Lloyd Price’s earliest recorded material was for the Specialty label. Back in 1952 while Price was still a teenager, he had a big hit record with “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” that featured a hot New Orleans band that included Fats Domino on piano. That track is included here along with 13 others that reek of street corner Crescent City R&B; with ballsy horn sections, doo wop back-up vocals, and boogie woogie keyboards. Price possesses a smoky tenor that gives his singing an edge. His voice never rings clear but spreads an aural fogginess to the lyrics. Price expressively sings about love and misery as if they were synonymous, and who am I to say that he’s wrong? “If Crying Was Murder,” he croons with a sneer on one tune while he rhythmically pleads “Oo-Ee Baby” on another. Price rocks hard on tunes like “Let me Come Back Home Baby”. He has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The high caliber of these, his first singles, reveals Price belongs there.