Louis Jordan - Let The Good Times Roll: The Anthology 1938-1953

The two-disc, 46-cut Good Times does a great job of demonstrating how singer and saxophonist Louis Jordan's music evolved from the fairly straight swing of his early Decca sides to the jump blues that made him a father of rock & roll and soul. "Ain't That Just Like a Woman," for instance, features guitarist Carl Hogan giving birth to one of Chuck Berry's signature licks, while the likes of "Beware" and "Choo Choo Ch' Boogie" balance punch and elegance like the work of few bandleaders before or since. It would've been nice to see the mightily syncopated "Early in the Morning" (later covered by both Ray Charles and Harry Nilsson) taking the place of, say, "The Two Little Squirrels," but there really are few complaints to be made about this collection. --Rickey Wright Amazon.com

WHY was this deleted?

I bought this several years back and just now got to playing it, don't ask. Randomly I started with "Open the Door, Richard." If this isn't the most laugh-out-loud song ever I don't know what is. I am afraid to go any further; too much of it and I might OD. Certainly there is no harm in playing "Choo Choo Ch 'Boogie" every now and then; it's the greatest boogie ever.

It will not do merely to liken Louis Jordan to the incomparable Fats Waller, because Jordan was clearly incomparable in his own right. What they both share is a spirit, no, a zeal, an undying willingness to please, and above all, superb musicianship. By rights Jordan's reputation should live forever.

Of course that won't happen if tone-deaf record companies delete outstanding anthologies like this. Yes there's Bear Family's, but who wants to shell out so much and possibly get a fair number of clunkers? And the sound here's fine, too. Well, I have my copy, and it is in downloads, so it may never be too late to deeply savor in it. October 13, 2008

Louis Jordan-Jumps,Jives and Wails....like no other!

There was/is no mistaking the energy,timing and pure fun Louis put into his music.This collection of 48 tracks on two CDs is a lovely testament to the man and his musical legacy.He was an extremely talented man who played several instruments and who was influenced in his early years by people such as Bessie Smith,Cab Calloway,Fats Waller and of course the inimitable Louis Armstrong.He was a black artist who yearned for a broader acceptance of his work like his musical influences had obtained.He worked very hard and while he did obtain some measure of a wider audience appeal during his lifetime his real influence was sadly not felt,like so many others,until after his passing.We now realize more than ever the influence he had on his peers in the jazz,R&B and rock and roll fields from the myriad of testimonials from the many artists in those genres.
Like the great Louis Armstrong,Louis Jordan was at his best,in my oppinion,in small groups.The backing with bigger bands tended to dilute,stiffle and/or overpower what he was best at doing.In this CD listen to the latter portion of disc#2 where his later to last recordings with a big band reside and compare them to what came before.There is none.The high energy and jumping sound is for the most part buried(or substituted)by the big band in the background.It's not too surprising that Decca pushed Louis in this direction at this time.Remember the Korean war was on and big band music was again starting to regain alot of the ground it had lost a few years earlier.The public was big on artists from the WW2 years again like Glenn Miller and Louis' band couldn't compete with that kind of nostalgia.Thus when the sales didn't materialize Decca unfortunately finally dropped Louis.I believe they would have been better served by letting Louis do what he knew how to do best with his smaller combos.He had been popular during the war years of the 40s himself so why not again? Another Louis,Louis Prima did just this.He had been singing along similar lines/style with big bands and smaller outfits for years until he reinvented himself in the 50s to great acclaim. This same type of thing might have saved Louis from his departure from Decca in 1953,but alas we will never know.
This 2 CD set follows Louis' career from his beginnings at Decca in /38 to his departure year in /53.It does contain some tracks from other Decca releases like "Five Guys Named Moe" and "Louis Jordan:His Best" but there are enough cuts on this set NOT on those that make this worthwhile getting anyways.Technically they have done a fine job in the transfers and the sound is crisp and clean.
The set comes complete with a 23 page booklet with pics,bio and r&r(recording and release) info for each track.
Wonderfully done I recommend this set highly. October 31, 2007

The Man Who Invented Little Richard

If i hear Little Richard Pop Off One More Time About How He Invented Rock & Roll( "i'm the the ayatolla of Rock & Rolla"!),i'll throw the cd and vid of "Caldonia" at him and tell him to SHUT UP!! The Imodest and Full Of Themselves always Steal and appropriate from others.Jelly Roll Morton also claimed he invented Jazz,and great though he was- he,Like Richard,was more concerned with self promotion and personal myth making.The Boastfull are never the first string artists.That takes sincerity and humility.And p.s. Jerry Lee Lewis(entertaining and raw as he is)got much of his deal from the Boogie Woogie piano playing-singing of Harry "The Hipster" Gibson-also from jordan's era.Why do these guys egos prevent them for giving credit to their progenitors. April 1, 2006

The #1 R&B Artist Of The 1940's

This genius was the #1 selling African American artist of the 1940's. No one else sold more records or had more hits. He out sold The Mills Bros.,Nat Cole,Duke,Ella,Buddy and Ella Johnson,Satchmo, and Count Basie.He was the #1 R&B artist of the 40's with more top 10 hits and more #1's on the r&b charts than any other Black act of that period. Louis also had a total of 9 top 10 pop hits between 1944 and 1950 and he is the only r&b based artist to have 2 #1 hits on the country music charts(an astonishing feat back then). Those two songs are Jordan classics-1943's and early 44's classic "Ration Blues" and 1944's "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't Ma Baby".Both songs are included on this wonderful cd.The great Nat "King"Cole hit #1 on the Country charts in the mid 40's with his "Straighten up and fly right" but Nat was more of a pop singer than r&b singer. 'G.I.Jive" was a massive hit for him in 1944.It was #1 on both the r&b and pop charts that year. Some may think of Louis Jordan as a clown and that's a monumental tragedy-this cat was a musical genius and an incredible composer,bandleader,and saxophonist. The clown moniker could be easily applied to Charlie Chaplin,Jerry Lewis,Laurel and Hardy,and Harold Lloyd,but they were genuises as well. This cd is a must for any music lovers collection. June 29, 2004

Great Compact Jive Package!

Starting as a member of the Count Basie band in the 1930s, Louis Jordan soon became known as sax player, vocalist, and jive man extraordinaire on his many solo recordings from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1970s. This package focuses only on the years 1938 thru 1953, which is admittedly most of his best work, but it would be nice to hear some of his later recordings as well. In particular, two recordings of the classic "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens", cut in the 50s and 70s, improve by being taken at a faster tempo. Louis practically invented jump blues, and no less a giant than BB King has paid tribute with an album of all Jordan material. (Let the Good Times Roll). Building on Cab Calloway's earlier reputation as the king of jive language and music, Jordan creates an evocative, often hilarious picture of the trials and tribulations of the black performer of his day. His takes on trains ("Texas and Pacific", "Choo Choo, Ch'Boogie," and "Salt Pork, West Virginia"), drinking ("What's the Use of Being Sober?"), waitresses ("Boogie Woogie Blue Plate"), and life itself (the wonderful "Life is So Peculiar" duet with Louis Armstrong) still delight after all these years due to his irrepresible humor and jive language. So, if your budget only allows for a two-CD set, spring for this edition by one of the most upbeat, positive, and all around funny cats ever, and run, don't walk, to the nearest Saturday night fish fry. September 2, 2003

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