Heaven All Around Me: The Later King Sessions 1961-63

RELEASE
April 14, 2009
LABEL
Ace
GENRES
Rhythm & Blues, Early R&B, Soul, Urban Blues

Album Review

The third and final of Ace's series documenting Little Willie John's recordings for King is the weakest of the trio, though like the others it's a great service to fans who want as much of his output as possible available on CD. All of these two dozen sides originally appeared on 1961-1964 singles, with the exception of one previously unissued track, "Like Boy, Like Girl," which is actually one of the better cuts. By this time, John's records had largely stopped selling, though his last big R&B hit, 1961's "Take My Love (I Want to Give It All to You)," is included on this disc. His voice remained as strong and soulful as ever, but the material he was given -- most of these songs, unlike "Take My Love (I Want to Give It All to You)," weren't written by John himself -- was largely unimpressive. What's more, though this doesn't really matter so many years after this was recorded, it was also passé, for the most part not reflecting the trends that had displaced him from the charts. The best tunes here tend to be the covers of well-known songs, like the orchestrated version of the pop standard "(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over"; "Every Beat of My Heart," the Johnny Otis composition that was a big hit for the Pips; and, in a much more unlikely selection, the country hit "She Thinks I Still Care." Other songs are often dragged down by a formulaic early rock & roll feel that was becoming dated by the early 1960s, and "Mister Glenn," inspired by astronaut John Glenn, even tries to ride a novelty bandwagon. While the sessions John did in early 1966 for Capitol (now available on the Ace CD Nineteen Sixty Six: The David Axelrod & H.B. Barnum Sessions) weren't great, they nonetheless found him more comfortably adapting to the times. This collection isn't so bad either, but is more for dedicated John fans than the typical soul listener looking for the best one or two compilations of the singer's work. Incidentally, the liner notes, in addition to being up to Ace's usual high standard, are of more interest than usual in this case, including fascinating if sad descriptions of letters exchanged between John and King label boss Syd Nathan in the final years of John's life, when John was facing imprisonment or incarcerated.
Richie Unterberger, Rovi

Track Listing

  1. (I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over
  2. Every Beat of My Heart
  3. Until Again My Love
  4. Inside Information
  5. Take My Love (I Want to Give It All to You)
  6. Big Blue Diamonds
  7. My Baby's in Love with Another Guy
  8. My Love Will Never Change
  9. Mister Glenn
  10. Doll Face
  11. Heaven All Around Me
  12. Don't Play with Love
  13. She Thinks I Still Care
  14. Come Back to Me
  15. Half a Love
  16. Without a Friend
  17. (I've Got) Spring Fever
  18. Bill Bailey
  19. Come on Sugar
  20. Now You Know
  21. Like Boy, Like Girl [#]
  22. I Wish I Could Cry
  23. Don't You Know I'm in Love
  24. Rock Love