A singing clinic
Harley P. Payette | Phillipsburg, New Jersey United States | 04/21/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Wilson fans might want to jack this rating up to five stars. He is in top form on every track here. Others may be a bit put off by some of the dated aspects of the production and the occasionally mediocre material but the brilliance of Wilson's performance will pull them in anyway. Wilson may have been the greatest pure vocalist of the pop and rock era; but because he was often saddled with awkward arrangements with plodding white choruses and orchestration and indifferent material, he isn't given the same respect as other rock n' soul pioneers like James Brown and Aretha Franklin. Accordingly most of his catalogue is tough to find these days, which is shame because Wilson, despite the production handicaps, produced a lot more great music than can be contained on any greatest hits CD. This wonderful reissue proves it. Sure those clumsy arrangements are there but the material is generally above average which was enough for Wilson to make it killer. The artist is inspired on just about every track. There are hits here notably "Doggin' Around", "I'll Be Satisfied", "Talk that Talk" and "Please Tell Me Why" but Wilson performs every song like it's a number one. There is no filler. He trills, he growls, he uses melisma, he skirts to the top of his range with his effortless ease and surprising dramatic effect. On tracks like "So Much", "I'll Always Be In Love With You" and "Talk that Talk" his performance is so convincing he even makes the dated production sound cool. His grunts and growls on "Happiness" embody the title. When he's given a decent arrangement and material like "Doggin' Around" with its tinkling piano heightening the tension or Berry Gordy's "I'll Be Satisfied" with its unusual caliope sounding opening, the effect is just devastating. Every songs captures the man's joy in performing.Sure, much is made in the liner notes that the tracks on Jackie Sings the Blues (all original compositions unlike most blues tributes) aren't very bluesy in composition and arrangement. That may be true but the emotional effect of Wilson's performances allow the tracks to stand in that genre with no shame. And even if something like "Sazzle Dazzle" isn't a blues classic-or even blues- doesn't make it one iota less thrilling. If the content of this CD is brilliant, the packaging matches it. The sound is splendid. There are 24 tracks clocking in at just under an hour and not a single number is cut from the original LPs. The liner notes are terrific (though I could have used a song by song breakdown). There are even some rare pictures of Wilson inside (including one priceless shot of a mesmerized Wilson watching himself on a movie screen). More reissues should be done like this. All in all, it's a towering package that should help fans of vocal music, soul music and R&B realize that Wilson had more to offer than the few hits that are common currency."
Track Listings (24) - Disc #1