"I am so honoured to have everything the Killer ever recorded and this set plus the Locust Years are considered to be the best sets ever! The Killer made some outstanding recordings for Mercury/Smash and I think these are among his very best. He changed from rock and roll to country and his country recordings plus his gospel recordings which are featured on this set are truly worth listening to! Jerry Lee could sing in all kinds of different styles and this set plus the Locust Years proves just that! Like the reviewer said below, this is certainly not for the casual fans but for true Jerry Lee fans like myself. Now the London Sessions from 1973 are not included on this set but that is available on a single CD which is available on amazon simply called The London Sessions 1973. I especially enjoy the Southern Roots album on discs 5 and 6. Disc 6 is a riot!!! It features Jerry Lee in the studio joking and there is even some rough language on this disc which I know you will really get a kick out of! Lots of outtakes and false starts and chatter on that disc which I thoroughly enjoyed! The live tracks on the last disc plus the interviews are also marvelous. You won't be disappointed with it all! Rock on, Jerry Lee!"
Very costful but worth it
Ronald Van Scherpenzeel | Madrid, Spain | 05/18/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This wonderfully presented CD box holding 10 CD's with 2 LP's on each
one+lots of extra songs, some of which were never released before,+ a very
interesting LP sized book that gives you all the details of the about
200 songs (even at what time and on which date it was recorded)is, to
my opinion, however, a little overpriced. Out of the 10 CD's there are 2
you probably won't listen to anymore after playing them (CD # 5, and disc # 10) That makes it 8 CD's for 280$ that's 35 $ per CD!
After this intoduction, though, I must say that it absolutely is A
MUST for Jerry Lee fans and for all genuine country music lovers who
also like rock & roll (with JL that's obvious), Honky Tonk, Gospel,
Blues, even some Dixieland and wonderful ballads. When Jerry's producer
Jerry Kennedy decided, in the early 70's,to add a 10-piece string band
he probably knew that he was going to create Jerry Lee's best ever
recordings combining rock & roll + country backed up with some kind of a
rhythm orientated strings beat. That's when such terrific songs are created like Me & Bobby Mc Gee, Chantilly Lace, No Traffic Out of Abilene, Walk A Mile In My Shoes, Games People Play, Don't be Cruel etc.
CD # 3 and 4 are just like being in paradise! CD 1 holds a lot of gospel,
CD 2 genuine country with a lot of steel & fiddle besides his always
gorgious piano, # 7, 8 and 9 have a lot of rock & roll together with
outstanding country hits that hit the top 10 charts. There are absolute
highlights on this box that never were released before except maybe on
bootleg LP's but I have no information on that: On disk 1 a wonderful
blues song called Black Mama + Alvin, on disc 3 the mentioned No Traffic
Out Of Abilene + the unissued And For The First Time; on discs 7 and 8
we have the greatest unissued examples: first of all a complete
different version of Great Balls Of Fire that means a complete
new melody with the same lyrics and on disk 8 the most incredible and
never released Slippin' & Slidin' a 9 minute lasting tribute to
genuine "soft" rock & roll with many piano solos that ends up with
a piano duel between Jerry and Bobby Wood! At the end all these "new"
discoveries of unknown recorded songs by Jerry Lee makes this CD set
worthwile at least for his hundreds of thousands fans throughout
the world who adore the many styles of music of this Living Legend.
In total there are some 65 "new" songs out of the 222 on this CD
box. Some were released between 1985 and 1987 on some of Jerry's
LP's but the great majority can be heard for the first time here.
"
The Killer is a Smash!
Jamayne Grimaldi | Riverdale,Ga | 01/24/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Why Jerry Lee Lewis is not giving more respect is a shame, this set is proves this. Ok we all know the story, Signed to Sun Records, A shooting star who's rise to the top is cut short due to marrying his 13 yr. old cousin. But what you don't know is that after switching labels and his style to a more country feel, The Killer made some of the best damn country songs heard since Hank Williams Sr. . This set focus on the years 70-78 in which time he would do some gospel cuts.
The Killer was in the midst of a storm that would bring death,life,love,heartbreak,agony and trumph. He would take all of that and put them into these recordings. On some tracks you can hear how the storm was catching up with him and taking it's toll, but even a weary and tired Jerry Lee is still worth hearing. This Like the "Locust Years" box set is not for the casual fan, but rather it's for die hard fans of the killer and for true students of music."
Don't miss it Killer!
Elvis Levi Lewis | Nashville,Tenn | 01/25/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Jerry Lee calls everyone Killer. This box set is an audio autobiography. If you want insight into the man himself just listen to this. I consider these recording to be some of his finest. Jerry always tells of his life in his recordings....he pours out his soul time and time again. Since the 60s I've bought every recording I could afford. I've watched him live over 25 times and I'll see him again next week. This box set is priceless. Buy it,buy it now! CHAMP DEVERE"
Track Listings (26) - Disc #1
![Mean Old Man [Deluxe Edition]](https://nationalbookswap.com/cd//m/00/1000/1941000.jpg)
