The Explosive Little Richard
| Untitled | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Record Collector |  [1] |
| Rolling Stone |  [2] |
| AllMusic | [3] |
| i-News | [4] |
The Explosive Little Richard is the first album by Little Richard under the Okeh label, produced by Little Richard's long-time friend Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson and reflecting the then current sound of Soul and Motown. A mixture of cover versions and originals, it featured no tracks penned by Richard himself. Despite the new direction, it failed to chart.
Track listing
- "Get Down With It" (Bobby Marchan) - 3:16
- "Land of a Thousand Dances" (Fats Domino, Chris Kenner) – 2:10
- "The Commandments of Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:27
- "I Don't Want to Discuss It" (Beth Beatty, Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:28
- "Money (That's What I Want)" (Janie Bradford, Berry Gordy, Jr.) – 2:02
- "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" (Johnny "Guitar" Watson, Larry Williams) – 3:06
- "I Need Love" (Larry Williams) – 2:39
- "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Dick Cooper, Ernie Shelby) – 2:41
- "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" (Chuck Willis) – 4:39
- "Function at the Junction" (Brian Holland, Eddie Holland, Frederick Long, Lamont Dozier) – 2:35
- "Well (aka Well All Right)" (Sam Cooke) – 2:56
Personnel
- Little Richard – vocals, piano
- Johnny "Guitar" Watson – guitar
- Arthur Wright - orchestral arrangements
- Reg Guest - arrangement on "Get Down With It"
- Stu Phillips - production supervision
Other personnel unknown; no records kept by Okeh. The 2004 album Get Down With It: The OKeh Sessions includes a booklet that also credits the following musicians: Eddie Fletcher – bass, Glen Willings – guitar.
Critical reception
CD reissues have seen the album attract positive reviews. Record Collector gave the album four stars, and cited it as quite possibly the best long player he ever made. In a review of the entire Okeh recordings, Rolling Stone stated that Richard's hair-raising vocals on the Motown staple "Money" effectively claim the song as his own. i-News reviewed the album for a 2016 vinyl release, giving it four stars and stating that Richard was still blessed with an immaculate voice and threw himself wholeheartedly some great contemporary sounding tracks.
Charts
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)/Well" | Billboard Singles | 121 |
Cover versions
Richard's "I Don't Want To Discuss it" was not a hit for him but was duly noted later by Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Rhinoceros, and Rod Stewart. The song "Well" is better known as "Well Alright!", a Sam Cooke composition Richard had in the Specialty vaults at the time he cut the Okeh version (reported to feature Jimi Hendrix).
References
- ^ Staunton, Terry. "'Ripping it up in a post-rock'n'roll world'". Record Collector. Retrieved 2007-11-01.
- ^ Relic, Peter. "'Little Richard: Get Down With It: The Okeh Sessions'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2004-08-19.
- ^ Ruhlmann, William. "'Music review: The Explosive Little Richard'". AllMusic.
- ^ Clarke, John. "'Vinyl review – The Explosive Little Richard'". i-News. Retrieved 2016-09-02.