Knox Phillips Sessions: The Unreleased Recordings [LP] - VINYL

I'm a huge Jerry Lee Lewis fan and it's no secret that the 70s were a rough decade, filled with every excess and performances often teetering on the brink of disaster. Apparently Lewis made a habit of calling up Knox Phillips, the legendary Sam Phillips' son, when the mood (and the booze) struck him and knocked back several tapes like this. Dating from late 73-early 74 (not 78 as the sleeve notes), the Killer is three sheets to the wind, hoarse and never any less completely entertaining. His eight minute (!) take on "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" sets the tone and, while nothing else is quite as off the rails, the album goes from there. The thing is, I can't recommend this to anyone other than the already committed. His playing is still out of sight and though he sounds pretty shredded vocally, he's never anything but fully committed. But this is what it is, and that is a rough, after hours recording never meant for public consumption (this release is authorized, though.) For a fan, this is a fascinating peek into an artist about to enter his own "fat Elvis" phase. But it's definitely not the thing you want to play to try to win someone over.