Complete Aladdin & Imperial Recordings

• Artist: Pee Wee Crayton
• Rating:
• Release Date: March 19, 1996
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Blues

Review

Crayton was fading fast commercially by the time he cut these sides in the 1950s, though his vocal and instrumental skills, particularly his stinging guitar, were undimmed. Aside from two 1951 tracks cut for Aladdin in 1951, this 20-song compilation is devoted to his mid-'50s hitch with Imperial. The label had him record in New Orleans with Dave Bartholomew and other local musicians, giving many of these sides a hybrid jump blues/New Orleans R&B feel (Imperial would use the same approach with Roy Brown around this time). It's not his very best work, but even at its slightest this is pleasant. It's most effective, however, when the Crescent City touches are muted in favor of slicing straight-ahead blues riffing, as on the instrumental "Blues Before Dawn." Another obscure cut, "Do Unto Others," is nothing less than a revelation, boasting a light-years-ahead-of-its-time opening riff that sounds almost identical to the blast of notes that opens the Beatles' "Revolution," cut nearly 15 years later. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
When It Rains It Pours	Pee Wee Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(3:00)
Daybreak	Pee Wee Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:40)
Win-O	Pee Wee Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:16)
Do Unto Others	Dave Bartholomew	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:21)
Every Dog Has His Day	Dave Bartholomew	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:19)
Hurry, Hurry	E. Frank	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:04)
Eyes Full of Tears	Pee Wee Crayton, E. Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:06)
I Need Your Love	Pee Wee Crayton, E. Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:09)
You Know Yeah	Pee Wee Crayton, Jules Taub, E. Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:32)
Runnin' Wild	Dave Bartholomew	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:27)
My Idea About You	Jack Goetz	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:33)
I Got News for You	Pee Wee Crayton, E. Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:37)
Baby Don't You Cry	Buddy Johnson, Ned Washington, Washington, Johnson	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:07)
Don't Break My Heart	Pee Wee Crayton, E. Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:49)
Wondering Why	E. Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(1:55)
Yours Truly	Dave Bartholomew	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:08)
I Must Go On	C. Hunsley	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:35)
Be Faithful	E. Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:01)
Blues Before Dawn	Pee Wee Crayton, Jules Taub	Pee Wee Crayton	(1:57)
Don't Go	Pee Wee Crayton, Joey Ramone, E. Crayton	Pee Wee Crayton	(2:36)

Credits

Pete Welding (Producer), Pete Welding (Compilation Producer), Cornelius Coleman (Drums), Brad Benedict (Research), Bacon (Design), Kevin Reeves (Remastering), Tommy Steele (Art Direction), Clarence Ford (Sax (Baritone)), Wendell DuConge (Sax (Alto)), Clarence Ford (Sax (Tenor)), Pete Welding (Compilation), Dave Bartholomew (Trumpet), O'Brien (Design), Herbert Hardesty (Sax (Tenor)), Kim Niemi (Production Coordination), Mark A. Humphrey (Liner Notes), Wayne Watkins (Project Director), Pee Wee Crayton (Vocals), Frank Fields (Bass), El Cimarrón (Design), Maxwell Davis (Sax (Tenor)), Salvadore Doucette, Jr. (Piano), Clarence Hall (Sax (Tenor)), Pee Wee Crayton (Guitar), Joe Ciardiello (Illustrations)