Roy Brown - Complete Imperial Recordings (CD)

All Music Guide

In the mid-'50s Brown, like many other early RB pioneers, was a bit lost at sea amid the rock roll explosion. From 1956 to 1958, he recorded these 20 tracks for Imperial under the direction of legendary New Orleans RB producer Dave Bartholomew. Brown and Bartholomew were attempting to update Brown's jump blues/RB hybrid with a lot of Fats Domino-type Crescent City influence on these sides. The results weren't bad, but with Bartholomew co-writing most of the tunes and using local musicians like saxophonist Lee Allen, Brown sounded more like a journeyman New Orleans RB singer than an innovative, bluesy forefather of rock roll. There were a couple of commercial successes; his cover of Buddy Knox's "Party Doll" made the RB Top 20, and "Let the Four Winds Blow" actually made the pop Top 40, although Fats Domino would have much greater success with the same song when he covered it a few years later. Diluted by occasional pop and rock influences, as well as a substandard variation of "Good ...Rockin' Tonight," this compilation shouldn't be the first Brown on your shelf. But for those who want to go a little further, it's packaged very well, with thorough liner notes and seven previously unissued cuts. - Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide Read more Less