Classified
Studio album by
James Booker
Released1982
GenreR&B, blues, jazz
LabelRounder Records[1]
ProducerScott Billington
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[2]
Robert ChristgauB+[1]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]
MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide[4]
The Philadelphia Inquirer[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[6]

Classified is a studio album by the New Orleans pianist James Booker, released in 1982.[7][8] It was reissued in an expanded edition in 2013.[9]

Production

The album was produced by Scott Billington, who recorded several sessions with Booker in 1982.[2] The sessions were at times interrupted by Booker's odd behavior or his stints in jail.[10] Classified captures both solo and quartet recordings; Booker's Maple Leaf Bar band included bassist James Singleton, saxophonist Alvin Tyler, and drummer Johnny Vidacovich.[9][11][12] The Professor Longhair medley came to an abrupt end when Booker left mid-song in order to cash a check.[6]

Critical reception

Robert Christgau wrote that "in general there's too much reliance on the left hand, with the consequent loss of dynamic subtlety compounded by a klutzy drum mix."[1] The Philadelphia Daily News praised Booker's "great stomping piano, [which is] not quite as fervent as Fats Domino or as idiosyncratic as Professor Longhair, but mightily infectious all the same."[13]

AllMusic called the album "one of the great blues albums of the early '80s."[2]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."All Around The World"Titus Turner3:22
2."One For The Highway"Fats Domino2:30
3."King of the Road"Roger Miller2:53
4."Professor Longhair Medley: Bald Head / Tipitina"Roy Byrd3:36
5."Baby Face"Bert Kalmar, Harry Ruby3:08
6."Swedish Rhapsody"Traditional; arranged by James Booker2:05
7."Classified"Booker3:12
8."Lawdy Miss Clawdy"Lloyd Price3:24
9."Angel Eyes"Matt Dennis, Earl K. Brent3:26
10."Hound Dog"Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller2:26
11."If You're Lonely"James, Gibson2:49
12."Three Keys"Booker3:17

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Robert Christgau: CG: James Booker". www.robertchristgau.com.
  2. 1 2 3 "Classified - James Booker | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic" – via www.allmusic.com.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music. Vol. 1. MUZE. p. 754.
  4. ↑ MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Visible Ink Press. 1999. p. 144.
  5. ↑ Tucker, Ken (31 July 1983). "James Booker, Classified (Rounder)". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. R10.
  6. 1 2 The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. pp. 73–74.
  7. ↑ Pareles, Jon (10 Nov 1983). "James Booker, 'Piano Prince'". The New York Times. p. D25.
  8. ↑ Komara, Edward (2004). The Blues Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 139.
  9. 1 2 "James Booker - Classified: Remixed and Expanded". No Depression. December 10, 2013.
  10. ↑ Tamarkin, Jeff (25 April 2019). "James Booker: Classified: Remixed and Expanded". JazzTimes.
  11. ↑ Lioce, Tony (September 25, 1983). "Roomful and Booker: Good Listening". The Providence Journal. p. H12.
  12. ↑ "James Booker's 'Classified' reissued Oct. 15 in remixed, expanded version". The Times-Picayune. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  13. ↑ Kanzler, George (8 Oct 1983). "The Blues: Flexible But Still True To Its Roots". Philadelphia Daily News. Features. p. 15.
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