A killer on the loose.....

It's always a tough call when considering new albums or live appearances by aging rock legends (or one-hit wonders, for that matter). I recall going to see The Drifters (hey, I was being a team player) in the 70's at some hall in Higganum and finding one old guy who claimed he was one of the originals along with a bunch of young disinterested turks playing to about a dozen people (Get the picture? Yes, we see). And they were dreadful. That's been a sore subject among oldies artists and their fans in recent years as bogus groups posing as The U-Remember-Us's scam nostalgic baby boomers. Several states (including Connecticut) are considerating legislation requiring proof of original members in order to perform in the state under the old group names.

But even when you know the artists are the genuine article, are they worth seeing? I guess it depends on your perspective, but I was disappointed with Flo & Eddie as the Turtles at this year's Daffodil Festival, not because they couldn't sing anymore (a frequent problem with lifestyle challenged performers as they age), but because their act was silly. I don't ask that they take themselves seriously, but do take the music seriously - they acted like it was a Vegas act. Dylan, on the other hand, continues to reinvent himself, much to the dismay of some of his fans. And when I saw Wanda Jackson (with Rosie Flores) at Cafe Nine awhile ago, she was charming and very entertaining, yet, despite enthusiastic reviews, I wouldn't run out to buy her new CD.

It was with this in mind that I read AMG's Featured Review on Jerry Lee Lewis' new CD Last Man Standing, a duet-based album with Killer singing the songs of and playing with the likes of Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen and Jimmy Page. Hmmmm, duet albums are getting a BIT tiresome, mostly better in concept than reality.

But, alas, Stephen Thomas Erlewine says no, this one is for real!
"It often seems like there are only two ways for rock, country, and blues veterans to launch comebacks when they're senior citizens: confront mortality head on or surround yourself with superstar guests to help carry you through a half-hearted stroll through your back catalog, scattering a few new tunes along the way. At first glance, Jerry Lee Lewis' Last Man Standing seems to fall into both categories: the title suggests that Jerry Lee is in the mood to take a long look back, and certainly the very concept of the album -- pairing Lewis with 21 other stars for a succession of duets, often on material that his guests either wrote or made famous -- seems like a typical superstar duet record. But the Killer has never been predictable, and nowhere is that truer than it is here, where Jerry Lee treats Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, Jimmy Page, and 16 other stars as he treated the Nashville Teens at the Star Club in 1964 -- as game amateurs who have to sprint to keep up with the master. This is the only guest-studded superstar album where all the guests bend to the will of the main act, who dominates the proceedings in every conceivable way. Jerry Lee doesn't just run the guests ragged; he turns their songs inside out, too -- and nowhere is that clearer than on the opening "Rock and Roll," the Led Zeppelin classic that is now stripped of its signature riff and sounds as if it were a lost gem dug out of the Sun vaults. Far from struggling with this, Jimmy Page embraces it, following the Killer as he runs off on his own course -- he turns into support, and the rest of other 20 guests follow suit (with the possible exception of Kid Rock, who sounds like the party guest who won't go home on an otherwise strong version of "Honky Tonk Woman")."....... "This is a record that stays true to his music, and in doing so, it's not so much a comeback as it is a summation: a final testament from a true American original, one that explains exactly why he's important. But that makes Last Man Standing sound too serious, as if it were one of those self-consciously morbid Johnny Cash records -- no, this is a record that celebrates life, both in its joys and sorrows, and it's hard not to see it as nothing short of inspiring." - complete review

Do I hear an Amen? I'll let you know, 'cause I'm outta here to buy it! Opps, it hasn't been released yet!