Liner Note Author: Bill Dahl.

A seldom-told chapter of the Fats Domino story is represented on this collection, which captures the best of the New Orleans rock & roll giant's brief tenure at ABC Records (1963-'65). Fresh from his long run of New Orleans-recorded hits for the Imperial label, Fats signed what one can only hope was a big-money deal and was summarily carted off to Nashville to work with country producer Felton Jarvis and arranger Bill Justis. Inexplicably attempting to increase the accessibility of a man who'd just had countless chart smashes, Jarvis and Justis gave Domino the full Countrypolitan treatment, slathering on the strings and choral backing vocals.

As with Ray Charles's similarly produced records for ABC from the same period, though, the heart and soul of the man behind the piano proved too big to be undercut by production frills. Adornments aside, Domino's singing, songwriting, and piano style were virtually unchanged, and he shines through the gloss admirably. Curiously, the last few tunes he cut for ABC found him working in a more raw, bluesy format, perhaps because Jarvis and Justis's previous attempts had done little chart damage. Whatever the reason, these latter tracks show Fats's fire undiminished at the end of his unusual adventures in Nashville.