Search - James Booker :: King of the New Orleans Keyboard

Germany, 1977 - Not his all-time best, but he's always Five

PH-50-NC | Southeast USA | 04/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"While this disc is still essential listening for a Booker-head like myself, it's probably not THE one to start with. I think his inspiration level was on medium, particularly on the first few selections. That's also where some of the more pedestrian compositions are, which doesn't help with the first-impression making. (I don't know if the disc reproduces a single concert in performance order, but he seems more into his playing and singng it as the disc goes on.)



Here, he seems to put the most feeling into the ballads--perhaps he was getting a little homesick at this point in his German tour. Not to say that his playing is bad on the uptempo stuff. This version of Rockin' Pneumonia is fun. He's not out of control or lethargic by any means (and with later Booker, this was unfortuately a possibility). Also, these tunes are his core repetoire, so he's not fumbling on anything. But he's not on fire as he can be during his very best moments. Here, he turns in a lot of joyous music, and delivers some unique moments that aren't repeated elsewhere.



A digression from this CD...



Personally, my picks for solo Booker albums are "Resurrection of the Bayou Maharajah" and "Junco Partner" -- they feature New Orleans piano and singing at it's very best. On "Resurrection" (and it's all-instrumental companion "Spiders on the Keys") you get the best takes selected from dozens (hundreds?) of hours of his playing taped informally at the Maple Leaf bar in New Orleans. The fidelity isn't the highest, but it's like being a fly on the wall at a private party where Booker was at the top of his game. It's true that some of these Maple Leaf performances were affected what sounds like untreated manic depression (and a helping of substance abuse). But when you hear them, you can't deny that he could make his solo piano groove as hard as a whole New Orleans R&B band, and that his vocal flights of fancy are unique and electrifying. Even when he's yodelling and interjecting comments about the CIA (wait, especially when he's doing that stuff!) he's a genius as a singer. If a completely sane performer sang this way, I'd feel the same.



And "Junco Partner" is just perfect for a Booker studio recording--perfect control, soulful performances, the works. It's probably his masterpiece.



...back to the album at hand:



Get this one soon after you pick up those others, but not before. It definitely has great moments, but you might not see what the fuss is all about based on listening to the opening portion of the disc.



Supposedly this record comes from a club date in Hamburg, Germany, in 1977. JSP gives no info on the where, when, or how these tracks were captured.



It's a cleanly recorded album. There's not as much lower mid-range/bass as you might expect, but some pianos just sound like that when they are recorded with a neutral microphone and little equalization.



This record was out of print for several years, and as of 2006 it's back. Get it while you can. Still out of print are similar recordings such as "The Piano Prince of New Orleans" (Hamburg, Germany October 1976: Aves 69031), "Blues & Ragtime from New Orleans" (Hamburg, Germany, October 1976: Aves 146.530), "Mr. Mystery" (Tracks 1-5: Switzerland, July 9, 1978 Tracks 6-11: Liege, Belgium, Nov. 9, 1976: Sundown 709-09), and "Let's Make a Better World" (Leipzig, Germany, Oct. 29, 1977: Amiga 001-91). There is a lot of overlap in the repetoire on these live European recordings. Of course, they're not making any more Booker records, so I want them all! Enjoy."

Triumphant New Orleans piano

S. Hecht | Acton, MA | 02/19/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm surprised there has been no previous review of this live album. For those interested mainly in Booker's remarkably sophisticated and soulful piano, this is the album to get. Intimate, well-recorded, and raw at the edges, it provides 75 minutes of James partying and singing at the keyboard to the delight of the small club's audience. I recommend this, along with "Junco Partner", as Booker's purest New Orleans solo piano recordings. My only objection is that the liner notes give no indication of where or when this recording was made."

One helluva nerve....

T. Bekken | Austmarka Norway | 03/05/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"James Booker was at the very pinnacle of the genre known to some as 'New Orleans Piano'. Classically trained, a road warrior with different artists such as Joe Tex, Lionel Hampton & Ringo Starr, Booker was a man who played any kind of stuff at will. His way of transforming just about any song into his own elaborate creation remains unsurpassed, and his keyboard pyrotechnics continue to baffle and boggle the mind... Booker's recordings are varied, and a lot of people have released obscure tapes of him in various states of mind and degrees of intoxication. Some of this material ought to have remained in the can. This cd, however, seems to catch him in a good laid back mood - in control of the situation, both musically and performance-wise. Booker works his way through his staple repertoir, with a few surprises thrown in here and there. If you can't get your hands on PIANO PRINCE FROM NEW ORLEANS; BLUES AND RAGTIME FROM NEW ORLEANS or JUNCO PARTNER, this one will do nicely, in addition to all the records on Rounder. Enjoy, that's all I can say."