This superb 2CD set is the most comprehensive collection of New Orleans' greatest and most influential R&B pianist, Professor Longhair. Includes both sides of all his major 78s and 45s he released between 1949 and 1962. Professor Longhair's music is played in his hometown so often and so reverently you'd swear he was still around. moreover just recently, Hugh Laurie has given him huge endorsements upon the release of his latest critically acclaimed album. So ladies and gentlemen, it is time for you to sit up and listen to the founding Father of New Orleans R&B.
S**Y
Not the best place to start, but essential to any serious fan.
More for completists than the average fan, as many of the songs are repeated in different version/incarnations up to 4 times over the course of these 2 discs. For instance there are 3 different versions of Mardi Gras in New Orleans on the first disc alone. The mastering is well done for the most part, though tracks 5 & 6 on disc two have been taken from a very poor source and sound extremely tinny. Like a super low quality MP3. Dont get me wrong, the music here is great but if youre gonna only own one CD by 'Fess', then Id say Rock n roll Gumbo would be the way to go.
M**S
Four Stars
i like the music
J**S
Great price and quick shipping
Great price for a nice compilation.
M**R
Careful - 1 disc was Fess, one disc wasn't.
Guys, Disc 2 was all 'Fess, but my Disc 1 was actually a Diana Ross & The Supremes compilation. (Labeled Professor Longhair "Mardi Gras in New Orleans Disc 1"
G**S
Five Stars
Amazing songs
R**X
Two Stars
Inferior sound quality
A**R
Five Stars
Love it
S**E
complete original Fess recordings, handled with care
This is clearly the original, righteous and raw Fess recordings, accept no substitutes. These originally appeared on 78s and 45s that would have graced a few NOLA juke boxes alongside Amos Milburn, Big Joe Turner and Dinah Washington. Classy, all the way. Clear some tables, mix some hurricanes, cut some rug. Mardi Gras in New Orleans, indeed !
F**E
almost the complete pre-comeback 'Fess - but not quite
If you've "got" Professor Longhair, you'll just want to hear as much as possible of his fabulously insouciant piano, infectiously eccentric vocals and virtuoso whistling. While he happily made quite a few good quality recordings in the last decade of his life (the 1970s) his reputation as THE genius of New Orleans piano blues rests mainly on the late 1940s to early 1960s recordings here, made for 8 different labels, of which only Atlantic, Mercury and Federal were national as opposed to local operations.This may well be the most complete compilation of 'Fess's work before his 1971 comeback to date and only lacks his 1963-4 recordings for Watch, which unfortunately include the magnificent Big Chief . Most fans will have a lot of this already but a few of the songs have been less widely compiled, notably the 1952 Wasco and 1962 Rip sessions, amounting to 2 and 4 tracks respectively, so I will concentrate on these as they are the major selling point of this set. Unfortunately the two Wasco tracks have, inexcusably, been declicked so heavily as to destroy the music. One of these tracks, East St. Louis Baby, was reissued on Indigo's Roll 'em Pete: 25 Years of Piano Blues and Boogie box set of piano blues and boogie woogie in 2004 and, assuming Jasmine have used the same source (presumably the record is extremely rare) you can tell why they've tried to improve it - it was clearly taken from a very worn 78. But I'd much rather have intact music with a lot of surface noise than the completely unlistenable mess they've turned it into here. For the record, it's a close musical relative of Go To The Mardi Gras with different lyrics. The other Wasco tune, Boyd's Bounce, sounds even worse but again is available in superior sound on other compilations. I really don't understand why anyone with ears would do this.The four songs from Rip sound far, far better - they are eminently listenable - but still have minor digital artifacts due to having been insensitively declicked. Longhair is in fine voice and indulges in some hilarious scatting on Whole Lotta Twistin', though sadly the label saw fit to fade him out rather abruptly.Other than those two sessions, all of this material has been quite widely reissued before, sometimes in marginally better sound quality - it's just never all been collected in one place before. If you haven't got a lot of 40s and 50s Professor Longhair, you could certainly do a lot worse than buy this - most of the music here is superb and illustrates why those in the know hold Longhair above virtually all other New Orleans rhythm & blues artists. But if you have got most of this stuff, you'll essentially be buying it for the four tracks he recorded for Rip because the Wasco tracks are so destroyed that they might as well not be here.Given the quality of most of what's included here, the cheapskate aspect of this release is disappointing - Jasmine have presumably left out the material he recorded for Watch because it isn't out of copyright. This marvellous music is crying out for a sensitively curated and properly mastered reissue by the likes of Ace Records covering all Professor Longhair's recordings from 1949 to 1964, because they're ALL worth hearing and most are brilliant. Roll 'em Pete: 25 Years of Piano Blues and Boogie
J**R
Great music
Wonderful music just a real shame the double cd jewel case was smashed up in transit.
P**T
Four Stars
Very good
R**N
Worth listening to.
Includes some very good tracks.
G**S
n'Orleans RnB
Great stuff from Fess! first heard him on "the other song of the south" LP a companion album to Mercury Rockabilly. really got me into New Orleans RnB and has only left me wanting more!this is instant collection and a good price
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