Name: Breaking it up!
Brand: Columbia
SKU: 305334
Price: 13.39 USD
Availability: InStock

Performer Notes

Reissue producers: Laurence Cohn, Billy Vera.
Recorded in New York, New York between 1951 & 1953. Includes liner notes by Billy Vera.
All tracks have been digitally remastered.
Liner Note Author: Billy Vera.
Recording information: New York, NY (10/18/1951-02/18/1953).
Photographer: Will Friedwald.
In late 1951, Louis Prima was hot on the heels of a comeback success the year before with "Oh Babe!," and a record so big that it spawned numerous cover versions by everyone from Wynonie Harris and Lionel Hampton to Kay Starr and even a Spanish language version by Lalo Guerrero ("Chitas Patas Boogie" on Imperial and used in the movie Zoot Suit with Edward James Olmos). After three follow-ups went nowhere (one of which was the immortal "Zooma Zooma"), Prima came to Columbia Records and was handed over to A&R chief Mitch Miller. And here was part of the problem. Prima's audience liked a cruder Louis and were used to records cut on shoestring budgets with production values that were as raw as the music they framed, while Miller's production was state-of-the-art squeaky-clean. Miller had Prima covering R&B hits of the day ("One Mint Julep") jump blues ("Oooh-Dahdilly-Dah" and one of the few tracks to feature Keely Smith on here), Latin-flavored tunes ("Chili Sauce"), novelty tunes like "Barnacle Bill the Sailor," "Boney Bones," and "It's Good as New (I Painted It Blue)," as well as his patented Italian shuffles like "Eleanor," "Basta," "Luigi," "The Bigger the Figure" and a bombastic version of "Oh Marie" (perhaps the only dud in this entire package), framed in the corniest "Sing Along with Mitch" arrangement imaginable and a million light-years away from his famous Capitol recording of the same tune. This entire set combines all 14 sides of the seven singles issued, plus the addition of "Chop Suey, Chow Mein" along with the original 1958 cover art to Columbia's original issue of this material. Not his best, but an interesting one to add to the collection after you have most of everything else. ~ Cub Koda

Professional Reviews

Living Blues (1-2/99, p.83) - "...The effervescent trumpeteer expressed his Italian heritage over brassy New Orleans-style rhythms....shows that Prima was the ultimate hipster..."

Album: Breaking it up!
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Eleanor
2)	Shake Hands with Santa Claus
3)	Oooh-Dahdily-Dah
4)	Basta
5)	Bigger the Figure, The
6)	Boney Bones
7)	One Mint Julep
8)	Chili Sauce
9)	Oh, Marie
10)	Luigi
11)	Paul Revere
12)	It's Good as New (I Painted It Blue)
13)	Barnacle Bill the Sailor
14)	Shepherd Boy
15)	Chop Suey, Chow Mein

Album: Breaking it up!
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Eleanor
2)	Shake Hands with Santa Claus
3)	Oooh-Dahdily-Dah
4)	Basta
5)	Bigger the Figure, The
6)	Boney Bones
7)	One Mint Julep
8)	Chili Sauce
9)	Oh, Marie
10)	Luigi
11)	Paul Revere
12)	It's Good as New (I Painted It Blue)
13)	Barnacle Bill the Sailor
14)	Shepherd Boy
15)	Chop Suey, Chow Mein