The Bottom Line
It won't replace "The Best Of Louis Jordan" in the minds of hardcore fans, but it's a solid enough introduction to neophytes, and a necessary sonic update.
Pros
- This is the best single-disc collection of the last twenty years.
- The sound is newly remastered.
- Most of Jordan's best hits are here.
Cons
- Some of Jordan's bigger and most influential hits are missing.
- The runtime's shorter than it needs to be.
Description
- Louis Jordan
- Number Ones
- Greatest Hits
- Single-disc
- Remastered
- R&B
- Jump-blues
- Swing music
Guide Review - Louis Jordan: Number Ones
Louis Jordan, jump-blues master, swing legend, and the leader of His Tympany Five, may not be the first artist you think of as deserving a Number Ones collection, even if it all the rage these days (and even if Jordan's back catalog, like most "jazz" artists of his time, is scattered to the four winds). However, Jordan -- who, between 1943-1950, occupied the top spot on the R&B charts a full ONE-THIRD of the time -- was one of the prime architects of rock and roll. Indeed, some consider 1950's "Saturday Night Fish Fry" the first rock record, and James Brown, Ray Charles, Chuck Berry, and Bill Haley have all cited this bandleader as their main influence. Impressive.
Assuming you knew all that already, what's this new compilation got to offer? Well, it does indeed include all eighteen of Louis' Number One hits, but like most of these comps, the strict adherence to its title means that we don't get huge, familiar, and no less influential smashes. For many, a Louis Jordan collection without "Baby, It's Cold Outside," "Beware," "Open The Door, Richard!" "You Can't Get That No More," or "Is You Is Or Is You Ain't My Baby?" is unthinkable. And it's not like there wasn't room. Still, this collection is just what it says it is, and unlike 1977's "The Best Of Louis Jordan" -- still the best greatest hits collection out there -- the digital sound on this CD doesn't date from 1989. So it's your flip.
