Best Of Louis Jordan

I know next to nothing about Louis Jordan but had heard a programme about him on Radio 6 which left me interested and when I spotted this compilation soon after at a great price on Amazon, I thought it would be worth sampling. I was right. This is great music. It is easy to see, as other reviewers have noted, how Jordan foreshadows rock n'roll though I must own up to not being too keen on that genre on the whole. Jordan, however, is much more to my taste. This is confident, sassy, bold swingy jazzy stuff. There is a humour in many of the lyrics; I think there are probably euphemisms a plenty too. I have no idea why Louis Jordan is a less familiar name these days than Louis Armstrong, a contemporary. Perhaps he stayed just slightly the wrong side of the 'race records' divide to win him universal acclaim. Rock n'roll, it seems to me, was all too often hijacked by white boys and its essence distilled. If you want a glimpse of what that essence was all about, sample some Louis Jordan for yourself - irresistibly mixing a polished and accomplished sound with a backbeat of raw energy, it's very easy to love.

This CD did not include his best tracks, Saturday night fish fry, choo choo chaboogie, nobody here but us chickens, Caledonia and can see why the seller never included a track list. You will be more than disappointed if you paid £20 for this CD which should be sold in Drop bargain record store for a £1:00.