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Hobby Forum Index » Music - Reviews » CD Review: Charlie Rich "The Complete Sun Singles 1958-1963"
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| Red Tunic Troll |
 Posted: Mon Dec 22, 2003 9:31 am |
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Charlie Rich "The Complete Sun Singles 1958-1963" (Varese Sarabande)
Years before he found the sophisticated countrypolitan formula that would
vault him to international fame in the mid-70s, Rich was a second-generation
Sun rock 'n' roller. Starting in 1958, he released a string of truly fine
singles that wed his background in R&B, blues and jazz to the reverbed
energy of Sun's rockabilly sound. Surprisingly, he had virtually no
commercial success in his six years at Sun, peaking at #22 with the
self-penned "Lonely Weekends," hitting #67 on the country chart with "Who
Will the Next Fool Be," and scraping the bottom of the pop chart at #111
with "Just a Little Bit Sweet."
Perhaps his delivery at such an early point in his career was just too
similar to Elvis' contemporaneous work at RCA to capture its own audience.
He sang with authority and not a little bit of swagger, but his Sun sides
(actually released on the Sun subsidiary Phillips International) never
ignited a commercial following. His success in placing songs with Sun
labelmates suggests that perhaps Rich's style may have cut too smoothly
across genres to engage those coming strictly from the worlds of rock 'n'
roll, blues or R&B. It would be another 15 years before the record-buying
world would wake up to his synthesis.
Rich's first single, "Whirlwind" b/w "Philadelphia Baby," shows a purer
rockabilly sound to be a good fit for Rich's voice. By his second outing he
was mixing in gospel ("Big Man"), and his third, "Lonely Weekends," adds
blue country soul to the rock 'n' roll. He sang (and to a large extent,
penned) doo-wop ("School Days"), Latin ballads ("On My Knees"), blues ("Who
Will the Next Fool Be," "Midnight Blues"), R&B ("Easy Money," "Finally Found
Out"), and pop jazz ("There's Another Place I Can't Go"). His versatility is
admirable and effective, though it was probably confusing for the marketing
folks at Sun.
Varese's compilation of Rich's original 10 singles (both A and B sides) is
augmented by three album tracks and a pair of cuts previously unissued by
Sun. Highlights among the bonuses are Rich's heartbroken, yet bouncy
"Goodbye Mary Ann," the Jerry Lee Lewis styled piano rockabilly "Yes Ma'am,"
and the jazzy piano-driven blues growl "There Won't Be Anymore."
Fans familiar only with Rich's hit '70s sides, and perhaps "Lonely Weekend,"
as well as fans of '50s rock 'n' roll (or modern day revivalists like Big
Sandy), will delight in this lesser explored side of The Silver Fox.
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