Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First

Liner Note Author: Tony Rounce.
English soul journeyman Georgie Fame never favored jazz over R&B. He loved them both equally, splicing them together in a snappy mod style that turned him into a beloved British institution. Ace's 2015 compilation Georgie Fame Heard Them Here First digs into his influences, finding much beyond the familiar Mose Allison and Ray Charles, the two musicians at the core of his swing. His big hit "Yeh-Yeh!," first essayed by the hep Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan, is naturally here, but so are cuts by jazzbos, New Orleans pianists, soul groups, jump blues acts, pop stars, and Motown artists and, when they're all taken together, these songs -- which are sometimes quite familiar, as in the case of Major Lance's "The Monkey Time" or the Miracles' "Shop Around" -- wind up creating a portrait of Fame himself. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine