The Explosive Little Richard

AMG Review of The Explosive Little Richard

William Ruhlmann
All Music Guide

In 1966, OKeh Records took its turn at trying to revive the recording career of Little Richard. In the fall of that year, they put him in a studio in Hollywood with his former Specialty Records associate Larry Williams producing, and the two cut this album of ock & roll ravers, which was released in January 1967. Little Richard is as frantic as ever, notably on the leadoff track, "I Don't Want to Discuss It," later a showstopper for Delaney & Bonnie, but ock music trends were far removed from his style of rocking abandon by 1967, and this album went unnoticed. OKeh recorded Little Richard doing his hits that January and released the results several months later as Greatest Hits Recorded Live, but that was the end of this comeback.