« Back to Top Level | James Booker

James Booker - Classified (1982)

Track listing:
  1. All Around The World 3:26
  2. One For The Highway 2:33
  3. King Of The Road 2:57
  4. Professor Longhair Medley 3:39
  5. Baby Face 3:15
  6. Swedish Rhapsody 2:09
  7. Classified 3:15
  8. Lawdy Miss Clawdy 3:29
  9. Angel Eyes 3:30
  10. Hound Dog 2:28
  11. If You're Lonely 2:53
  12. Three Keys 3:20

Notes

While there has suddenly been a flood of CDs featuring masterful New Orleans keyboard wizard and vocalist James Booker, his best release arguably remains Classified. The 12-track set was a landmark album, as Booker displayed every facet of his distinctive style. He did uptempo blues, quasi-classical, rock and R&B, making them all sound easy while performing frequently awesome keyboard feats. His "Professor Longhair Medley: Bald Head/Tipitina" pays homage to a legend while also demonstrating how much farther Booker's pianistic skills had developed. While his vocals sometimes aren't the equal of his brilliant playing, they're never less than effective and are sometimes almost frightening in their intensity.