Search - Lou Rawls :: Very Best of

The Title Is A Bit Misleading

07/15/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Usually, when you see a compilation stating "the very best" you expect to see a collection of that artist's hit singles - in other words, some of the songs that made them famous. It was, after all, the ambition of most singers to achieve a hit single back when "singles" meant one record with one song on each side - at first 78 rpm and then later the small 45 rpm.



This album's title would appear to devote "the very best" to the man himself, and with that sentiment I cannot argue. His was a unique voice immediately recognizeable, and one of the very best song stylists of his era. But I have been "conditioned" to read "hits" when I see "very best" and for anyone else thinking that way, this contains just one of his many hits , albeit one that was remixed - Your Good Thing (Is About To End) which hit # 3 R&B and # 18 Hot 100 in 1969 for Capitol.



Southside Blues was a flipside to The Shadow Of Your Smile in 1966 - but here it's done before a live audience and in a medley with Tobacco Road, also in 1966. The remainder were recorded between 1989 and 1992.



Nice tunes, but not the ones we associate with Lou Rawls, who had no less than 28 make the R&B charts from 1966 to 1987, fifteen of which crossed over to the Billboard Pop Hot 100. In addition he had five more chart only on the Pop Hot 100, including his fascinating rendition of the Christmas tune, The Little Drummer Boy. Nine of his R&B/Hot 100 hits also made the Adult Contemporary charts, while two more scored on that chart only.



All this for six different labels: Capitol, MGM, Bell, Philadelphia International, Epic and Gamble & Huff.



The insert contains two pages of notes written by Donald Elfman and a list of the contents showing recording dates and musicians involved."