Search - Fats Domino :: Fats Is Back

His Best "Album"

plsilverman | USA | 10/15/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It was his first studio album in years [ABC-Paramount issued four albums 1963 to 1966, including one for Holland only; Mercury apparently withdrew a '66 album]. Added to this lack of product on the long-play side, his last chart entry for major trade publications was early in '65. So by 1968, it was time for a "Comeback". Unlike many such efforts, this one had a first-class producer, Richard Perry, who got together excellent tunes and a strong backup. There were many hitworthy tracks, especially James Booker's jaunty "One For The Highway", and a nice 4/4 "Make Me Belong To You". A real throwback to New Orleans was "Honest Papas Love Their Mamas Better". Also included were two remakes, the '59 smash "I'm Ready" and a little known B-side ballad from Broadmoor in '67, "Wait Till It Happens To You", much better on Warner Bros. Interestingly enough, Fats' minor hit from the session(s), the Beatles' "Lady Madonna" is not really the most impressive cut; also another Beatles' composition "Lovely Rita" should have been issued on a B-side only - the great Randy Newman tune "Have You Seen My Baby?" [presumed to have been cut at this session(s)] was 45rpm only for Fats and would have elevated this already strong album. A small criticism would be the overly "Beatle-esque" production values for a pionner who inspired 'em. Still, this is a very long overdue re-release. Historians please note that Fats' follow-up album (called "Fats") for Warner Bros. came in early '71 for international issue only. It reportedly contains mainly c. '66-'67 material, including "Wait Till It Happens To You". That album is surely one of the most sought after Domino releases."

One of his best studio albums

plsilverman | USA | 06/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"It's a toss-up between Fats' first and last ABC-Paramount albums ("Here Comes Fats Domino" and "The Best Of Fats Domino", respectively) but this 1968 effort produced by Richard Perry, despite some wrongheaded overproduction and the inclusion of a weak Beatles' cover of "Lovely Rita", had "Grammy" written all over it. "Honest Papas..." and "One For The Highway" are two of his greatest cuts; "Make Me Belong To You" is a mid-tempo sentimental classic, released on 45rpm and sadly ignored.
"Wait Till It Happens To You" is a recut of an earlier recording for Broadmoor and this is another excellent example of New Orleans-based triplet arranging.
Above I mentioned ABC-Paramount and that's the label that originally issued Fats' "There Goes My Heart Again", most recently issued on CD as "The Paramount Years". Good luck, contributor from Donabate!"

Hear Fats in a classic New Orleans style sing Lady Madonna

plsilverman | 04/27/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Fats in good shape with famous musicians like James Booker a.o. singing some new(1968) song and some old ones(I'm Ready) Paul McCartney wrote Lady Madonna thinking Fats should record it and he did on this album. It was his first album to record in his career: the others where compilations. So get this very rare album, which is no longer available on LP."