SMASH - Soul my way SRS 67097

[bluesinc.]

one of the best LPs of JLL

SOUL MY WAY

Turn on your lovelight
It´s a hangup baby
Dream baby
Just dropped in
Wedding bells
He took it like a man

Hey baby
Treat her right
Holdin´ on
Shotgun man
I bet you´re gonna like it


The fourth LP in a row I really adore. No lame song, no bad version. I would like to have a few more of these mid 60s LPs.

[Tony Papard]

one of the best LPs of JLL

SOUL MY WAY

Turn on your lovelight
It´s a hangup baby
Dream baby
Just dropped in
Wedding bells
He took it like a man

Hey baby
Treat her right
Holdin´ on
Shotgun man
I bet you´re gonna like it


The fourth LP in a row I really adore. No lame song, no bad version. I would like to have a few more of these mid 60s LPs.

Not liked by many Jerry Lee fans at the time, myself included. The piano was missing on some tracks, and 'soul' was a very dirty word like 'Mod' to rockers at that time - Country was acceptable then, at least to a lot of us.

I liked some tracks on the album, particularly I bet You're Gonna Like It, He Took It Like A Man and Wedding Bells. I hated Just Dropped In with its weird almost psychedelic lyrics which I didn't understand. Wasn't too keen on the soul backing on Turn On Your Lovelight, but Shotgun Man appealed to me more.

I can't say it's one of my favorite Lewis albums even now.

[Tumppi]

Not also one of my favourite JLL albums, though there is some great tracks like "Holding On", "Wedding Bells", and "Dream Baby" (though on this one I prefer the Big O's original). I'm not much keen on songs like "Turn On Your Lovelight", "Shotgun Man" or "Hey Baby", simply not my favourite music. But like always on this era, Jerry Lee's vocals are fantastic, and this shows how well his voice fits also for soul music. But I'm glad Jerry's career turned more to country music.

[rockin532000]

As it stands this still is the by far most expensive album I ever bought from Jerry. It took me years at the beginning of the 80's to find a somewhat reasonable priced one.

Sorry Tony but with the exception of "Shotgun Man" in my view there are all great songs.

Best Wishes
Joerg

[Dave McKee]

Soul My Way (1967)

Turn On Your Love Light / It´s A Hang Up Baby / Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream) / Just Dropped In / Wedding Bells / He Took It Like A Man / Hey Baby / Treat Her Right / Holdin´ On / Shotgun Man / I Bet You´re Gonna Like It

Both Sun & Smash had by this point tried pretty much everything over the past 9 years to revive Jerry's career, so this time they tried a (sort of) Soul album with several songs featuring little or no piano! This was complete heresy to many fans (though interestingly it got pretty good reviews in the UK music press at the time), but to my ears some of Jerry's finest ever recordings are on this album. Highlights include the mid-tempo It´s A Hang Up Baby (a song that would probably feature in my top 10 favourite ever JLL recordings), Holdin' On (a slow pop-soul ballad), Shotgun Man (a funky James Brown-type number written by Jerry's life-long friend Cecil Harrelson), Treat Her Right, Turn On Your Lovelight & the rockin' I Bet You´re Gonna Like It. In fact if it wasn't for a couple of mediocre covers (Hey Baby, Dream Baby) I'd give this album full marks! 4 out 5

(No Known Outtakes)

Note: This is from an excellent blog by Peter Checksfield. See the full blog at http://themargatemusicman.blogspot.com/ ... years.html

[PeterC]

My favourite JLL albums (& songs) change all the time, but this has remained near the top for over 3 decades! Jerry at his absolute peak vocally.

[Piet]

My favourite JLL albums (& songs) change all the time, but this has remained near the top for over 3 decades! Jerry at his absolute peak vocally.

And again I must agree with you

[Andrew McRae]

My favourite JLL albums (& songs) change all the time, but this has remained near the top for over 3 decades! Jerry at his absolute peak vocally.

It's a great shame that Jerry Lee didn't record more songs in the "Southern soul" or R&B genre; there are dozens of great songs he could have nailed. His later interpretation of William Bell's "You Don't Miss Your Water" hints at the lost opportunities. We did, of course, get the "Southern Roots" sessions though the 'liberal' production standards of that project perhaps aren't reflective of what might had been had JLL got together with either one of the Goldwax or Stax teams in Memphis at the height of their powers a few years earlier. And the fact that Jerry Lee Lewis has never recorded in Muscle Shoals is a matter of some regret; the results could have been memorable.

[PeterC]

ALBUM COVER RATING: 4/5

I'm going through Jerry's albums on here and giving marks out of five for the album covers (regardless of the actual content)...

A very good photo, but I'm not sure it goes with the album title & contents (it would be perfect on a country album).