Smiley Lewis - Blues & Rhythm Series 5166: The Chronological Smiley Lewis 1947-1952

Size: 245 MB
Time: 55:04
File: FLAC
Released: 2005
Styles: Blues, R&B
Art: Full

01. Turn On Your Volume Baby (2:42)
02. Here Comes Smiley (2:34)
03. Tee Nah Nah (2:15)
04. Low Down (2:45)
05. Slide Me Down (2:53)
06. Growing Old (2:25)
07. If You Ever Loved A Woman (2:22)
08. Dirty People (2:20)
09. Where Were You (2:29)
10. My Baby (2:20)
11. Sad Life (2:27)
12. Bee's Boogie (2:47)
13. Don't Jive Me (2:22)
14. My Baby Was Right (2:42)
15. Bells Are Ringin' (2:27)
16. Lillie Mae (2:15)
17. You're Gonna Miss Me (2:29)
18. Gypsy Blues (2:35)
19. You're Not The One (2:30)
20. Gumbo Blues (2:27)
21. Ain't Gonna Do It (2:18)
22. It's So Peaceful (2:26)

The first in a series of historical reissues from the French Classics Records label that will collect Smiley Lewis' complete singles in order of release, 1947-1952 captures the venerable New Orleans blues shouter from his first sides for the Deluxe label to his signing with Imperial and such early hits as "The Bells Are Ringing" and "Ain't Gonna Do It." (However, fans will have to wait for a future volume to hear Lewis' biggest hit, "I Hear You Knocking.") While Lewis' fine and funky vocals (suggesting the Crescent City's answer to Big Joe Turner, meaning just as wild but more comfortably laid-back) are a joy to hear, the greatest appeal of these side are the superb players backing him up, with Tuts Washington on piano, Lee Allen and Dave Bartholomew leading the horn players, and Earl Palmer behind the drum kit. The recordings get more elaborate and full-bodied with each session, while the loose-but-tight New Orleans groove and Lewis' throaty swagger remain consistent on all 22 sides here, and on the rare occasions when Lewis' guitar is mic'ed and audible, his licks add even more frantic energy to these performances. Those looking for a single-disc overview of Smiley Lewis' recording career should pick up The Best of Smiley Lewis: I Hear You Knocking, but folks who want the Lewis story writ large will find this to be a great starting point -- let's hope Classics follows through with the rest of this series! ~Mark Deming

Blues & Rhythm Series 5166: The Chronological Smiley Lewis 1947-1952

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Smiley Lewis - I Shall Not Be Moved

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 27:45
Size: 63.6 MB
Styles: R&B, New Orleans blues
Year: 2010
Art: Front

[1:59] 1. Shame Shame Shame
[2:39] 2. Turn On Your Volume Baby
[2:32] 3. Here Comes Smiley
[2:18] 4. Little Fernandez
[2:47] 5. Too Many Drivers
[2:05] 6. Baby Please
[2:39] 7. By The Water
[2:18] 8. Sweeter Words
[1:51] 9. You Are My Sunshine
[2:23] 10. My Love Is Gone
[2:09] 11. Lil Liza Jane
[2:00] 12. I Shall Not Be Moved

Dave Bartholomew has often been quoted to the effect that Smiley Lewis was a "bad luck singer," because he never sold more than 100,000 copies of his Imperial singles. In retrospect, Lewis was a lucky man in many respects -- he enjoyed stellar support from New Orleans' ace sessioneers at Cosimo's, benefited from top-flight material and production (by Bartholomew), and left behind a legacy of marvelous Crescent City R&B.

Born with the unwieldy handle of Overton Lemons, Lewis hit the Big Easy in his mid-teens, armed with a big, booming voice and some guitar skills. He played clubs in the French Quarter, often with pianist Tuts Washington (and sometimes billed as "Smiling" Lewis). By 1947, his following was strong enough to merit a session for DeLuxe Records, which issued his debut 78, "Here Comes Smiley." Nothing happened with that platter, but when Lewis signed with Imperial in 1950 (debuting with "Tee-Nah-Nah") things began to move.

As the New Orleans R&B sound developed rapidly during the early '50s, so did Lewis, as he rocked ever harder on "Lillie Mae," "Ain't Gonna Do It," and "Big Mamou." He scored his first national hit in 1952 with "The Bells Are Ringing," but enjoyed his biggest sales in 1955 with the exultant "I Hear You Knocking" (its immortal piano solo courtesy of Huey Smith). Here's where that alleged bad luck rears its head -- pop chanteuse Gale Storm swiped his thunder for any pop crossover possibilities with her ludicrous whitewashed cover of the plaintive ballad.

But Storm wouldn't dare come near its roaring flip, the Joe Turner-ish rocker "Bumpity Bump," or some of Smiley Lewis' other classic mid-'50s jumpers ("Down the Road," "Lost Weekend," "Real Gone Lover," "She's Got Me Hook, Line and Sinker," "Rootin' and Tootin'"). In front of the Crescent City's hottest players (saxists Lee Allen, Clarence Hall, and Herb Hardesty usually worked his dates), Lewis roared like a lion. ~Bill Dahl

I Shall Not Be Moved mc
I Shall Not Be Moved zippy

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