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.

this two cd, thirty six track set is the first release to explore songs from the various labels that charlie rich recorded for over his entire career. this release shows the eclectic talent this artist had to move effortlessly from one genre to the next. at least eight different labels are represented - an excellent introduction to the man if you are not familier with all of his work. an excellent booklet accompanies the cds as well. charlie rich was one of the true greats in american popular music - very few, if any, can match the soul and emotion, not to mention the voice and piano, of this artist. an excellent jazz pianist, charlie rich was so much more than a country artist - this cd gives one a glimpse into that talent.

After reading Peter Guralnick's book 'Feel Like Going Home' I decided to give Charlie Rich another listen. I'd never heard his early stuff refered to in the article and was amazed to discover the incredible range that Rich had. Rock, hillbilly, blues, jazz and of course country all performed at a master's level. Just awesome.

I have loved Charlie Rich since I was a kid (12 years old). I remember "Lonely Weekends" being played on the radio. But, it was when my grandmother bought "Who Will The Next Fool Be?" that I really started to pay attention. I know Bobby Bland also recorded this song, but it was Charlie Rich's version that I always remembered. "Feels Like Going Home" shows the versatility of Charlie Rich. I love "Field of Yellow Daisies" and "Have a Heart" Overall, I am very pleased that I finally decided to buy some Charlie Rich for myself. Even my kids like this CD. My son was amazed when he heard "Lonely Weekends". By the way, I still have my grandmother's 45 of "Who Will The Next Fool Be?" I think Charlie has been underrated all his life. That man could sing anything and he could play that piano.

Charlie Rich's recording career is nearly as complicated as the multiple dimensions of his musical character. Across the core years of 1959 through 1975 he worked for six labels (Sun, Groove, RCA, Smash, Hi and Epic) before moving on to Elektra and United Artists, and eventually to Sire in the early '90s. During that time he sang everything from proto-rockabilly to smooth Nashville Sound country, and through it all he maintained blues, jazz and soul flavors that lifted his works beyond the norm. If his labels couldn't always turn the breadth of his music into commercial gold, it wasn't for a lack of quality in the grooves.

Epic/Legacy's two-disc set -- reissued in 2007 with new cover art to fit into the "Essential" series -- sits amid a crowded field of Rich anthologies. It fills a niche between tightly focused sets on Sun, Smash and Hi, and collections of hits that focus on Rich's Epic years. By pulling together sides from Sun, Groove, RCA, Smash, Hi, Epic, and Sire, the 36 tracks display the full-breadth of Rich's musical language. Most of the best loved hits are here in their original, definitive versions, augmented by select tracks that help flesh out Rich's career.

The earliest sides combine the sassiness Elvis brought to Sun with the rock 'n' roll flippancy of Jerry Lee Lewis. Rich's piano wasn't as histrionic as Lewis', but his vocals had more swagger (rather than raw rebellion) and blue-soul. His was unable to fully capitalize on his early success in stints with Groove, RCA or Smash, despite a string of excellent sides that included the original blues "Let Me Go My Merry Way," the supremely cool "Mohair Sam" (which peaked at #21), and the Brill Building styled "A Field of Yellow Daises." He recorded originals and brilliantly selected covers, including "You Can Have Her" (which had hit for Roy Hamilton in 1961) and Isaac Hayes' Stax-era "When Something is Wrong With My Baby" (which hit for Sam & Dave).

Not until Rich met up with Billy Sherrill at Epic did the stars align to catapult his artistry to the tops of the charts. Together they created records of twang-free Nashville Sound smoothness topped by Rich's expressive, soulful vocals. Rather than turning Rich into a denatured country singer, Sherrill amplified all of the Memphis blues, soul, R&B and gospel in the vocalist's past. His cover of Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind" is an original combination of cooing background singers (reprising those on his 1961 rendition of "Who Will the Next Fool Be") and organ, with Rich's gravitas tying it all together. Similarly, the blue-eyed soul of "Nice 'n' Easy" (a song recorded by acts ranging from Frank Sinatra to the Four Tops) gives way to a jazzy solo in the middle.

Rich and Sherrill hit a groove throughout the early '70s, producing superb albums for Epic that stretched through country, brassy blues, and soul, and included the signature hits, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl." The original album "Behind Closed Doors" (available in a 2001 expanded reissue) marks the pair's highpoint. Rich continued to record throughout the '70s for Elektra and United Artists (not anthologized here), but never regained the commercial heights of his time at Epic. An early '90s return on Sire for his final album, "Pictures and Paintings," found his eclectic tastes intact, and strands of blues, jazz, and gospel continuing to intertwine.

It's rather staggering to loop around from the strings-and-soul Epic tracks at the end of disc two to the strings-and-soul Sun sides at the start of disc one and realize the cohesiveness of Rich's musical vision. As the liner notes suggest, Rich's breadth was similar to that of Ray Charles, as was his jazzy soulfulness. This is a great starting point for exploring Rich's catalog, and despite the missing late-70s sides, this is sufficiently definitive for casual fans. Those who want a deeper look can augment this overview with individual volumes on Sun, Smash and Hi, and key individual album reissues from Epic. But as a career summary in two discs, you couldn't ask for too much more. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]