One of the great lost albums of the 60s finally gets a worldwide CD premiere! Some of the classiest and best mid 60s soul-blues ever committed to tape has remained unheard until now.Recorded for Capitol in early 1966 whil... more »e Little Willie John was awaiting final sentencing for manslaughter, the album was mired in a raft of contractual arguments and was put on ice once it became clear that Willie was going to have to serve a prison term and wouldnt be able to promote it.This CD contains everything that Willie cut for Capitol and is enhanced by a selection of stereo mixes and alternate versions from the sessions.Arranged and produced by two music legends, HB Barnum and David Axelrod, it features the cream of the mid-60s L.A. session musician scene and is topped off by one of the greatest soul voices. This is a listening experience that no true soul fan will want to miss. And if you dont believe us, ask Richard Hawley who was enthusing about it during its mastering processas he mastered his own new album in the studio next door!Mojo magazine is doing a major feature including an interview with David Axelrod.« less
One of the great lost albums of the 60s finally gets a worldwide CD premiere! Some of the classiest and best mid 60s soul-blues ever committed to tape has remained unheard until now.Recorded for Capitol in early 1966 while Little Willie John was awaiting final sentencing for manslaughter, the album was mired in a raft of contractual arguments and was put on ice once it became clear that Willie was going to have to serve a prison term and wouldnt be able to promote it.This CD contains everything that Willie cut for Capitol and is enhanced by a selection of stereo mixes and alternate versions from the sessions.Arranged and produced by two music legends, HB Barnum and David Axelrod, it features the cream of the mid-60s L.A. session musician scene and is topped off by one of the greatest soul voices. This is a listening experience that no true soul fan will want to miss. And if you dont believe us, ask Richard Hawley who was enthusing about it during its mastering processas he mastered his own new album in the studio next door!Mojo magazine is doing a major feature including an interview with David Axelrod.
CD Reviews
One of 2008's best R&B releases
Todd Baptista | Westport, MA USA | 12/22/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"While appealing his murder conviction, Willie John recorded 12 different titles in three February 1966 sessions for Capitol Records. Blocked from release by King's Syd Nathan on a contract technicality, these tracks have sat in the vaults for over 40 years. The material is strong, the band, which included saxist Clifford Scott (of 'Honky Tonk' fame, Carol Kaye, Gerald Wiggins, and Earl Palmer, is crisp and fluid throughout, and the charts written by H. B. Barnum are stellar. At age 29, John is a powerful master of his craft- raw, emotive, soulful, moving. A spot-on rendition of Lil Green's "In The Dark", a blazing remake of his own "Suffering With the Blues" and a pleading take of Johnny Ace's "Never Let Me Go" are as strong as the singer's vintage King material. A couple of tracks include a superfluous vocal chorus, but the extra voices don't detract from the impact Willie John makes on these, his final recordings. Tony Rounce's detailed notes and eight alternate takes round out a splendid Ace UK package. Produced by L. A. stalwart David Axelrod, this is, quite simply, one of the best R&B-soul releases of 2008. If you're an R&B and/or soul fan, you won't be disappointed!"
THE LAST GREATEST RECORDING SESSIONS OF LITTLE WILLIE JOHN,
Mr. Nightshift | Los Angeles, CA | 02/25/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Had this release seen the light of day in 1966 Johnnie Taylor, Bobby Bland, Lou Rawls (Who claims that he didn't like it, probley because Willie was going to give Lou a SERIOUS run for his money!) would have had something to worry about! There's not a bad track to be found! In the span of a 2 (Two) day recording session producer David Axelrod & arranger H.B. Barnum put Little Willie John in 4 (Four) different settings: SOUL with "Country Girl", "I Had A Dream", "Early In The Morning" & "Endless Sleep", BLUES with "Suffering With The Blues", "In The Dark" & "Crying Over You", POP with "Never Let Me Go", & "If I Loved You", JAZZ with "Welcome To The Club" & "You Are My Sunshine", And 1 (One) R&B-Pop gem entitled "Someone".
I'm pretty sure the 'Original' intended album would have had 11 (Eleven) or 12 (Twelve) Tracks. ALL 12 (Tweleve) tracks that was recorded on those memorable days are featured on this collection, but for some reason (or another) we get 8 (Eight) that are listed as ALTERNATES, but upon listening to them VERY CAREFULLY they are just STEREO mixes! NOT ALTERNATE VOCALS and/or MUSIC MIXES. Wouldn't it been easier to give us ALL 12 (Tweleve) tracks (about 33:00 worth of music), replace the MONO mixes in favor of the found STEREO mixes, and make the List Price of the compact Disc at/or around $12.00 or $14.00? Instead we get the 'Original' 12 (Tweleve) PLUS 8 (Eight) REPEATED tracks in Stereo with a list price of (or around)
$18.00 or $19.00 Hard-Earned-Dollars....WHY????
Nevertheless, THIS IS A MUST HAVE for your collection, And ONE OF THE GREATEST FINDS OF 2009!!! On another note, the good folks at Ace Records will be delivering a third (and finale) release of Little Willie John's King Records recordings entitled "Heaven All Around Me-The Latter Sessions". MAYBE this time around they (Ace Records) will include STEREO Versions of his recordings for King Records (As well as ALTERNATE And/or SINGLE Mixes). Here's some food for thought....Maybe Ace Records will release a Compact Disc featuring the STEREO Mixes, ALTERNATES, SINGLE Mixes, ALBUM Mixes that were omitted from the first 2 (Two) Compact Discs they released...Who knows maybe they (Ace Records) could dig deep and unearth some UNRELEASED recordings from his years with King Records, thus giving us a FORTH Release. I have heard several STEREO Mixes, ALBUM Mixes & SINGLE Mixes, so THEY DO EXIST! I guess we'll have to wait and see, and hopefully we won't have to wait too long"
Powerful
Nils K. Maaetoft | Denmark | 12/19/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is amazing. Sounds fresh and crisp despite 40 years on the shelf. Earl Palmer on drums and Carole Kaye on bass give it a slight Phil Spectoresque flavor, without the muddy production. This is worth all five stars!
n.m."
Little Willie John: Nineteen Sixty Six - Axelrod/Barnum Sess
William K. John | MI USA | 11/08/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"These recordings are among the best ever made by Little Willie John, if not his best! A must have for every Little Willie John fan! If you love great arrangements and a superlative voice, you must have these recordings in your personal collection!
Track Listings (20) - Disc #1