Jerry Lee Lewis – Last Man Standing (2007) (DVD Rip)

This wonderful Jerry Lee Lewis live album belongs in the collection of every rock and roller.

First and only caveat: Jerry looks bad, old – it shook me up !! Considering the life he's led, the hell raisin', the drugs, the drinkin', the fighting… Well, next to Keith Richards he's been #2 on the Next Rock Star To Die List since the the 1970s, and he almost did die more than once. And it shows, but Jerry can still play the keys off a piano; by the end of the concert he's rockin' up a storm with the best version of Roll Over Beethoven I've ever heard! That song alone is worth the price of this DVD. It's a long concert too, running 1 hour and 42 minutes and some. The bonus features are short and sweet, but who cares with all that great music.

Also, the tributes from Tom Jones through Kid Rock are touching, and sincere. The Killer is the Man! As always, Jerry dominates every collaboration. Only John Fogerty sings a solo and that's on Good Golly Miss Molly, a version that's comparable to Little Richard himself at his best, and is one of the highlights of this great concert DVD.

There are a lot country weepers, and I found myself entranced by the performances, and the respect and love given by Jerry's peers. The DVD shows excellent picture quality and the sound is great – a 9/10 for both! This is not a budget production, like too many of the Killer's shows in the past; first class all the way.

Jerry opens with Great Balls of Fire and it's a little shaky. Things pick up with Chantilly Lace, and End of the Road with Tom Jones. Hadacol Boogie with Buddy Guy just cooks and if I had any complaint it's that they didn't jam for another five minutes! Buddy just shreds on guitar and Jerry's piano playing is really starting to cook.

Chris Isaak and Jerry do a nice version of Over the Rainbow, which Jerry did for Electra back in the 1970s on one of his comeback trails… Chris is obviously touched at being on stage with Jerry Lee and says some very nice things about the Killer. Jerry does one of his better renditions of Rockin' My Life Away with Ron Wood soloing. The backup band is all star and they kick. Ron Wood plays rythmn and lead, as does Kenny Lovelace and Nils Lofgren. Ian Neville plays keyboards, and the drummer is hot! Jerry is startin' to really wail, and does one of the best live versions of Lewis Boogie I've heard.

There's a killer version of What'd I Say with Ivan Neville; it should have been on the album it was so good. Jerry and John Fogerty do a mid-tempo kick-up of the blues standard CC Rider. Kid Rock, who I really did not like on "The Last Man Standing" CD, really impressed me live. They did a version of Little Queenie that Chuck only wishes he could do these days… And, they cooked on Honky Tonk Women; I thought the album version was weak, but it came together live and I really enjoyed it. I'm a big Stones fan so I feel pain when someone messes up one of their classics. Even Ron Wood was taken aback!

The finale consisted of a great acoustic take on That Lucky Old Sun, a kick-out-the-jams version of Roll Over Beethoven and an amazing (Jerry Lee just kept gettin' stronger; he's the Killer, man!) version of Whole Lotta Shakin' Going on. All in all a great concert memento of one of the Top Three 1950's Greatest Rock & Rollers of all time – the other two being Elvis and Chuck Berry. I'm glad Jerry Lee finally got some of the aclaim he's deserved for the last 50 years, while he is still alive to enjoy it! Hell, he looked ten years younger by the end of the concert –Hats off to Jerry Lee Lewis!!!

Now, maybe "The Last Man Standing" will herald a new era for Jerry Lee Lewis live recordings and we'll see more of his fabulous concerts slip out of the record company vaults – well, we can hope!

Personnel:

See Tracklist + Comments.

Tracklist:

01. Great Balls of Fire
02. Chantilly Lace
03. Green Green Grass of Home with Tom Jones
04. End of the Road with Tom Jones
05. Who Will the Next Fool Be with Solomon Burke
06. Today I Started Lovin’ You Again with Solomon Burke
07. Crazy Arms with Norah Jones
08. Your Cheatin’ Heart with Norah Jones
09. Hadacol Boogie with Buddy Guy
10. Don’t Put No Headstone on My Grave
11. Somewhere Over the Rainbow with Chris Isaak
12. Cry with Chris Isaak
13. Rockin’ My Life Away with Ron Wood
14. Lewis Boogie
15. Bumming Around with Merle Haggard
16. What’d I Say with Ivan Neville
17. Once More With Feeling with Kris Kristofferson
18. CC Rider with John Fogerty
19. Will the Circle Be Unbroken with John Fogerty & Kris Kristofferson
20. Good Golly Miss Molly with John Fogerty
21. Trouble in Mind with Ron Wood
22. Jambalaya with Willie Nelson
23. You Win Again with Don Henley
24. Little Queenie with Kid Rock
25. Honky Tonk Woman with Kid Rock
26. That Lucky Old Sun with Ken Lovelace
27. Roll Over Beethoven
28. Whole Lotta Shakin’ Going On

Comments:
Lewis proves yet again that he doesn’t get older; The Killer keeps getting bolder. For the filming of this unique, live DVD, he gathered with friends, family and rock ‘n’ roll icons to perform at a series of private shows in New York and Los Angeles. Rock ‘n’ roll, soul and country music legends gathered from the world ‘round to show their admiration for one of the great original song stylists of all time. Last Man Standing LIVE is an intimate and unprecedented event in music history, which includes interviews, as well as documentary and archival footage.
Lewis and his peers were backed by an all-star band throughout the filming of these performances including Jim Keltner on drums, Rick Rosas on bass, Nils Lofgren on guitar and pedal steel, Ken Lovelace and Jimmy Rip on guitar, Ivan Neville on organ and piano, and Maxayn Lewis, Stacie Plunk, and Charlotte Gibson singing backup. Keltner is a legendary drummer who has worked with Rock ‘n’ Roll’s all time greats including John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Joe Cocker, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Neil Young and more. Lofgren is a well respected solo artist in his own right who has worked with some of rock’s most celebrated acts including as a member of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. Neville, who is part of New Orleans’ most famous musical family, is an accomplished solo artist and full time member of the Neville Brothers with his father Aaron. Rip, who produced Lewis’s Last Man Standing, is one of the most sought after session guitarists and producers who can be heard on albums by Mick Jagger, Rod Stewart, and Debbie Harry. Last, but not least, Lovelace is a highly regarded Nashville session guitarist who marked his 40th year as Jerry Lee’s bandleader in May, 2007.