The Explosive Little Richard
| The Explosive Little Richard | ||||
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| Studio album by Little Richard | ||||
| Released | January 1967 | |||
| Recorded | 5 February 1966 - 15 September 1966 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll, soul | |||
| Length | 29:49 | |||
| Label | Okeh | |||
| Producer | Larry Williams | |||
| Little Richard chronology | ||||
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The Explosive Little Richard is the first album from Little Richard under the Okeh label, produced by Little Richard's long-time friend Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson and reflecting the then current sound of Soul and Motown. A mixture of cover versions and originals, it featured no tracks penned by Richard himself. Despite the new direction, it failed to chart on Billboard, but it did produce the hit singles "Poor Dog" and "Commandments of Love" and opened the door to the Okeh era comeback, a return to the Billboard album charts - the first time in ten years - and a greater demand for concert appearances.
Interesting to note, Richard's "(You're My Girl) I Don't Want To Discuss it" was not a hit for him but was duly noted later by Delaney and Bonnie and Friends, Rhinoceros, and Rod Stewart.
The song "Well" is better known as "Well Alright!", a Sam Cooke composition Richard had in the Specialty vaults at the time he cut the Okeh version (reported to feature Jimi Hendrix).
Track listing
- "Get Down With It" (Marchan) - 3:16
- "Land of a Thousand Dances" (Domino, Kenner) – 2:10
- "The Commandments of Love" (Williams) – 2:27
- "I Don't Want To Discuss It" (Beatty, Cooper, Shelby) – 2:28
- "Money (That's What I Want)" (Bradford, Gordy) – 2:02
- "Poor Dog (Who Can't Wag His Own Tail)" (Watson, Williams) – 3:06
- "I Need Love" (Williams) – 2:39
- "Never Gonna Let You Go" (Cooper, Shelby) – 2:41
- "Don't Deceive Me (Please Don't Go)" (Willis) – 4:39
- "Function At The Junction" (Holland, Long) – 2:35
- "Well (aka Well All Right)" (Cooke) – 2:56
Personnel
- Little Richard – vocals, piano
- Johnny "Guitar" Watson – guitar
- Arthur Wright - arrangements
- Reg Guest - arrangement on "Get Down With It"
- Stu Phillips - production supervision
Other personnel unknown; no records kept by Okeh. The 2004 album Get Down With It: The OKeh Sessions includes a booklet that also credits the following musicians: Eddie Fletcher – bass, Glen Willings – guitar.
Critical Response
CD reissues have seen the album attract positive reviews. Record Collector gave the album four stars,[1] and cited it as quite possibly the best long player he ever made. In a review of the entire Okeh recordings, Rolling Stone stated that Richard's hair-raising vocals on the Motown staple "Money" effectively claim the song as his own.[2]
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Billboard Pop Albums | Did not chart |
Single
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | "I Don't Want To Discuss It/Hurry Sundown" | Billboard Singles | Did not chart |
| 1967 | "A Little Bit Of Something/Money (That's What I Want)" | Billboard Singles | Did not chart |
