Search - Jerry Lee Lewis & Friends :: Last Man Standing

Killer Showcase!

Soulboogiealex | Netherlands | 09/26/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Duets album are always tricky endeavors. Very seldom they succeed. The long awaited "Last Man Standing" is a pleasant exception to the rule. The record features no less than 21 collaborations. The song selection is a balanced choice of Jerry Lee classics and "new" material for the Killer. The album rightfully avoids the obvious selections as "Great Balls of Fire", which are well enough left alone. In stead the selections play Jerry Lee's strengths amazingly well. The album opens with a strong rocker featuring Jimmy Page, but leans heavy into Country material, the Killer's main strength.



Some of the "new" songs here as Springsteen's Pink Cadillac sound as if they were written fro Lewis, or at least with Lewis in mind. The "old" material works just as well as when he recorded it first. Though out the album the guest musicians put themselves in service of Jerry Lee and the song, thus avoiding a trap many duets albums fall for, where the guests get too much spotlight and the main star disappears in the shadow. This is a Jerry Lee Lewis album first and foremost. Only when called for the album goes in full duet mode. "Just Bummin' Around", a collaboration with Merle Haggard, one of the albums highlights, sounds like two friends sharing some good times, "Hadacohl Boogie" allows Buddy Guy to rip loose.



Last man standing doesn't really have flaws worth mentioning. The record does Jerry Lee justice and is one of his finest releases in many years. It works almost just as well as a greatest hits package as a showcase of his talents and is certainly a fine addition to such a package. Not to be missed by fan or casual passerby alike. It's a Killer.

"

Still the Greatest Rock & Roller

John Carr | 03/11/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This wonderful Jerry Lee Lewis live album belongs in the collection of every rock and roller. I've been a Jerry Lee fan since I first heard Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On back in 1958. I've got all of Jerry's rock albums, including the complete Sun Sessions, and the wonderful Bear Family box sets of his Mercury years for the ocassional rock & roll song that would nest like a gem among all the country weepers.



First and only caveat: Jerry looks bad, old -- it shook my wife up. Considering the life he's led, the hell raisin', the drugs, the drinkin', the fighting... Well, next to Keith Richards he's been #2 on the Next Rock Star To Die List since the the 1970s, and he almost did die more than once. And it shows, but Jerry can still play the keys off a piano; by the end of the concert he's rockin' up a storm with the best version of Roll Over Beethoven I've ever heard! That song alone is worth the price of this inexpensive DVD. It's a long concert too, running 1 hour and 42 minutes and some. The bonus features are short and sweet, but who cares with all that great music.



Also, the tributes from Tom Jones through Kid Rock are touching, and sincere. The Killer is the Man! As always, Jerry dominates every collaboration. Only John Fogerty sings a solo and that's on Good Golly Miss Molly, a version that's comparable to Little Richard himself at his best, and is one of the highlights of this great concert DVD.



There are a lot more country weepers than I like, but I found myself entranced by the performances, and the respect and love given by Jerry's peers. The DVD shows excellent picture quality and the sound is great -- a 10 for both! This is not a budget production, like too many of the Killer's shows in the past; first class all the way.



Jerry opens with Great Balls of Fire and it's a little shaky. Things pick up with Chantilly Lace, and End of the Road with Tom Jones. Hadacol Boogie with Buddy Guy just cooks and if I had any complaint it's that they didn't jam for another five minutes! Buddy just shreds on guitar and Jerry's piano playing is really starting to cook.



Chris Isaak and Jerry do a nice version of Over the Rainbow, which Jerry did for Electra back in the 1970s on one of his comeback trails... Chris is obviously touched at being on stage with Jerry Lee and says some very nice things about the Killer. Jerry does one of his better renditions of Rockin' My Life Away with Ron Wood soloing. The backup band is all star and they kick. Ron Wood plays rythmn and lead, as does Kenny Lovelace and Nils Lofgren. Ian Neville plays keyboards, and the drummer is hot! Jerry is startin' to really wail, and does one of the best live versions of Lewis Boogie I've heard.



There's a killer version of What'd I Say with Ivan Neville; it should have been on the album it was so good. Jerry and John Fogerty do a mid-tempo kick-up of the blues standard CC Rider. Kid Rock, who I really did not like on "The Last Man Standing" CD, really impressed me live. They did a version of Little Queenie that Chuck only wishes he could do these days... And, they cooked on Honky Tonk Women; I thought the album version was weak, but it came together live and I really enjoyed it. I'm a big Stones fan so I feel pain when someone messes up one of their classics. Even Ron Wood was taken aback!



The finale consisted of a great acoustic take on That Lucky Old Sun, a kick-out-the-jams version of Roll Over Beethoven and an amazing (Jerry Lee just kept gettin' stronger; he's the Killer, man!) version of Whole Lotta Shakin' Going on. All in all a great concert memento of one of the Top Three 1950's Greatest Rock & Rollers of all time -- the other two being Elvis and Chuck Berry. I'm glad Jerry Lee finally got some of the aclaim he's deserved for the last 50 years, while he is still alive to enjoy it! Hell, he looked ten years younger by the end of the concert --Hats off to Jerry Lee Lewis!!!



Now, maybe "The Last Man Standing" will herald a new era for Jerry Lee Lewis live recordings and we'll see more of his fabulous concerts slip out of the record company vaults -- well, we can hope!



John Carr"

Diamonds shine flaws and all

Alexander S. Meyer | Laredo Texas | 10/07/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cd has a few great tunes that eclipse any defects one may hear. I don't like all the pairings, but Jerry Lees work with Jimmy Page on Led Zeps "Rock and Roll" alone makes the disc worth the price. My other favorite selections are tracks with Ringo, Buddy Guy (cooks!)and Eric Clapton. Rod Stewart and Bruce Springsteen sound awful...



I enjoy the unpretentious informal "jam session" atmosphere of the disc. It's as if the duet partners showed up on the same day and took their turns performing with Jerry Lee. Many tracks have chatter before or after the song, and this lends to my theory that making this disc was like a big party and everyone had a good time .....this feeling is conveyed in the sparkling lively performances. Regarding my remark about some of the guests sounding awful, well perhaps they were just being a little too kicked back.



I must also commend the engineer and producer who recorded these sessions..great sound!



The disc is not about perfection...it's about real music, real instruments, passion, commitment and the legacy of the killer. The energy on this disc could light up a big city ...after all these years Jeery Lee shows us he's still a great ball of fire!"