Friday, May 22, 2009

"Pitta Pattin' With Huey "Piano" Smith" : THE WEEKEND MIX



FIRST, a little about Huey "Piano" Smith from All Music:


Huey "Piano" Smith was an important part of the great New Orleans piano tradition, following in the footsteps of Professor Longhair and Fats Domino to take his place among the Crescent City's R&B elite. He was also one of R&B's great comedians, his best singles matching the Coasters for genial, good-time humor, although his taste often ran more towards nonsense lyrics. Smith's sound was too earthy to match the pop crossover appeal of Domino or the Coasters, which limited his exposure, and he couldn't match the latter's amazing consistency, lacking their reliable supply of material. But at the peak of his game, Smith epitomized New Orleans R&B at its most infectious and rollicking, as showcased on his classic signature tune "Rockin' Pneumonia and the Boogie Woogie Flu."


This "WEEKEND MIX" is basically the "Pitta Pattin" CD, which was released in 1987 on the once prestigious UK label, Charly. "Pitta Pattin'" is a collection of late 60s and early 70s Huey "Piano" Smith material, when he was dabbling in everything from blues and doo wop to funk, all in an attempt to recreate his 60s heyday. Ironically, this hastily slapped together collection is more cohesive than any of Smith's legitimate releases. It took months and some money to locate this bad boy, but I HAD to have it strictly for "You Got It Pts 1&2," a song whose groove is so bad-ass funky, it sounds wrong. The re-record of the novelty hit, "Don't You Just Know It," is also a winner.

TRACK LIST:

Rockin' Pneumonia & The Boogie Woogie Flu Pt 1
Through Fooling Around
It Do Me Good Pt. 1
Don't You Just Know It
I'll Never Forget
Smile For Me
You Got To Pts 1&2
Bury Me Dead Deep In My Grave
I've Got Everything
Baby You Hurt Me
High Blood Pressure


The ZIP FILE, courtesy of BURNING WOOD.

"NOW...you can go."

3 comments:

stu said...

Sal -- shoulda emailed me, I have this record...

Anonymous said...

hey sal...were you playing with the jerks when i tried to get the band to cover "you got to"? (i believe bobby was the only one on board with it)...and speaking of the jerks, did you know that the del lords opened for them about 25 years ago?...oh, and the blasters were top billed for that gig...steven

Sal Nunziato said...

Steven,
I was still the "special guest" and "creative consultant" for The Jerks when you brought "You Got To" in. Loved it then. Love it now.