The Explosive Little Richard


The Explosive Little Richard is the first album by Little Richard for Okeh Records, produced by his long-time friend Larry Williams and Johnny "Guitar" Watson. The songs reflect the then-popular soul and Motown musical styles; no tracks were written by Richard.

Critical reception

CD reissues have seen the album attract positive reviews. Record Collector gave the album four stars, and cited it as "quite possibly the best long player he ever made." In a review of the entire Okeh recordings, Rolling Stone stated that "Richard's hair-raising vocals on the Motown staple 'Money' effectively claim the song as his own." i-News reviewed the album for a 2016 vinyl release, giving it four stars and stating that Richard "was still blessed with an immaculate voice and threw himself wholeheartedly some great contemporary sounding tracks."

Track listing

  1. "I Don't Want to Discuss It" – 2:28
  2. "Land of a Thousand Dances" – 2:10
  3. "The Commandments of Love" – 2:27
  4. "Money " – 2:02
  5. "Poor Dog " – 3:06
  6. "I Need Love" – 2:39
  7. "Never Gonna Let You Go" – 2:41
  8. "Don't Deceive Me " – 4:39
  9. "Function at the Junction" – 2:35
  10. "Well " – 2:56

    UK CD reissue track listing

  11. "Get Down With It" - 3:16
  12. "Land of a Thousand Dances" – 2:10
  13. "The Commandments of Love" – 2:27
  14. "I Don't Want to Discuss It" – 2:28
  15. "Money " – 2:02
  16. "Poor Dog " – 3:06
  17. "I Need Love" – 2:39
  18. "Never Gonna Let You Go" – 2:41
  19. "Don't Deceive Me " – 4:39
  20. "Function at the Junction" – 2:35
  21. "Well " – 2:56