(Rock'n'Roll, Soul, Funk) [LP] [24/96] Little Richard - The Second Coming - 1972, FLAC (tracks)

This is the Second Coming of The King of Rock and Roll, Little Richard, who has been often imitated but never duplicated.

Produced and arranged by R.A. "Bumps" Blackwell, who supervised all of the original legendary Little Richard hits, this record reunites many of musicians used on the first recordings.

Blackwell began by enlisting veterans Earl Palmer and Lee Allen, rounding out the band with other musicians who knew Little Richard and had worked with him on recording dates and personal appearances.

Adding to the tightness of this crew was the use of procedures and recording techniques fr^im the 1950s, though the songs and sounds are those of the 1970s.

What follows are Blackwell's comments on some of the performances of THE SECOND COMING:

"Mockinbird Sally," "Thomasine," "Rockin' Rockin' Boogie" and "The Saints" feature Earl Palmer on drums, Lee Allen and Bill Hemmons on tenor saxes and David T. Walker and Adolph Jacobs on electric guitars. The solid rock base combines the energy of the 1950s with the polish and variety of the 1970s. The mixture of music on "The Saints" includes New Orleans jazz, with the horns and guitars creating a big brass sound and the wah wah rhythm blending in what I call the Isaac Hayes and Bar-Kays rhythmic "Shaft" attitude. Little Richard at the helm works a triple-voiced vocal through a soft spoken statement which suggests the attitude of Sly Stone.

This soft mood is furthered by Richard's sensuous rendition of "Nuki Suki," a seductive vocal which features erotically driving and pulsating orchestration.

"Sanctified Satisfied Toe Tapping Boogie" shows Richard's instrumental flair as he performs sensationally on EMI electric piano and clavichord.

"It Ain't What You Do" has a melodic 50s feeling merged with Sneaky Pete Kleinow's slide pedal country guitar and Mike Deasey's multi-guitar work - a union of the 50s and the 70s.

"The Second Line" and "The Prophet of Peace" introduce a new rubato patter based on a rock-gospel attitude. "The Second Line" previews a new set of girl friends... the 1970s successors to "Long Tall Sally," "Jenny, Jenny" and "Lucille"... about whom Richard will elaborate in future individual songs. At the same time he revives a traditional Mardi Gras dance, the Second Line. In "The Prophet of Peace,"
Richard offers some words of wisdom, love and peace. These two songs evoked the incredible spontaneous genius of Little Richard in the studio, which enabled him to complete these two renditions in one take each, much to the shock of the studio musicians and engineers.

A description for this album is something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. The emotional brilliance of The King of Rock and Roll, Little Richard gives you THE SECOND COMING.
- R.A. "Bumps" Blackwell

Drums - Earl Palmer
Tenor sax - Lee Allen, Bill Hemmons
Baritone sax - Jim Horn
Electric guitar - Mike Deasey, Adolph Jacobs, David T. Walker, George Davis
Slide pedal guitar - Sneaky Pete Kleinow
Electric bass - Chuck Rainey
Piano, EMI electric piano & clavichord - Little Richard