Little Richard’s one-of-a-kind career veered wildly from the sacred to the profane, but everything he did was profound; he was one of the greatest gospel AND rock and roll singers of all time. And you can scale the dizzying heights of both sides of the man’s mountainous talent on this 15-track collection, which brings his Atlantic and Reprise singles back to vinyl, almost all for the first time since they originally came out on 45s. Richard recorded and self-produced the Atlantic material in 1962 and leased it to the label for release the following year, right before his return to rock and roll with two triumphant UK tours. Only “Crying in the Chapel” has seen reissue since; the other three tracks (esp. the uptempo gospel numbers “Hole in the Wall” and “Travelin’ Shoes”) hit that glorious balance between spiritual fervor and emotional frenzy that only he could pull off. The Reprise material dates from 1970 to 1972 and was helmed by famed Specialty producer Bumps Blackwell as well as by Jerry Wexler, Tom Dowd, and Quincy Jones (“Money Is” from the soundtrack to The Heist), with musical contributions by legendary Richard sidemen Lee Allen and Earl Palmer as well as folks like Travis Wammack. The non-LP side “Shake a Hand (If You Can)” is the rarity, but tracks like “Freedom Blues,” its B-side “Dewdrop Inn,” and “Mockinbird Sally” testify that Richard’s brilliance remained unabated. Mastered, like many of our Real Gone singles collections, by Aaron Kannowski, The Complete Atlantic & Reprise Singles features liner notes by Little Richard expert Bill Dahl, and comes in ruby red vinyl. A timely release to go along with the new Little Richard documentary!
