Notes & Personnel Info |  | Personnel includes: Johnny Adams, Ruth Brown, Aaron Neville (vocals); Duke Robillard, Wayne Bennett, Michael Toles, Walter "Wolfman" Washington (guitar); Bill Foots (alto & baritone saxophones); Ed Petersen, Alvin "Red" Tyler (tenor saxophone); Terry Tullos (trumpet); Craig Wroten (piano, Hammond B-3 organ, synthesizer); Mac "Dr. John" Rebennack (piano, Hammond B-3 organ); Harry Connick, Jr., David Torkanowski, Jon Cleary (piano); Dr. Lonnie Smith (organ); James Singleton, David Berard, George Porter, Jr., Darrell Francis, Sr. (bass); Johnny Vidacovich, Shannon Powell, Herlin Riley (drums); George "Geeje" Jackson, Jr. (congas). | | Principally recorded at Ultrasonic Studios, New Orleans, Louisiana. Includes liner notes by Scott Billington. | | Digitally remastered by Laurie B. Flannery (Northeastern Digital Recording, Southborough, Massachusetts). | | There Is Always One More Time is a compilation of the recordings Johnny Adams made for Rounder Records in the 1980s and '90s. The compilation was put together by Scott Billington, who produced all of Adams' Rounder albums. In his liner notes, Billington acknowledges that he had never produced an R&B singer before, so it may not be surprising that he was quick to have Adams sing in styles other than R&B. It was precisely this eclecticism that caused fans and reviewers to reserve their judgment on the Rounder recordings, and Billington has carried it over to the compilation. Drawing from all the albums as well as discs by Ruth Brown and Alvin "Red" Tyler on which Adams guested, he emphasizes novelty material. With Brown, Adams is heard joshing his way through Willie Mabon's "I Don't Know"; "A Lot of Living to Do" (aka "A Lot of Livin' to Do"), on which Adams is accompanied by Harry Connick, Jr. at the piano and on which he imitates a horn, is from the Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie; "But Not for Me," also featuring a horn imitation, is the Gershwin standard; and "Never Alone" is an a cappella gospel tune. Of course, there are some bluesy numbers, such as "One Foot in the Blues," and several R&B songs. There Is Always One More Time is representative of Adams' later work in that it tries to broaden him stylistically. Clearly, he went along gamely with whatever Billington brought him and added his soulful sound to it. But that didn't mean he did his best work. ~ William Ruhlmann | | This is a wonderful anthology celebrating the last decade and a half of recordings by the New Orleans singer Johnny Adams. Though his first recordings were already 25 years behind him at the time, Adams enjoyed a career resurgence when he signed with Rounder in the '80s. He explored his remarkable gifts fully over the series of recordings he made for the label, devoting a couple of entire releases to specific writers such as Doc Pomus and Percy Mayfield. | | His bluesy depth resonates whether he's performing New Orleans funk, soulful balladry, jazzy strutting, or even making forays into the world of pop, such as 1986's AFTER DARK, and he is at home with a wide variety of composers. His version of George and Ira Gershwin's "But Not for Me" is a showstopper and should be heard by any fan of Tony Bennett's. The set includes one previously unissued number, the Pomus/Rebennack original "Happy Hard Times." This collection is a wonderful introduction to a great singer. |
Producer: Scott Billington |
Engineer: David Farrell; Jay Gallagher |
Musical Guests | | Harry Connick, Jr. | | Aaron Neville | | Dr. John | | Lonnie Smith | | Alvin "Red" Tyler | | Ruth Brown |
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