Fats Domino

A generous 32-track single-disc overview of Fats Domino's first six years of recording, Fat Man's Frenzy stops just short of "Blueberry Hill," the song that sent Domino to international stardom in 1956. What's immediately obvious about these Imperial recordings, which reach back to "The Fat Man" from 1949, is how uptempo most of them are. The easy sliding, midtempo Fats style of "Blueberry Hill" and "Walking to New Orleans" hadn't quite codified yet, and most of these tracks move along briskly on Domino's stripped-down Big Easy piano playing and producer Dave Bartholemew's loose-limbed and sympathetic arrangements. While a little of the familiar Fats comes through in his laconic Creole vocals on cuts like "Little Bee" and "Blue Monday," most of what is collected here isn't exactly laid-back, and a couple of the instrumentals, like the title tune and "Swanee River Hop," are downright freight trains at full throttle. "Ain't That a Shame" (called here by its original title, "Ain't It a Shame") is here, a song that is almost as much a signature for Domino as "Blueberry Hill," and it remains a New Orleans R&B classic. This set doesn't make an ideal starting point for listeners interested in Fats Domino simply because his later, better-known hits aren't here, but it is still a wonderful collection, and no Fats fan will be disappointed by it. ~ Steve Leggett, All Music Guide