The Bottom Line
- Finally, a perfect single-disc introduction to Fats.
- Generous in the extreme with a full 30 tracks on one disc .
- The first significant sonic overhaul of Domino's big hits in years.
- There's always room to quibble over song selection with someone who's had this many hits.
Description
- Release date: August 14, 2007
- Capitol 023512
- Compilation
- Studio (1949-1962)
- Single disc
Guide Review - Fats Domino: Greatest Hits: Walking To New Orleans
Walking To New Orleans (not to be confused with the box set of the same name) remedies that situation and then some, covering in its 30 tracks all the big hits and the fan favorites. It effortlessly moves through his contribution to postwar R&B with iconic smashes like his signature song, "The Fat Man," and "Goin' Home" before moving into the pop hits that made him a soda-shop standby ("Ain't That A Shame," "I'm Walkin'"), the ingenious recasting of pop standards ("My Blue Heaven," "When My Dreamboat Comes Home") and the occasional ballad like the title track or the unusually string-laden country pop of "Valley of Tears" (it's impossible to imagine Ray Charles' ABC work without it).
Newly-remastered and amazingly generous in its song selection, Walking makes a great case for The Fat Man's immortality, not just as a hitmaker but as a pioneer. Fans can always argue -- the near-novelty "Rooster Song," the late-period swing of "The Big Beat," his stunning interpretation of "I'm In The Mood For Love," and the pionnering jump-blues "Hey La Bas" would have all been fine adds -- there are enough surprises left in the smashes, like the proto-ska of 1959's "Be My Guest," to make this a great buy for Fats fans old and new. And if this is your introduction to Fats, there's a lot more where this came from!
