The Best of Louis Jordan [MCA]

1	Choo Choo Ch'boogie 2:41
2	Let the Good Times Roll 2:45
3	Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens 3:02
4	Saturday Night Fish Fry 5:20
5	Beware, Brother, Beware 2:48
6	Caldonia 2:40
7	Knock Me a Kiss 2:45
8	Run Joe 3:24
9	School Days (When We Were Kids) 2:32
10	Blue Light Boogie 5:07
11	Five Guys Named Moe 3:04
12	What's the Use of Getting Sober (When You're Gonna Get Drunk Again)? 2:55
13	Buzz Me Again 2:47
14	Beans and Corn Bread 2:47
15	Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying 2:56
16	Somebody Done Changed the Lock on My Door 3:13
17	Barnyard Boogie 2:48
18	Early in the Morning 3:20
19	I Want You to Be My Baby 2:56
20	Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out 2:58

Barnes & Noble

A giant of American popular music, a true forefather of rock 'n' roll, and the unquestioned patriarch of the neo-swing movement, Louis Jordan gained early fame playing saxophone in Chick Webb's swing-era big band alongside singer Ella Fitzgerald. If the music he made with his Tympani Five straddles the borders of jazz, "jump blues," and R & B, so be it. Jordan's genius lay in synthesizing the different musical strands brewing during the 1940s. A perky saxophonist with a pungent sound that cuts through his recordings, Jordan was also a genuinely witty composer and a hysterically funny vocalist, yet the musical skill of the Tympani Five and their leader is never in question. "Caledonia," "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens," "Saturday Night Fish Fry," "Let the Good Times Roll," "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," and "Beware" are among the most entertaining pop recordings ever made, but they also swing as hard as any jazz sides ever made. When you're ready for a taste of the real deal, Jordan's ready for you. Steve Futterman

All Music Guide

This is a best-of CD collection that actually lives up to its name. Virtually all of Louis Jordan's hits, which musically bridged the gap between small-group swing, R&B, and rock & roll, are on this single CD, including "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," "Let the Good Times Roll," "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens," "Saturday Night Fish Fry," "Caldonia," "Five Guys Named Moe," and "Don't Let the Sun Catch You Crying." Serious collectors will want to explore a more complete series, particularly the one put out by Classics, but for a single acquisition, this is the Louis Jordan set to get. Jordan's very likable and good-humored vocals and his hot alto, as well as the playing of the Tympani Five, belong in everyone's music collection. Scott Yanow