Terrific Budget-priced Compilation of Essential Music
T. Davis | Seattle, WA | 04/25/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This 3-disc set, imported from England, captures the broad spectrum of vital music produced by Sam Phillips in Memphis during the 1950s. These new sounds transformed the United States and then the entire world. Rarities abound in this 65-track collection, and both they and classic cuts are presented with the best possible sound quality.
The first CD, entitled "Rockin'," includes tracks by all of the major rock 'n' roll greats that made Sun immortal: Jerry Lee Lewis ("Whole Lotta Shakin' Going' On," "Great Balls of Fire"), Carl Perkins ('Dixie Fried"), Charlie Rich ("Whirlwind"), Roy Orbison ("Ooby Booby"), and the Million Dollar Quartet ("Don't Be Cruel"), which in 1956 brought Jerry Lee, Carl, and Johnny Cash together with Elvis Presley. (Elvis' recordings are not included for contractual reasons.) But the disc also contains many classic singles by lesser-knowns, among them Jackie Brentson, whose "Rocket 88" is arguably the first rock record. Add Billy Lee Riley's "Red Hot," Bill Justis' "Raunchy," Warren Smith's "Ubangi Stomp," and many more for a rockin' good time.
The second disc is called "Cotton Crop Country." It includes Cash ("Folsom Prison Blues," "I Walk the Line"), Rich ("Who Will the Next Fool Be"), and Perkins ("Blue Suede Shoes"), together with such underappreciated greats as Charlie Feathers, Sleepy LaBeef, Jimmie Davis, Webb Pierce ("In the Jailhouse Now"), and other more "countrified" artists.
Disc 3 is titled "Beale Street Blues." Among the bluesmen represented are Rufus Thomas ("Bear Cat," "Tiger Man"), Howlin' Wolf ("How Many More Years," "The Wolf Is at Your Door"), Honeyboy Edwards ("Sweet Home Chicago") and many others, such as Sleepy John Estes, James Cotton, Joe Hill Louis, and Little Milton. Desperate love songs to unfaithful women are a popular theme: "If You Love Me Baby," "Come Back Baby," "So Long Baby, Goodbye," "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby," and so on.
This set is both a pleasure and a bargain. Snap it up!"