''Alive and Kickin is an album by the American R&B musician

Fats Domino Antoine Dominique Domino Jr. (February 26, 1928 – October 24, 2017), known as Fats Domino, was an American pianist, singer and songwriter. One of the pioneers of rock and roll music, Domino sold more than 65 million records. Born in New O ...

, released in 2006. Proceeds from the album were directed to

Tipitina's Foundation ''Tipitina's Foundation'' is a not-for-profit charity organization that grew out of the New Orleans music venue, Tipitina's. Based in New Orleans, Louisiana, the foundation's mission is to protect and preserve the musical culture of New Orleans a ...

, an organization committed to preserving the musical culture and legacy of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

. The album raised around $150,000 for the foundation in its first year of release. ''Alive and Kickin was Domino's final studio album. He had intended to support it by headlining the 2006

New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival (commonly called Jazz Fest or Jazzfest) is an annual celebration of local music and culture held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Jazz Fest attracts thousands of visitors to New ...

, but had to cancel due to illness.

Production

The album's 13 tracks were recorded at least six years before they were released. Much of the album was recorded at

Ultrasonic Studios, New Orleans Ultrasonic Studios was a music recording studio in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. The studio was located on Washington Avenue in the Uptown New Orleans, Uptown neighborhood near Xavier University of Louisiana, Xavier University. It was est ...

. The songs were written by Domino, aside from one by

Bobby Charles Robert Charles Guidry (February 21, 1938 – January 14, 2010), known as Bobby Charles, was an American singer-songwriter. Early life An ethnic Cajun, Charles was born in Abbeville, Louisiana, United States, and grew up listening to Cajun mus ...

and one by

Floyd Tillman Floyd Tillman (December 8, 1914 – August 22, 2003) was an American country musician who, in the 1930s and 1940s, helped create the Western swing and honky tonk genres. Tillman was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1970 a ...

. Domino's backing band included saxophonist

Herbert Hardesty Herbert Hardesty (March 3, 1925 – December 3, 2016) was an American musician who played tenor saxophone and trumpet. He is best known for his association with the New Orleans pianist Fats Domino and the producer Dave Bartholomew, beginning in 19 ...

and, from the

Dirty Dozen Brass Band The Dirty Dozen Brass Band is a brass band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The ensemble was established in 1977, by Benny Jones and members of the Tornado Brass Band. The Dirty Dozen revolutionized the New Orleans brass band style by incorpo ...

, saxophonist Roger Lewis.

Critical reception

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

wrote: "Calm and meditative rather than playful and ebullient, this is a record only the most congenial of rock 'n' roll legends could have created." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' stated that "the album mingles Mr. Domino's rolling New Orleans rhythm-and-blues piano and horns with touches of synthesizer or slide guitar ... His genial croon can sound close to country music." '' OffBeat'' deemed "One Step at a Time" "perhaps the best performance," calling it "a slow moaner ... right out of 1958." ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' noted that Domino "rolls with his usual aplomb through his trademark R&B and 'good-time rock-and-roll'." '' The Advocate'' concluded that "the sporadic substitution of synthesizer for horn solos and string sections is the only drawback about ''Alive and Kickin." The ''

Baltimore City Paper ''Baltimore City Paper'' was a free alternative weekly newspaper published in Baltimore, Maryland, founded in 1977 by Russ Smith and Alan Hirsch. The most recent owner was the Baltimore Sun Media Group, which purchased the paper in 2014 from Ti ...

'' lamented that "there's no chemistry between the singer and the musicians, and the songs lack the rhythmic propulsion of Domino's classics," but acknowledged that the tracks "have the same infectious hooks of his early hits."

Track listing

References

{{Authority control Fats Domino albums 2006 albums Charity albums