Album review: Jerry Lee Lewis, 'Mean Old Man'

It’s hard to think of another artist who could bring together so many collaborators from disparate corners of the music world as those who turn up on the Killer’s latest outing, which include Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Ron Wood (on separate tracks, natch), Tim McGraw, Sheryl Crow, Gillian Welch, Solomon Burke, Willie Nelson, Robbie Robertson and Jon Brion.

But the Muhammads of pop music apparently are only too happy to come to the mountain that is Jerry Lee Lewis, who turns 75 at the end of this month and demonstrates that he’s still eminently capable of pumping those 88 black and white keys.

It’s a similar route to the one he took in 2006 with “Last Man Standing,” that one focusing on his stature as one of the founding fathers of rock ’n’ roll, this one emphasizing his second career in the late-’60s and ’70s as a master of country music.

He reprises a couple of his key hits from that period — “Rockin’ My Life Away” (aided by Kid Rock and Slash) and Sonny Throckmorton’s anguished “Middle Age Crazy” (with McGraw and Brion) — and puts his indelible stamp on the title track, written for him by Kris Kristofferson.

Creedence Clearwater’s “Bad Moon Rising” is one of the few missteps — Fogerty is underutilized simply offering harmonies, and in a key that’s too low to show Lewis’ voice at its best.

Conversely, the pairing of Lewis and Richards is a made-in-heaven meeting of two of rock’s most surprising survivors for a wonderfully woozy slide through the Stones’ “Sweet Virginia,” which Richards says he originally wrote with Lewis in mind.

Multimillionaire Steve Bing, who has championed the latter-day resuscitation of Lewis’ career with Shangri-La Music, has said he simply wants to get as much of the Killer on record as he can while he’s still playing and sounding this vibrant. May the digital memory continue to roll.

—Randy Lewis

Jerry Lee Lewis

“Mean Old Man”

Verve Forecast/Shangri-La

Three stars out of four

 

Comments

[Bill]

I have always loved Jerry Lee's music and when it comes to piano they might as well just call the Piano Jerry Lee Lewis! It's great to see that at almost 75 JLL is making music again. I think their was a few years he was laying around not doing much prior to Last Man standing! His music gives him reason to carry on and why shouldn't he? The Rolling stones are right behind him in age and they too are carrying on! If one can still Rock n Roll then do it! I know JLL will probably never see this post but Happy 75th and may the Killer rock on forever!

[Adrian_Dallas]

I have every recording ever made by the wildest man ever in show business, Jerry Lee Lewis, including bootlegs from around the world. I've been a FAN (in every sense of that word) of his since 1956. LONG LIVE "THE KILLER"!

[Scott R.]

"if you are under 13 years of age you may not read this message board" perhaps in bad taste for this article,

[Randy Ranson]

At 75 years young, Jerry Lee Lewis has scored a 10 out of 10 with this his latest recording album 'Mean Old Man'. There are moments inside that the history of Rock n' Roll will be glad that were captured forever in this compilation. Feelings of warmth of human character abound throughout, and reminiscences of the late great Johnny Cash come to the fore, especially on 'Sunday Morning coming Down' and the duet with Willie Nelson was as if they were one and the same they sounded so good together. The 'Bible' of Rock must pay homage to not only Elvis, Roy, Carl and Johnny, but Jerry Lee Lewis too, as these are the Rocks upon which so many others have stepped upon to cross the river of sound and reach the promised land on the other side of Rock n' Roll's musical shore. Not to forget Mr. James Brown, Chuck Berry and Little Richard, but as masterful as they all have been, it's a great pleasure to see the likes of those who still carry the torch show up to honor such a prestigious artist as this. Each artist on that album is lifted in esteem just because they participated and rejoiced in a person who through his lifetime of playing piano and belting out rhythmic songs of joy has brought so much pleasure to so many people on this planet. May we enjoy this wonderful music again and again from the one and only Jerry Lee Lewis, a class act if ever there was one.

[Hermann Reuter]

First time I saw Jerry Lee Lewis was in my home town Hamburg, Germany, in the Star-Club on 13 April 1964. There's a live LP from the performance, and after all these years you can still hear me shout with the crowd "Jerry, Jerry, Jerry ...". Thnx, Jerry, that you still - with yr 75 yrs on this world or ours -, didn't hang up yr Rock 'n' Roll shoes, that you keep on movin Down the Line, playin the Lewis Boogie in yr Lewis way, and that there's always a whole lotta shakin goin on. yrs Herman (the hermit who couldn't get the permit to hv his loooong hair cut)!

[Ken]

Washed up at 25, a media sensation at 75... gotta love it!