About this CD
- Recording: 2002-2006, Memphis, TN and elsewhere
- Release date: September 26, 2006
- Label: Artist First
- Catalog number: 20001
- Produced and arranged by Steve Bing and Jimmy Rip
- Engineered and mixed by Jimmy Rip
- Musicians: Kenny Lovelace, Jimmy Rip (guitar), Hutch Hutchinson (bass), Jim Keltner (drums)
Pros
- Producer Jimmy Rip and Jerry Lee have assembled a collection of songs that cover the Killer's talents like a blanket, yet they're fun, not reverential.
- Jerry Lee himself hasn't sounded this fresh and dedicated to the mission in a long, long time.
- The production's tasteful, the backing band a colletion of old pros.
- The vast majority of these duets make musical sense, and more importantly, are well-matched to the Killer.
Cons
- There are moments when Last Man Standing sounds like the Killer is merely doing a favor for some young(er) bucks.
My review
But is it any good? It's as good as Jerry Lee's been on record since the early Seventies; if his live appearances can be somewhat scattershot in quality, the extra time and care taken to make Last Man Standing -- supposedly a reference to his stature as last remaining Sun Records alumnus -- results in one powerful and also consistent listening experience. You could easily take the 25(!) guest appearances out and still have one hell of a Killer album, although it's nice to see everyone from three-fourths of the Rolling Stones to Toby Keith genuflecting at the feet of the master. In fact, the only flaws here occur when Jerry Lee props up a craggy Rod Stewart (on his own "What Made Milwaukee Famous") and tries to give more southern-rock cred to Kid Rock (who just won't shut up on "Honky Tonk Women"). The rest of these songs are Lewis's, even though he didn't write them. Which makes this a perfectly realized Jerry Lee Lewis record.
