The Los Angeles Times from Los Angeles, California • Page 65

E14 POP MUSIC Jerry Lee Lewissinks into a regal looking leather chair backstage at the House of Blues. The 74-year-old rock roll pioneerhas just completed an impressivehourlong set at a private party for an associate of country star Tim McGraw. sharply dressed in awhite vest embossed with floral curlicues, overa simple black shirt tucked into black denim jeans. But the most striking thing about his physical presence might be his skin: Few of even the hardest-living rock or country musicians have been through as much as the man also known as the Killer. Yet his face is youthful, smooth not the battle- scarred war zone of wrinkles likeKeith Richardsand Merle Haggardwear.

And there are those long and graceful, and still fully capable of tickling, tapping or pounding the ivory keys of the instrument with which he is synonymous. beat a he drawls. Indeed, he displays such respect for the instrument that hard to believe he ever actually torched one though legend, of course, holds that he did precisely that, a good decade before Jimi Hendrix tried the same trick with a guitar. It was that act that helped earn the Louisiananative another nickname, the like to play he says in an almost confessional tone. play my guitar just about as good as anybody plays guitar.

Yeah! I can play some heavy blues, and some good rock roll on guitar But I want to do that, because then gonna be obligated to do it. I know expect to hear a piana not going to allow the other Jerry Sun discovery difficult to imagine anyone fans included being able to box in Jerry Lee. His signature hits Lot of and Balls of were explosive songs full of unbridled lust that left adults of the sedate 1950s convinced that the devil himself had arrived in the world to claim their teenage children. While Jerry Leemight have mellowed with age, he is, as acknowledged by the title of his 2006album, Man Standing the the only surviving icon of a singular generation. Among the artists Sam Phillips discovered and first recorded at Sun Recordsin the 1950s including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins Lewis, the biggest hellion of them all and the one Phillips once described as balance, probably the most talented human being I ever had the opportunity to work outlived every one.

Man is chock full of superstar duets with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Neil Young, B.B. King, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and a slew of others, which helped it sell nearly 200,000 copies. Many of those guests are back, with new names added to the list, for another set that Steve Bing and his Santa Monica-based Shangri-La Mu- siclabel plan to issue early next year (afive-song sampler EP was made available online last month). Athird album is set to follow about nine months later. But not strictly about big names paying their respects.

Among the raw tracks Bing is working up with the co-producer, veteran drummer-to-the-rock-gods Jim Keltner, is one featuring other Jerry with Lewis accompanying himself on guitar on a freewheeling, country blues rendition of Prison Naturally, he remakes the lyrics to fit his own outsized personality: shot a boy in want to watch him adding a sardonic little after his revamp. And Lewis at the piano, singing the gospel song in the bear will be gentle and the wolf will be lion shall lie down with the lamb be changed from this creature that I Lewis is more lamb than lion these days, although he flashed a bit of the old bite at the recent 25th anniversary Rock and Roll Hall of Fame concerts at New Madison Square Garden. After a laudatory introduction by Tom Hanks, Lewis kicked over his piano stool to start the second show, delighting the crowd. The country side One surprise amid the 43 songs put down with Bing and Keltner is his take on Kris which Cash turned into a No.1 country hit in 1970. never heard Lewis says, and easy to believe him afterlistening to the Jerry Lee version that streamed from the monitors recently at a Hollywood recording studio.

Alot of the songs for Shangri-La have been on his set list for decades. Others, like the Rolling he would learn after a few listens in the car on the way to sessions. the quickest study I ever worked said producer Jerry Kennedy, who oversaw hundreds of country recordings in the 1960s and after his rock roll fame flamed out. get to town an hour and a half or two hours before we would start recording, listen to the new song five, six, seven or eight times, and then he knew Kennedy said by phone from his Nashville home. think he uses a song likes a script: He crawls inside it and does his thing like an actor He never did anything the same way twice what was During playback of rendition of Kristoffersonwas in the control room.

He shook his head while wearing an expression of amazement and pride. he said. I ever thought back in the day be hearing this think somebody brought me back from heaven to hear The Man project was intent on reviving Lewis the rocker; this time focus is on the country facet of his music. where he resurrected his career in the late 1960s, after he had become a pariah for marrying his 13-year-old cousinMyra. Virtually went from commanding $10,000 a night to out-of-the-way gigs that paid $25.

The wild ups and downs of his life from that point on have been well- documented: six wives, four of whom he divorced, the other two died; two sonslost in separate accidents; his own addiction to drugs and alcohol, which led to bleeding ulcers that nearly killed him in 1985. And of course, the renaissance experienced in the last few years. I moved in back in 19992000, he was not the same said his daughter, Phoebe, from his marriage to Myra, who also has served as his manager for nearly the past decade. was depressed, he was in a bad marriage. It took us some time, but with his commitment and my commitment, and putting together a good team of people, we turned it around.

like he started over Added producer Kennedy, who last worked with Lewis 35 years ago: deserves any good things that can happen. What a great Busy touring Lewis on hand to take in any of the kudos directly. While many of those working on the new album were hunkered down in Hollywood, Lewis was in Linz, Austria, in the middle of a month-long European tour. At this stage of career, touring about milking a fabled name for nostalgia value on the oldies circuit, but facilitating his ability to continue performing while both able and inspired to play. When not, happy to head home to Nesbit, where Jerry Lee relaxes in front of a TV watching reruns or old Gene Autrywesterns.

who like Gene he says with asneer, a entertains himself and his daughter with songs he pop standards and been talk of him traveling to Los Angeles the night after the Vegas party for another show, but he and Phoebe decided to scrap it so they could get home a day early and rest up for the European tour. one was gonna pay he says with a nod that seems to carry with it the memory of those $25 nights of yore and even a glint of pride that one he can now afford to pass up. a lot of money, randy.lewis@latimes.com Kirk McKoy Los Angeles Times THE KILLER: Lewis, at the House of Blues in Las Vegas, is going strong at 74. Whole lot of going on Jerry Lee Lewis, original wild man, may have mellowed a bit, but hestill pounds the keys. His latest project is a country album.

Randy Lewis reporting from las vegas Elvis Presley 75: Good The easiest way to have put together the new Elvis Presley CD anniversary package would have been to simply fill the four discs with the rock 104 Top 40 singles. But has given us something far more valuable in the boxed set, which is designed to commemorate what would have been 75th birthday on Jan. 8. 75: Good ignores half of the hitsto make room for selections that document the best of Presley, including the tracks that largely defined rock roll in the 1950s. The result is the most comprehensive look ever at artistry, as opposed to just his fame.

In outlining their goals for producer Ernst Jorgensen and art director Roger Semon declare in the preface that while the chart hits are of crucial importance, only heard in the context of some of the lesser-known artistic achievements can they present a complete picture of an artist with arepertoire so vast that he released 711 master recordings during his The set, which is due out Tuesday, lives up to those goals, showcasing the depth and range of musical vision his feel for country, blues and gospel roots and his prowess with high-energy rock and revealing ballads. Here are the 13 tracks from the boxed set that best illustrate artistic progression. All (Recorded in 1954 in Memphis) This is the moment when Presley, working with Sun Records producer Sam Phillips, defined rock roll: both its sound and youthful attitude. Checking in at just under two minutes, it is as revolutionary a slice of music as Bob Times They Are Play (1955, Memphis)Presleyups the ante here, revising the words of a minor hit by Arthur Gunter and increasing greatly the passion to better express the sexual pulse and youthful insistence that would be crucial, early building blocks for rock. and Be (1956, New York).

These tracks were released as the Aand Bsides of a single and both went to No.1. In Presleyshowed how the energy and grit of rock roll could connect with a mass audience. Onthe flip side, he demonstrated how he could be playful and charming without losing his edge. (1957, Hollywood) Presleyreached back to his Memphis roots for the sexual tension and energy in this reworking of a Smiley Lewis hit. He changed lyrics from night of is what now paying to night with is what now praying but the vocal remained as steamy and urgent as country and blues could get.

(1957, Hollywood)Ernest Tubb had acountry hit with this song in 1948, but brought a whole new dimension to it as he used the sentimental currents of the Christmas tale to amplify the heartache in the lyrics. Key line, be doing all right with your Christmas of But have a blue Great Thou (1966, Nashville)Gospel was Pres- love and this might be his most captivating vocal ever a declaration of faith that is chilling. I Can (1968, Hollywood)A rare step into social commentary that was a sign of daring and maturity. (1969, Memphis)Presleyseems to be trying to exorcise the memory of all those heartless movie tunes in a single, explosive moment. in My Own Home (1969, Memphis)Recorded just a month after this track finds Presleystill celebrating his musical rebirth as he turns this bluesy Percy Mayfield tune into a personal statement about his struggle to regain his musical and personal identity.

American (1972, Las Vegas)In tackling Mickey linking of three 19th century tunes, including Battle Hymn of the and Presley again steps into new territory as he celebrates the healing of a once-divided land. (1972, Hollywood)Almost 20 years after All Presley proved he could still convey the initial energy and innocence of rock as well as anyone who followed him. on My (1972, Hollywood)The song was written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher and Mark Presleygives it such a heartfelt vocal, turning it into a personal message to his Backtracking is a monthly feature highlighting CD reissues and other pop items of historical interest. BACKTRACKING A King and his court of songs Lesser-known songs are mixed with chart hits, displaying the depth and range of Elvis musical vision. Robert Hilburn Sony Music Entertainment Archive ELVIS: The set honors what would have been 75th birthday..