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''Live at the Star Club'' is a 1964 live album by
rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
pianist and singer
Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...
, accompanied by
the Nashville Teens The Nashville Teens are a British rock band, formed in Surrey in 1962. They are best known for their 1964 hit single "Tobacco Road", a top 10 UK hit and a top 20 hit in the United States. Early membership Art Sharp (born Arthur Sharp, 26 May 1 ...
. The album was recorded at the
Star-Club The Star-Club was a music club in Hamburg, Germany, that opened on Friday 13 April 1962, and was initially operated by Manfred Weissleder and Horst Fascher. In the 1960s, many of the giants of rock music played at the club. The club closed on 3 ...
in
Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...
,
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
on April 5, 1964. It is regarded by many music journalists as one of the greatest rock and roll albums ever, noted for its hard-hitting energy and Lewis' wild stage presence.Peter Checksfield, "Jerry Lee Lewis. The Greatest Live Show on Earth", ''
Record Collector ''Record Collector'' is a British monthly music magazine. It was founded in 1980 and distributes worldwide. History The early years The first standalone issue of ''Record Collector'' was published in March 1980, though its history stretches ba ...
'', #188 - April 1995, p. 79.


Recording

''Live at the Star Club'' was produced by Siggi Loch, who was head of the jazz department at Philips Records. In
Joe Bonomo Joe Bonomo is an American essayist and music writer. Life Bonomo was born and raised in Wheaton, Maryland. He graduated from University of Maryland (BA) and Ohio University (MA and PhD). His books include ''No Place I Would Rather Be: Roger Ang ...
's book ''Lost and Found'', Loch states that "...I realized that there were all of these young, mainly British, bands who were playing
Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
and other white American rock & rollers, their big heroes...And I went to the owner and made a proposal to start recording bands at the Star-Club, which I did." According to Loch the recording setup was uncomplicated, with microphones placed as close to the instruments as possible with a stereo mike placed in the audience to capture the ambience. The results were sonically astonishing, with Bonomo observing that "Detractors complain of the album's crashing noisiness, the lack of subtlety with which Jerry Lee revisits the songs, the fact that the piano is mixed too loudly, but what is certain is that Siggi Loch on this spring evening captured something brutally honest about the Killer, about the primal and timeless center of the very best rock & roll..." Sixteen songs were recorded over two sets, the first set comprising "Down The Line," "You Win Again," "High School Confidential," "Your Cheatin' Heart," "Great Balls of Fire," "What'd I Say (Parts 1 & 2) and "Mean Woman Blues." The second set featured "Good Golly Miss Molly," "Matchbox," "Money," "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Lewis Boogie," "Hound Dog," "Long Tall Sally" and "I'm On Fire."Joe Bonomo, ''Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found'' (Continuum Books, 2009), by
Joe Bonomo Joe Bonomo is an American essayist and music writer. Life Bonomo was born and raised in Wheaton, Maryland. He graduated from University of Maryland (BA) and Ohio University (MA and PhD). His books include ''No Place I Would Rather Be: Roger Ang ...
.
"Down The Line," which was omitted on the original LP due to a sound fault at the beginning, was released on the French Mercury single ''Les Rois du Rock, Vol. 8 : Jerry Lee Lewis'' and included on later CD and LP releases from
Bear Family Records Bear Family Records is a Germany-based independent record label, that specializes in reissues of archival material, ranging from country music to 1950s rock and roll to old German movie soundtracks. History The label has been in existence since ...
. The tapes for " You Win Again" and his current single "
I'm On Fire "I'm on Fire" is a song written and performed by American rock performer Bruce Springsteen. Released in 1985, it was the fourth single from his album ''Born in the U.S.A.'' History "I'm on Fire" was first recorded in January 1982 during the fir ...
" are believed to have been lost. For decades the album was available only in Europe due to legal constraints. In 2014, Lewis told biographer Rick Bragg "Oh, man, that was a big monster record" but that the record company "never paid me a penny." Speaking to Patrick Doyle of ''Rolling Stone'' in 2014, Lewis remained proud that he "stuck with rock & roll when the rest of them didn't, I kept the ball rollin' with that."


Reception

''Live at the Star Club, Hamburg'' is generally regarded as one of the greatest live rock and roll albums ever made. Recorded during his "wilderness years" following the fallout surrounding his 1958 marriage to his thirteen-year-old first cousin once removed Myra, the album showcases Lewis's phenomenal skills as a pianist and singer, which had been honed by relentless touring. He had played at
Deutschlandhalle Deutschlandhalle was an arena located in the Westend neighbourhood of Berlin, Germany. It was inaugurated on 29 November 1935 by Adolf Hitler. The building was granted landmark status in 1995, but was demolished on 3 December 2011. History Buil ...
in Berlin the night before. In a 5-out-of-5 stars review, Milo Miles raved in ''Rolling Stone'' that "''Live At The Star Club, Hamburg'' is not an album, it's a crime scene: Jerry Lee Lewis slaughters his rivals in a thirteen-song set that feels like one long convulsion. Recorded April 5th, 1964, this is the earliest and most feral of Lewis' concert releases from his wilderness years ...".Miles, Milo (June 6, 2002)
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'', #1, 2002, p. 59. The album was included in ''Mojo (magazine)">Mojo's'' "The 67 Lost Albums You Must Own!" - "[A]n unbelievably seismic document of rock 'n' roll so demonic and primal it can barely keep its stage suit on.... It's up there with James Brown's great live albums."''Mojo (magazine), Mojo'', 3/01/2004, p. 52.
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
said of the album: "Words cannot describe — cannot contain — the performance captured on ''Live at the Star Club, Hamburg'', an album that contains the very essence of rock & roll...''Live at the Star Club'' is ''extraordinary'' - the purest, hardest rock & roll ever committed to record...He sounds possessed, hitting the keys so hard it sounds like they'll break, and rocking harder than anybody had before or since. Compared to this, thrash metal sounds tame, the Stooges sound constrained, hardcore punk seems neutered, and the Sex Pistols sound like wimps. Rock & roll is about the fire in the performance, and nothing sounds as fiery as this; nothing hits as hard or sounds as loud, either. It is no stretch to call this the greatest live album ever, nor is it a stretch to call it the greatest rock & roll album ever recorded. Even so, words can't describe the music here — it truly has to be heard to be believed." Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (2009)
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AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
. Retrieved on 2011-06-27.
Joe Bonomo Joe Bonomo is an American essayist and music writer. Life Bonomo was born and raised in Wheaton, Maryland. He graduated from University of Maryland (BA) and Ohio University (MA and PhD). His books include ''No Place I Would Rather Be: Roger Ang ...
calls "Mean Woman Blues", the opening number on the album, as "nothing short of a concert in itself". Author Colin Escott describes Lewis's performance of the Hank Williams classic "Your Cheatin' Heart" as a one-man tour-de-force, "a stunning fusion of everything that was Jerry Lee Lewis. The bluesy piano licks thrown into the middle of the stone hillbilly classic and a vocal of scorching intensity." " In the 2014 book ''Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story'' Rick Bragg marvels that on ''Live at the Star Club, Hamburg'', the piano "sounds like its breaking at times, like he is playing more with a tack hammer than flesh and blood" and deems it "one of the grittiest, most spectacular pieces of recorded music ever made."


Retrospective

In 1998, Mojo included ''Live at the Star Club'' on their list of the best 20 live albums of all time. In 2003, the Digital Dream Door included the album at number 4 on their list of the greatest live albums of all time. In 2011, Goldmine included ''Live at the Star Club'' on their list of the best 13 live albums of all time. In 2015, the NME included the album at number 34 on their list of the greatest live albums of all time. Also in 2015, ''Rolling Stone'' included the album at number 16 on their list. In 2020, The Telegraph included it at number 2 on their list of the best live albums of all time. Also in 2020, The Independent included it at number 4 on their list of the greatest live albums of all time. Chord company praised the sound quality, saying the drums were well recorded.


Track listing

Side A Side B 1989 Re-issue To play the songs in the order they were performed, the sequence is 14–2–10–7–5–6–1, 8–4–3–13–9–11–12.


Personnel

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AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
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– drums ;Production personnel * Sigfried Loch – producer * Ingrid Buhring – photography * Peter Van Raay – photography * Richard Weize – photography, reissue producer * Bob Jones – mastering


References

Bibliography *
Joe Bonomo Joe Bonomo is an American essayist and music writer. Life Bonomo was born and raised in Wheaton, Maryland. He graduated from University of Maryland (BA) and Ohio University (MA and PhD). His books include ''No Place I Would Rather Be: Roger Ang ...
, ''Jerry Lee Lewis: Lost and Found'', Continuum Books, 2009.


External links


''Live at the Star Club, Hamburg''
(Adobe Flash) at Radio3Net (streamed copy where licensed) *
Live at the Star Club, Hamburg
' at
Discogs Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
{{Authority control Jerry Lee Lewis albums 1964 live albums Philips Records live albums