Reviewed by Lins Honeyman

By 1959, the rock 'n' roll dream was seemingly in tatters. Elvis had joined the army and Buddy Holly had been killed in a tragic plane crash whilst Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry were both embroiled in allegations involving underage girls. To top it all, one of rock 'n' roll's most forthright and dynamic exponents - the Macon, Georgia-born singer and pianist Little Richard Penniman - had chosen to forsake the music that had brought him fame in exchange for performing solely sacred material following a couple of experiences that he interpreted as signs from God that he should change his ways. Up until that point, Richard had thrilled audiences worldwide with explosive hits like "Tutti Frutti", "Ready Teddy" and "Good Golly Miss Molly" - all of which contained his characteristic semi-screamed vocals and pounding piano backed by a supreme horn-led band to produce a sound that has arguably never been matched. Imagine the surprise then when fans sampled the fruits of his new found musical direction on either 'I'll Never Walk Alone' or 'I Believe' - the two albums found on this re-mastered re-release from Hoodoo Records. Gone were the thumping rhythms and electrifying sounds that produced shock and awe in equal measure and in their place was a musically neutered Richard singing old spirituals at a fraction of the speed of his former output and backed by nothing much more than a piano, organ and the occasional female choir. In addition, he had largely forsaken his frenzied vocal style which ironically had its roots in the church and had reverted back to his natural tenor voice - sometimes delivered in a somewhat bizarre quasi-operatic style to further disguise the fact that this was the same artist who had screamed "a wop bop a loo bop a lop bam boom" at the top of his lungs only a few years earlier. Both sanctified albums featured on this compilation rely heavily on old gospel standards with the likes of "Just A Closer Walk With Thee", "Milky White Way", "Precious Lord" and "I Want Jesus To Walk With Me" being presented in unremarkable fashion and bereft of any imagination. A pleasing enough version of the Thomas Dorsey classic "Search Me Lord" (carelessly listed here as a Penniman original) succeeds in lifting proceedings whilst the two-part sermonette "I'm Quitting Show Bussiness" (sic) is a fascinating autobiographical statement that hints at why Richard chose to leave the trappings and temptations of a rock 'n' roll lifestyle that included alcohol and drug abuse as well as a very adventurous sex life. As history shows, Richard sadly ended up returning to his old life with enthusiasm and one can't help but wonder about the effect he would have had on the world as a musical evangelist if he had remained on the straight and narrow and if his gospel recordings had used the style of music the masses had originally fallen in love with when they first heard the likes of "Long Tall Sally" burst through their transistor radio speakers. Tagged onto the end of these two decidedly so-so gospel albums are five tracks that feature recordings made with the Quincy Jones Orchestra in 1961. Still nowhere near the innovative quality of his secular output, they do provide a tantalising hint of what might have happened had Richard's gospel output been given the production and care it deserved.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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