Unique 14 Track Anthology of the Recording Heyday of the British Blues/Jazz Oriented Rocking Keyboardist (And Longtime Associate of Van Morrison) who Created a Major Chart Hit with "Yeh Yeh". He Followed with a Plethora of... more » Albums and Great Renditions of Booker T and the Mg's "Green Onions", "Let the Good Times Roll", "Baby Please Don't Go" and Many More. This Volume is a Great Budget Collection of his Best.« less
Unique 14 Track Anthology of the Recording Heyday of the British Blues/Jazz Oriented Rocking Keyboardist (And Longtime Associate of Van Morrison) who Created a Major Chart Hit with "Yeh Yeh". He Followed with a Plethora of Albums and Great Renditions of Booker T and the Mg's "Green Onions", "Let the Good Times Roll", "Baby Please Don't Go" and Many More. This Volume is a Great Budget Collection of his Best.
Classic British cover versions of US R&B, and some originals
Charles Platt | Arizona, USA | 07/28/2000
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were one of a dozen or so bands who were nurtured at The Flamingo Club in London, in the late 1960s. At a time when American classic R&B (James Brown, Curtis Mayfield, early Ray Charles) was available only as expensive imports through a very few record stores, Flamingo artists introduced the music to British audiences. (Note that the Beatles had followed a similar path a few years earlier, introducing British listeners to Tamla-Motown, which also had been unavailable in the UK.) Even bands such as The Who included some R&B in their repertoire during this period; so did Rod Stewart (who appeared a few times at The Flamingo). But the R&B never really broke out of the club scene. Bands such as Zoot Money and Herbie Goins and the Night Timers remained obscure. Georgie Fame and the Blue Flames were the only Flamingo regulars who enjoyed any real national success, and they did it by diluting the R&B with a more pop-flavored product. Thus we have a strange crossbreed: British pop and American R&B that was already out of date when Georgie Fame started playing it. Personally I like the mix--but my nostalgia for that period (when I was a regular at the Flamingo) colors my judgment."
R&B/Jazz/Pop in it's finest hour. Love this guy.
Charles Platt | 01/31/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Georgie Fame is simply one of the best R&B/Pop vocalists and organists around anywhere. This is a superb collection of Georgie in action. I strongly recommend this CD to all lovers of great music. A strong 60's feel with a powerful driving organ. Grab this one quick."
Georgie Fame
R. L Miller | The Woodlands, TX USA | 08/16/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Georgie Fame is a musical icon in the UK, but only a few hits made it to the States. Most of his songs, I believe were ahead of their time, most notably "Get Away." With it's weird blend of acoustic guitar, heavy horn section and Big Bee Hammond organ, it's not the kind of thing the sixties kids were used to hearing. But it's also one of those songs that can create an image--hovering in the air in front of the listener. Fame's songs were like that, and this album has many of them. Great music!"
A unique underappreciated artist of the British Invasion per
collegemoney | 07/19/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Georgie Fame was something of an oddity among the British Invasion artists of the mid-60's. Whereas most of his contemporaries were rooted in R&R or R&B, either covering or emulating existing hits from those genres, Georgie was heavily into jazz. His first hit, "Yeh Yeh," was a jazz instrumental for which words were later composed, and performed previously by the vocal jazz trio Lambert Hendricks and Bevan. The Blue Flames were a joy to watch, with a black conga player and a saxophonist who was a fundamental part of the music. The sax role was much more fleshed out by the BF's than, for example, the Dave Clark Five. Georgie's most memorable hit came later than the songs here, his soundtrack title to Bonnie and Clyde, with full fledged orchestration --- success commercially but a step backward artistically. Most of what you find here displays a fine artist, prepared to fly or fail with the music he loved. Get the video of "Ready Steady Go" in which they appear, if you can, and see for yourself how this band stands up as opposed to some of their lip syncing competitors. I only give it four stars because I just haven't figured out yet which compilation is really worthy of five. but you can be sure one of them out there does."
Room for 10,000 standing outside
Patrick Monk | SF. Ca. | 02/04/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I was a regular at the Flamingo back in the day,sweaty funky spliffy throbbing sexy grinding nights under the pounding Whisky-A-GO-GO upstairs, stumbling bleary-eyed and stoned at dawn to Paddington Station-was there the night his first album was recorded-i recognise my holler-most all his stuff is excellent-but if you want a real taste of him and the scene back then-get his first album Live At The Flamingo-listen to me holler-and remember as Rick the MC used to say "It's cooler outside".
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1
