Fats Domino - The Best Of Fats Domino (2004)

There are many Fats Domino comps, and this one is taken from the Legendary Masters series on EMI's United Artists imprint and distilled down to one disc of purely super-power Fats. There are 20 tracks here of solid gold New Orleans boogie and stroll from the Fat Man, leaving out not one of his important national hits, with one of the greatest bands in the history of recorded music that included drummer Earl Palmer and saxophonist Red Tyler. From "Blueberry Hill" to "Ain't That a Shame" to "Walking to New Orleans" to "When My Dreamboat Comes Home" to "I'm Ready" to "Let the Four Winds Blow" and "Whole Lotta Loving," the hits roll on, and the good times do too. Domino was one of the most incredible hitmakers in the Crescent City's history and someone who shaped the early rock & roll and R&B scenes with his trademark right-hand piano trills, pumping Fats Waller left hand, and that awesome backbeat style of comping. His singing was smooth enough to get across to white people early on, and had enough of the true grain to get the rest of the country jumping on his rhythm and blues train. When we hear tracks such as "I'm in Love Again," "Wait and See," "My Girl Josephine," or "I Want to Walk You Home," we are hearing the structure of modern popular music begin to shift paradigms in favor of a rawer, yet more musically sophisticated, direction. Domino remains one of the great performers, even in his late sixties. This collection reveals why he can continue to perform the tunes -- they are younger than yesterday, folks, and carry triple their weight in soul. ~ Thom Jurek