Rating: *** (3 stars)
Title: Willie and the Poor Boys
Company: Passport
Catalog: PB 6047
Year: 1985
Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+
Comments: minor 1" seam split on spine
Available: 1
Price: $5.00
The brainchild of Rolling Stones' bassist Bill Wyman, Willie and the Poor Boys was an all-star collaboration showcasing the talents of Wyman, Mickey Gee, Andy Fairweather Low, Geraint Watkins, and fellow Stone Charlie Watts (with additional support from a gaggle of friends, including Kenney Jones, Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers and Terry Williams). Intended as a fund raising effort to help raise funds for MS research (and to help former Face Ronnie Lane),
"Willie and the Poor Boys" featured a lightweight, but endearing collection of '50s covers ("Saturday Night," "Baby Please Don't Go," and "Slippin' and Slidin'"). The only non-original piece was Wyman and Fairweather Low's "Poor Boy Boogie." Hardly the year's most original undertaking, the performances were enthusiastic and the ARMS cause noble, making for a winning combination. A video package was released in conjunction with the album. A modest seller, the collection reached #96.
"Willie and the Poor Boys" track listing:
1.) Baby Please Don't Go (J. Williams) - 2:53
2.) Can You Hear Me? (Allen Toussaint) - 3:10
3.) These Arms of Mine (Otis Redding) - 3:29
4.) Revenue Man (White Lightening) (J.P. Richardson) - 2:32
5.) You Never Can Tell (Chuck Berry) - 3:54
6.) Slippin' and Slidin' (Penniman - Bocage - Smith - Collins) - 2:30
7.) Saturday Night (R. brown) - 2:48
8.) Let's Talk It Over (arranged by Bill Wyman) - 2:58
9.) All Night Long (C. Chenier) - 2:32
10.) Chicken Shack Boogie (Amos Milburn - L. Cullum) - 3:10
11.) Sugar Bee (E. Shuler) - 3:10
12.) Poor Boy Boogie (Bill Wyman - Andy Fairweather Low) - 3:26