JOHNNY OTIS: That's Your Last Boogie: the Best
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JOHNNY OTIS: That’s Your Last Boogie: The Best Of Johnny Otis 1945-1960 Fantastic Voyage FVTD120 (Three CDs: 79:00; 77:00; 77:00) CD One: BARRELHOUSE STOMP (1945-1950) – ILLINOIS JACQUET: Uptown Boogie; WYNONIE HARRIS: Cock A-Doodle-Doo; JIMMY RUSHING: Jimmy’s Round- The-Clock Blues; JOHNNY OTIS: Harlem Nocturne/ One O’Clock Jump/ Jeff-Hi Stomp/ Midnight In The Barrel House/ Barrel House Stomp/ Court Room Blues/ New Orleans Shuffle/ The Turkey Hop Parts 1 & 2; JOHNNY MOORE’S THREE BLAZERS: Drifting Blues/ Groovy; WYNONIE HARRIS: Yonder Goes My Baby; JOE TURNER: S.K. Blues; GEORGE WASHINGTON: Good Boogdi Googie; LESTER YOUNG: Jamming With Lester; THE FOUR BLUEBIRDS: My Baby Done Told Me; OLD MAN MOSE: Matchbox Blues; JOE SWIFT: That’s Your Last Boogie; THE ROBINS: Around About Midnight/ If I Didn’t Love You So/ If It’s So Baby; LITTLE ESTHER: Mean Ole Gal; LITTLE ESTHER & THE ROBINS: Double Crossing Blues; MEL WALKER & THE BLUE NOTES: Cry Baby CD Two: ROCKIN’ BLUES (1950-1952) – LITTLE ESTHER & THE BLUE NOTES: Lover’s Lane Boogie; LITTLE ESTHER: Misery/ Harlem Nocturne; MARYLYN SCOTT: Beer Bottle Boogie; LITTLE ESTHER & MEL WALKER: Mistrustin’ Blues/ Cupid’s Boogie/ Deceivin’ Blues/ Far Away Blues; MEL WALKER: Sunset To Dawn/ Rockin’ Blues/ Feel Like Cryin’ Again/ Gee Baby/ Call Operator 210/ The Candle’s Burnin’ Low; JOHNNY OTIS: Mambo Boogie/ All Nite Long/ Dreamin’ Blues/ Oopy-Doo/ One Nighter Blues/ Goomp Blues/ Harlem Nocturne (live); JOHNNY OTIS’ CONGREGATION: Wedding Boogie; LINDA HOPKINS: Doggin’ Blues; HUNTER HANCOCK: ‘Harlematinee’ Radio Show Theme; MEL WALKER & ADA BROWN: The Love Bug Boogie; LITTLE ESTHER & THE DOMINOES: The Deacon Moves In; THE ROYALS: Every Beat Of My Heart CD Three: GOING CRAZY (1952-1960) – DOROTHY ELLIS: Drill, Daddy, Drill; JOHNNY OTIS ORCHESTRA: Young Girl/ Rock Me Baby/ Shake It; PETE ‘GUITAR’ LEWIS: Louisiana Hop/ Going Crazy; WILLIE ‘BIG MAMA’ THORNTON WITH KANSAS CITY BILL & HIS ORCHESTRA: Hound Dog; JOE ‘PAPOOSE’ FRITZ WITH JOHNNY OTIS’ BAND: Honey, Honey; JOHNNY ACE & BIG MAMA THORNTON: Yes, Baby; JUNIOR & MARIE: Boom Diddy Wa Wa; JOHNNY ACE WITH JOHNNY OTIS ORCHESTRA: Pledging My Love; JUNIOR RYDER WITH JOHNNY OTIS ORCHESTRA: Better Stop; MR GOOGLE EYES AUGUST WITH J. OTIS BAND: Oh Oh Doodle Lu; LITTLE RICHARD WITH JOHNNY OTIS’ BAND: Little Richard’s Boogie; ETTA JAMES & THE PEACHES: The Wallflower (Dance With Me Henry); RICHARD LEWIS: Hey Little Girl; PRESTON LOVE & HIS ORCHESTRA FEAT. ROY ‘HAPPY’ EASTER: If You Ever Get Lonesome; SUGAR PIE: Please Be True; LITTLE ARTHUR MATTHEWS: I’m Gonna Whale On You; GENE & EUNICE WITH JOHNNY’S COMBO: Ko Ko Mo; PRESTON LOVE ORCHESTRA: Country Boogie; FAYE WILSON WITH JOHNNY OTIS ORCHESTRA: I Miss You So; THE JOHNNY OTIS SHOW: Shake It, Lucy Baby/ Bye Bye Baby/ Willie And The Hand Jive/ Crazy Country Hop/ Castin’ My Spell/ Mumblin’ Mosie; THE JOHNNY OTIS SHOW WITH MARIE ADAMS AND THE THREE TONS OF JOY: Ma (He’s Makin’ Eyes At Me) The great Johnny Otis, who left us this year, is the subject of this new triple from Fantastic Voyage, annotated (and compiled?) by Otis aficionado Dave Penny. The set covers the first fifteen years of his extensive recording career, cutting off at 1960, right at the end of his second hit-making spell as a bandleader, club-owner, dee-jay, vocalist, talent scout and record producer. To say Johnny had done it all is rather an understatement! From his early immediate post-war period, which found Johnny leading a full-scale orchestra and emulating his jazz heroes such as Count Basie (even borrowing Basie’s noted vocalist, Jimmy Rushing, on one session), through his hugely successful period as r&b bandleader with Savoy Records, during which he recorded with his many discoveries, either as bandleader, producer or both, through his work at Peacock and Federal, to his most commercial period for Capitol in the mid-late 1950s. The list of talent that came his way, often via the talent show that he ran at his Barrel House club in Los Angeles, or people that he discovered while out on the road, was extensive. Highlights are many, far too many to be justifiably covered here. Reading through the people whom Johnny has been involved with reads like a who’s who of r&b: Illinois Jacquet, Wynonie Harris, Charles Brown, Joe Turner, Lester Young, The Robins, Little Esther Phillips, The Dominoes, Big Mama Thornton, Little Richard and Etta James to name but a few. Many more than that crossed his path over the years. The opening track, Illinois Jacquet’s ‘Uptown Boogie’, is a perfect example of the sound that Johnny was into in the mid-1940s. Here he is on drums along with Henry Coker on trombone, Arthur Dennis on baritone, Sir Charles Thompson on piano, Ulysses Livingstone on guitar, Billy Hadnott on bass and the Jacquet brothers, Russell and Illinois, on trumpet and tenor respectively, making the wonderful small combo swinging jazz that was beginning to flourish in the post big-band era. The young Johnny must have thought he’d made it to heaven playing in such illustrious company whilst barely out of his teens! Further jazzy sessions followed, then came his first big success under his own name, his haunting version of ‘Harlem Nocturne’. But it wasn’t long before he turned to r&b, in the process getting the moniker, ‘Godfather Of Rhythm & Blues’; an apt title. 1947’s ‘Midnight In The Barrelhouse’, with the great Pete Lewis on devastating guitar, was the first of many r&b classics such as ‘Double Crossing Blues’, ‘Beer Bottle Boogie’, ‘Mistrustin’ Blues’, ‘Cupid’s Boogie’ and others. Johnny wasn’t afraid to inject a little humour into his work: listen to ‘Court Room Blues’ or ‘Wedding Boogie’ to hear some great self-parodying playlets! Further classics include ‘Call Operator 210’ with Mel Walker, ‘Goomp Blues’ with the great Ben Webster vying for the honours with Pete Lewis, whilst Johnny himself perfectly underscores things on vibes on this great rocking track. ‘The Deacon Moves In’ is another great recording that finds Little Esther and The Dominoes rocking together on this r&b classic. ‘Hound Dog’ was another groundbreaking recording that saw further success when covered by a certain Mr. P. Here we have the Otis rhythm section laying down a great down-home blues beat behind Big Mama’s tough vocal. I could single out further tracks, but I’ll vouch that there are no turkeys here; all are classic in one way or the other. The 83 cuts on this set only represent around a fifth of his releases in the fifteen year period covered. If ever an artist warranted a Bear Family-style box set (or series of boxes), it was Otis. Until that happens, this triple will do nicely. Tony Watson.