Millions of devoted
Fats Waller fans agree that having access to even one little budget compilation filled with this man's uplifting music is infinitely preferable to having no
Waller whatsoever. Released in 1992, Charly's
Fun with Fats is a chronologically stacked mini-history of
Waller's works, beginning with his Harlem stride piano masterpiece "Handful of Keys" (recorded March 1, 1929), sampling some of his funniest and solidest swing sides from the mid- and late '30s, then capping it off with a very funny "Hey! Stop Kissin' My Sister" (July 16, 1940) and that gastronomic anthem "All That Meat and No Potatoes" (March 20, 1941).
Fun with Fats will work as an ideal introduction to
Thomas Waller (hopefully inciting listeners to explore the hundreds of records he made between the years 1922 and 1943) and as a dependable dosage of solid swing to be kept on hand as emergency rations.