Saturday 5 September 2009

Billboard review of new JLL single


NEW YORK (Billboard): Considering that Jerry Lee Lewis once shot his bass player (accidentally) and threatened to kill Elvis Presley, it's no surprise that at 75 years young, he considers himself a "Mean Old Man." On his first country single in decades, the sole survivor of Sun Records extols the virtues of being a heartbreaker, family man and good 'ole friend. Written by fellow musical outlaw Kris Kristofferson, "Mean" is a quintessential rebel song by the man famously nicknamed "the Killer." With his Louisiana twang, Lewis delivers such poetry as, "If I look like a voodoo doll who takes his lickin' standing tall/Who'd rather fight you back than crawl, that's what I am." In a year that has seen the passing of so many music greats, it's wonderful to hear this particular old man sounding as mean as ever.

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