Racking up 25 Top 40 hits between 1955 and 1961 -- "Ain't That A Shame" and "Blueberry Hill" among them -- New Orleans native Fats Domino put the good time in old-time rock 'n' roll.With a vintage rock revival underway by the late '60s, Warner's Mo Ostin wound up signing both Fats and Little Richard to new deals (see Rhino Handmade's issue of Richard's own The Complete Reprise Recordings), paving the way for two of the finest comeback albums by early rockers.Paired with Warner/Reprise staff producer Richard Perry, Fats assembled a group of musicians that included New Orleans pianist James Booker, and recorded 1968's Fats Is Back in New York City (the singer played piano only on the remake of his 1959 anthem "I'm Ready"). Among the rowdiest cuts are lead single "Honest Papas Love Their Mamas Better" and the Fats-penned "One For The Highway," which features a smoking King Curtis solo and horn arrangement by Randy Newman. Reviews were good -- and the album's second single, The Beatles' "Lady Madonna," got solid airplay on the West Coast -- but album sales failed to ignite. Post-LP singles such as Fred Smith's "Sweet Patootie" and Randy Newman's "Have You Seen My Baby?" followed as late as 1970.Released in parts of Europe in 1971, Fats is believed to have been recorded years earlier and held until the climate was more hospitable to '50s-style rock 'n' roll. Reuniting Fats with producer Dave Bartholomew, the album delivers eight artist-penned originals and three covers performed in a relaxed, confident style.This single-disc Rhino Handmade collection combines the complete Fats Is Back and Fats albums, and adds several Reprise singles and unreleased tracks from the same period.Sweet Patootie: The Complete Reprise Recordings is available as an individually numbered limited edition of 2,500 copies. TRACK LISTING MY OLD FRIENDS (3:20) I'M READY (2:35) SO SWELL WHEN YOU'RE WELL (2:36) WAIT TILL IT HAPPENS TO YOU (2:36) I KNOW (2:49) LADY MADONNA (2:19) HONEST PAPAS LOVE THEIR MAMAS BETTER (2:36) MAKE ME BELONG TO YOU (2:21) ONE FOR THE HIGHWAY (2:35) LOVELY RITA (2:32) ONE MORE SONG FOR YOU (3:34) EVERYBODY'S GOT SOMETHING TO HIDE EXCEPT ME AND MY MONKEY (2:33) HAVE YOU SEEN MY BABY? (3:49) SWEET PATOOTIE (2:26) NEW ORLEANS AIN'T THE SAME (3:02) CAN'T CHASE A DREAM FOREVER (3:26) BLUES SO BAD (3:15) I'M GOING TO CROSS THAT RIVER (2:33) BIG MOUTH (2:25) IT'S A SIN TO TELL A LIE (2:33) WAIT TILL IT HAPPENS TO YOU (Version 2) (2:30) I'M GOING TO HELP A FRIEND (2:43) THE LADY IN BLACK (2:33) ANOTHER MULE (2:45) WHEN YOU'RE SMILING (2:43) THESE OLD SHOES (2:44) LAWDY MISS CLAWDY (2:18) WORK MY WAY UP STEADY (2:51) HELP ME (2:15)
