1. Tutti Frutti*
2. True, Fine Mama
3. Can't Believe You Wanna Leave*
4. Ready Teddy
5. Baby
6. Slippin' and Slidin'
7. Long Tall Sally*
8. Miss Ann
9. Oh Why?
10. Rip It Up
11. Jenny, Jenny
12. She's Got It
A+
"Classic" doesn't begin to describe this album. It is to the preceding albums on this list what a hydrogen bomb is to a firecracker. As someone whose previous exposure to Little Richard was mostly limited to guest spots on Sesame Street and the movie Predator, this was a revelation. There's a brilliant backing band here, but what really grabs attention is Richard's incredible singing voice. Not only does he twist, wail and belt through rockers like "Tutti Frutti" and "Long Tall Sally", but he reins things in for incredible proto-soul numbers like "Oh Why?" and "Can't Believe You Wanna Leave".
Honestly, I'm not sure what to say. Every song on this album kicks ass. Add to that that Richards, a bisexual Black man, is ballsy enough to sing a song like "She's Got It", which is clearly about a White woman (although I suppose there are a few African women with blue eyes). And he does it all over a rhythm section best described as "Fats Domino on meth".
Honestly if you can listen to this album without wanting to jump out of your skin with joy I don't know what's wrong with you. This is everything great about rock and roll. Doubly impressive is that Richards actually wrote like half the songs here.
After this album, Richards would suffer a sort of breakdown during a tour of Australia and renounce secular music, instead studying at a seminary and becoming a gospel singer. As an Australian, I really don't know how to feel about that. All I can say is that this country tends to have that effect on people.
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