Review:

What a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful, smashing, super, great CD! Most readers of this mag should be familiar with the content, and all diehard JLL supporters will have most of these tracks many times over, but it's still a superb collection of his earliest recordings, described on the sleeve as being "the first swaggering steps in a cocksure career".
As well as both sides of his initial key Sun releases, we get EP tracks, things not issued until much later ('Dixie', 'Born To Lose', 'Deep Elem Blues' etc.) and a couple of items plucked from the Million Dollar Quartet session. On top of that are items that Lewis played on as a session pianist for Carl Perkins ('Your True Love' sounding weird at its original speed), Billy Riley and Hayden Thompson.
Also included in this bunch are Johnny Cash's 'Straight A's In Love' and I Love You Because, but it's more likely to be Jimmy Wilson playing on these. It's certainly not JLL. The style and wrist action are totally different. The Killer doesn't trill like that.
Tagged on after that lot is his explosive version of 'Whole Lotta Shakin" Goin' On' from his debut Steve Allen TV show appearance, on which he was backed by J.W. Brown and Russ Smith (not Roland Janes and Jimmy Van Eaton as Dave Penny's notes claim), followed by his very first recordings.
These were private acetates cut in New Orleans (1952) and Shreveport (1954) that first appeared long after the fact on 'A Half Century Of Hits' (Time Life) and The Killer's Private Stash' (Electrovert). Both sets of tracks indicate that he was a star in waiting long before he walked into 706 Union Avenue, especially 'Jerry Lee's Boogie' (which was titled 'New Orleans Boogie' on its first issue).
Yes, it's all very familiar, but it's so bloody good! 'Mean Woman Blues', 'Matchbox', 'Great Balls Of Fire', 'Flyin' Saucer Rock & Roll', 'Deep Elem Blues', 'Put Your Cat Clothes On' and 'Whole Lotta Shakin" Goin' On', to name but a few...it just don't get any better than that, baby! And that's a guaranteed fact!
Trevor Cajiao
Now Dig this

Evaluation: