Personnel: Lou Rawls (vocals); Cliff White, Herb Ellis, Rene Hall (guitar); Eddie Beal (piano); Richard "Groove" Holmes (organ); Jimmy Bond (bass instrument); Earl Palmer (drums); Pilgrim Travelers (background vocals).

Though the late Lou Rawls's career was launched on the gospel circuit, he never exuded the churchy grit that marked the vocal stylings of many of his 1960s R&B contemporaries. Rather, his strong, smooth baritone lent itself perfectly to interpreting a wide variety of styles and songs. At no point in his career was this more apparent than during his near decade-long run with Capitol Records, the majority of which was spent in collaboration with famed producer David Axelrod.

Twelve of the 20 tracks on THE BEST OF THE CAPITOL JAZZ & BLUES SESSIONS contain Axelrod's studio signature and illustrate just how well he and Rawls jibed. Standouts include the robust, swingin' blues of "So Hard to Laugh, So Easy to Cry," the slinky, shuffling, vibes-laden "Street Dreams," and the sultry, slow-burning "Let's Burn Down the Cornfield." Rawls is one of soul music's finest vocalists, and the work he did with Axelrod not only proves that, but shows the degree to which his success was due in large part to his originality and versatility. CAPITOL JAZZ & BLUES SESSIONS is a perfect introduction to this wonderful, pleasingly enigmatic singer.

Many people may remember Lou Rawls as a fundraiser, a pitchman for Budweiser or a silky-smooth '70s soul crooner, but when he signed to Capitol in the early '60s, Rawls was strictly a jazz and blues singer. Sure he tried for hits, and even struck occasionally, with "Love Is a Hurtin' Thing" and "Your Good Thing (Is About to End)," but he was at his best when tackling the material that is collected on The Best of Lou Rawls: The Capitol Jazz & Blues Sessions. A nice mix of jazz standards, blues, pop-gospel and big band swing, the disc showcases Rawls' flexibility, light touch, and his one-of-a-kind voice as he struts and swaggers through the up-tempo tracks like "Nobody but Me," "Street of Dreams," or "Goin' to Chicago Blues," and as he gets down to something real and gritty on the ballads like "Blues for the Weepers," "How Long, How Long Blues," "So Hard to Laugh, So Easy to Cry," and the centerpiece of the album, his medley of "Southside Blues" and "Tobacco Road," which features one of Rawls' patented monologues. With help from producers like Nick Venet and David Axelrod, as well as arrangers like Benny Carter, Benny Golson, and the great H.B. Barnum, Rawls' records have always sounded near-perfect, hearing them in a setting like this only spotlights what a good working environment Rawls could create. The collection isn't perfect; as one could argue about the omission of his 1962 take on "(They Call It) Stormy Monday," or his mellow "Gee Baby, Ain't I Good to You." However, it is one hell of a fine listen that anyone who loves Rawls should add to their collection, especially if you only know him for his post-1970 work [A boon for collectors are the three bonus tracks from a recently unearthed session Rawls cut with the Curtis Amy Sextet that is as close as he came to being a hard bop singer. It is a fascinating find and as the liner notes state, it is truly a shame that there were no more songs recorded by the group.] ~ Tim Sendra

Living Blues (p.77) - "Lou Rawls could have sung the phone book and made it sound good....We're fortunate, however, that he applied his distinctive baritone to blues and jazz material of such quality."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.122) - 5 stars out of 5 -- "From the start of his storied career, Rawls loved to swing and he loved it gritty..."