Jerry Lee Lewis - Rock and Roll Time

Here's the latest from the Killer and while it doesn't have the wild abandon of many of his other works, it is still a solid effort.

Opening with the title cut, which is ironically a country tune and not a r'n'r number, he starts in with a good, though reasonably mellow Kris Kristofferson tune. As usual, he pulls out a Chuck Berry number, "Little Queenie", this time, though it's a bit milder than he has done in the past - he still has his classic voice, but it does seem slightly weaker and with less enthusiasm than in his younger days and his piano is mixed quieter than preferable. Bob Dylan's "Stepchild" sounds just like a JLL country/blues number here, and the man does give us some of his cool key work on this one, as he does on "Sick and Tired", a Jerry Lee rocker. A swampy reading of "Bright Lights, Big City" follows with strong vocals and piano, then he plays guitar on the ubiquitous "Folsom Prison Blues" and gives us a C&W ballad with "Keep Me in Mind". "Mississippi Kid" is an upbeat country blues with Derek Trucks providing some fine slide work and then Jerry picks up the guitar again for Jimmy Rodgers' (one of his heroes) "Blues Like Midnight". Kristofferson gives us another nice country ballad in "Here Comes That Rainbow Again", where Jerry shares lead vocals with Shelby Lynne before closing with an energetic take on Berry's "Promised Land", sounding almost like the old Jerry Lee in voice and playing - great finish!

No, he's not the 20 year old wildman he once once, but he is still the Killer and still can produce the works when called upon to do so. May he continue to live a long life!