Fats Domino Walking To New Orleans CD

WALKING TO NEW ORLEANS is an updated collection based on the 1991 box set THEY CALL ME THE FAT MAN. Includes a 68-page booklet with rare photos, album covers and a complete singles and LP discography.

Of all the early rock & rollers, Fats Domino gets a short shrift. Too easygoing for rockers, too popular for New Orleans R&B devotees, he fell into a middle ground -- a middle ground that was extremely popular at the time, but didn't give him the proper respect within hipster history, probably because his music is just so damn enjoyable. Few musicians have made good music sound so easy, so effortless as Fats, and that's best appreciated in an exhaustive compilation, such as EMI's 2002 box set Walking to New Orleans, because the sheer scope of Fats' accomplishment becomes stunning only at this scale. Sure, it's easy to appreciate the brilliance of Domino on a hits collection, even one as generous as a 20-track collection like My Blue Heaven, but the true scope of his accomplishments becomes clear on a set like this, since there's not a bad cut among these 100 tracks. Yes, some are greater than others, usually the hits, but the momentum never sags because the quality of the material is so strong. Of course, much of this was already heard on the great, seminal box set, 1991's They Call Me the Fat Man, and this collection follows the very flow, the very sequence, of that set to a tee; even the Imperial-aping artwork on the CDs and Jeff Hannusch's liner notes are replicated. There are a few song substitutions along the way, usually skewing toward R&B instead of rock & roll, but the ten or so songs that are different don't affect the overall feel of the box, which remains one of the greatest, most listenable box sets in rock & roll. The biggest difference is in the sound (remastered and bettered, but not so much so that most listeners will notice), the packaging (no longer boxed jewel cases; it's now the easy-to-wear book), and the artwork (based on the beautiful promotional photo of the original, but now uglified with an off-

All tracks have been digitally remastered.

This is part of the Crescent Soul Series.

4cds-Box Set 100 Legendary Imperial Recordings 1949-1962

Recorded at J&M and Cosimo Recording Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Master Recorders and Radio Recorders, Los Angeles, California between 1949 and 1962. Includes liner notes by Jeff Hannusch.

Personnel includes: Fats Domino (vocals, piano); Justin Adams, Ramez Idriss, Willie Jones, Ernest McLean, Roy Montrell, Howard Roberts, Harrison Verrett (guitar); Wendell DuConge, Clarence Ford, Joe Harris (alto saxophone); Plas Johnson (tenor & baritone saxophones); Lee Allen, Herbert Hardesty (tenor saxophone); Clarence Ford, Alvin "Red" Tyler (baritone saxophone); Dave Bartholomew (trumpet); Waldron "Frog" Joseph (trombone); Edward Frank, Paul Gayten, Allen Toussaint (piano); Red Callender (bass); Cornelius "Tenoo" Coleman, Earl Palmer, Charles "Hungry" Williams (drums).

Engineers include: Cosimo Matassa.

Producers: Dave Bartholomew, Fats Domino, Al Young.

Compilation producer: Alan Warner.

Personnel: Ernest McLean, Willie Jones, Justin Adams , Howard Roberts , Harrison Verrett, Roy Montrell (guitar); Clarence Ford (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Wendell DuConge (alto saxophone); Plas Johnson (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Herbert Hardesty, Eddie Sylvas, Robert "Buddy" Hagans, Samuel Lee, Warren Bell, Lee Allen & His Band, Clarence Hall (tenor saxophone); Red Tyler & the Gyros (baritone saxophone); Dave Bartholomew (trumpet); Edward Frank, Allen Toussaint, Paul Gayten (piano); Earl Palmer , Charles "Hungry" Williams (drums).

Audio Remasterer: Ron McMaster.

Liner Note Author: Herbert Hardesty.

Recording information: Cosimo Recording studio, New Orleans, LA (12/10/1949-04/14/1962); J&M Studio, New Orleans, LA (12/10/1949-04/14/1962); Master Recorders, Los Angeles, CA (12/10/1949-04/14/1962); Radio Recorders, Hollywood, CA (12/10/1949-04/14/1962).

EditEntertainment Weekly (3/29/02, p.75) - "...As the popularizer of his own Louisiana rhythm & rock, Domino perfected a style-racy but amiable..." - Rating: A
Q (May 2002, p.128) - 4 out of 5 stars - "...With hit after hit, [Domino] ladled on the Creole charm, deviating little from his chosen [rock] formula..."