Joe Pesci - Little Joe Sure Can Sing (RSD 2024, Clear w/ Orange Swirl LP Vinyl)

Yes, Little Joe sure CAN sing…but should he? You might be surprised at the answer when you learn that “Little Joe” is actually Joe Pesci (singing under the name Joe Ritchie)! Pesci cut this astonishingly rare album for Brunswick Records in 1968, and, despite his later fame, it’s never been reissued in any format. Little Joe Sure Can Sing finds the future superstar actor (who was, by the way, at one time a member of Joey Dee and the Starliters) interpreting a variety of fare, highlighted by three Beatles covers (“Got to Get You into My Life,” “Fixing a Hole,” and “The Fool on the Hill”). So how does Little Joe sound? Well, the liner notes on the back cover credit Little Jimmy Scott and Billie Holiday as influences, and, you know what, we really DO hear echoes of their inimitable phrasing and tone, ably backed by arrangements from Artie Schroeck. That we also hear the guy who shot Spider in the clubhouse in Goodfellas only adds to this record’s collectible charm. Remastered for vinyl by Mike Milchner at Sonic Vision Mastering, our Real Gone reissue comes in clear with orange swirl vinyl pressing limited to 2000 hand-numbered copies worldwide, for Record Store Day 2024.

A1. Holiday A2. Got to Get You into My Life A3. Stop and Say Hello A4. To Love Somebody A5. The Fool on the Hill B1. Fixing a Hole B2. Let’s Stop Fooling Ourselves B3. No More (in Life) B4. Born to Be Blue B5. And the Sun Will Shine