willie John well.

Is your new avatar you at a cricket match, Chuck?

MG

[Chuck Nessa]

Hardly. It is from this year's Chicago Jazz Fest. Pic by John Litweiler - I cropped out Kevin Whitehead.

[John L]

Thanks for the heads up. I only have a handfull of these tracks, and will be picking this up for sure.