Over the course of five original vinyl releases—that’s I’m On Fire, The Return Of Rock, Memphis Beat, Soul My Way and Together—Jerry Lee Lewis, usually just in from wearing himself out on the road, variously rocks, rolls, sticks his name into the lyrics, cracks wise and even idiotic, cuts the same song more than once and keeps the piano under heavy pressure. Country and blues (with rhythm) and rock ’n’ roll all squirt through—pounded, landed, grooved and slapped onto the frenetic assembly line.Buy on Amazon The Killer probably jumped right back in the sedan after the last note.

Still, the man is the man who is more than a man, whatever obstacles. On the material that sticks, one-third or so, he sounds like an impeccable, extra-human force of nature, Old Testament in its coldly savage judgment—hear “Hole He Said He’d Dig For Me,” which is supposed to be about a feller getting it up Western movie-style over another feller, yet becomes an inevitable tale of feller crushed the way you’d crush a wolf spider.

“Lincoln Limousine,” an ode to Jack Kennedy via his death car, claims the same high (and mighty) ground as “God Moves on the Water” did for the Titanic—the man was priceless, but a $20 rifle brought him down (not to mention a few bits for the slugs). That Old Testament Jehovah could explode mountains by speaking. Jerry Lee lets you off easy by leaving you uneasy.