Search - Charlie Rich :: Feel Like Going Home: The Essential Charlie Rich

Charlie Rich 101

05/25/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you own nothing by Charlie Rich, start here. This is a good sampling of some of his greatest tracks from the many labels he recorded for. Charlie Rich is the most misunderstood, underrated recording artist in the history of American music. He could sing a Frank Sinatra song better than Frank, rock with Elvis, and sing the blues like few people -- white or black. Charlie Rich was NOT a country music singer. He was a soul singer. Sometimes he sang soulful country music, some of which he wrote himself. He was, without a doubt, the greatest white bluesman who ever lived. The greatest track on this compilation is a spiritual Charlie wrote, "Feel Like Going Home." There are two versions of this song here, and the most powerful one is from a demo that Charlie made at home with a tape recorder. It was just Charlie Rich, his piano and a song he wrote. It will rip your heart out, shred it, and then put it back together again. Charlie could do that. All the songs here are wonderful in their own way. But don't think for a minute these songs are the only great music he ever made. You have to get your hands on a multi-CD set from his days on Sun Records. You should seek out and buy the things he cut on Smash Records too. Don't neglect the tracks he did on Hi Records and Groove Records. Finally, buy some of the country music he did with Billy Sherrill at Epic. By the way, the best ones on Epic are the things he cut BEFORE he hit the big time. When they let Charlie Rich sit down with his piano and sing his heart out, there was no stopping him. If you like soul, blues, jazz, rockabilly, 1960's pop, wall of sound, Motown, gospel or country music, Charlie Rich is your man."

Rich Diet

J. Kerr | 03/09/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The blackdirt farming land of Arkansas (just across the big river from Memphis) produced a jazz loving, gospel reared piano tickler who Sam Phillips (SUN RECORDS GENIUS/SAVANT) called the most talented performer he ever worked with. Great growling voice that could sing the blues, gospel and twist them into his own sound which I just call SOUL MUSIC 'cause, hell, that's what it is. Music to be played somewhere in the lost territory found after midnight when the Jim Beam bottle's losing weight and your baby is gone and you don't know why.

I've requested that the demo of "Feel Like Going Home" be played at my funeral services. That's it, indeed."

Charlie Rich: Definitely not a "one trick pony"

Paul Tognetti | Cranston, RI USA | 05/16/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A friend of mind showed up at my house a couple of years ago all excited about this CD. To say the least I was very skeptical but I decided to humor him and listen to this for myself. Guess what? I ordered this 2 CD set the very next day. Based on my limited exposure to the music of Charlie Rich I had absolutely no idea what a talent he was. Let me be clear here....this is not a "Greatest Hits" package. There are several of those available. Rather, after his untimely death in 1995, Epic Records decided to showcase the considerable talents of this man in one 2 disc package. This retrospective covers his entire career from the early years at Sun Records until his final album in 1992.
Over the years, Charlie Rich recorded for five different record labels. For most of his career no one seemed to know just what to do with him. His earliest recordings at Sam Phillips legendary Sun Records were mainly rockabilly, but one can sample an early country ballad "Who Will The Next Fool Be" from 1961. Charlie Rich loved and recorded all kinds of music. Although his recordings could most often be found on the Billboard Top Country Singles chart, he recorded a lot of R&B, soul, pop standards and even a little jazz. And the remarkable thing that you will discover when listening to this collection is that it is all great stuff!!! Listen and enjoy Charlie's unique interpetations of Roy Hamiltons "You Can Have Her", Sinatra's "Nice'n Easy" and Lenny Welch's great standard "Since I Fell For You". Charlie Rich was also a tremendous piano player and a prolific song writer. There are a dozen or so of this own compositions on this collection including familiar favorites like "Lonely Weekends" and the awesome "Mohair Sam" from 1965. And you cannot help but be moved by the amazing "Feel Like Going Home". There are 2 different versions presented here, his original 1973 demo and the version from his 1992 album "Pictures and Paintings". Two other tracks deserving of mention are "When Something Is Wrong With my Baby" and of course the title song of his final album "Pictures and Paintings." So take my advice and pick up this CD. Then decide whether Charlie Rich was a country singer, a crooner or a soul singer. Like so many others along the way, you probably will be unable to make up your mind."