Sun Sessions

Sun Sessions

ASIN: B0000014YA

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Sam Phillips has famously referred to Charlie Rich as the most talented man he had at Sun Records, and these 18 recordings might just bear him out. Rich always leaned toward the R&B side of rockabilly's R&B-country hybrid, and he had the soulful piano chops and wrenching vocal inflections to pull it off. The infectious romp "Lonely Weekends" became his first hit, but there's so much more to discover. The ferocious "Break Up" comes complete with feverish boogie-woogie-inspired piano licks and growling vocals that lend a menacing edge to lyrics that are relatively benign on the surface. "I don't know exactly what I'm a-gonna do," he snarls, and you start to wonder what the range of possibilities are. There's nasty blues ("My Baby Done Left Me") and gritty Ray Charles-influenced soul ("Who Will the Next Fool Be"). Even the vocal chorus and strings can't hide the pain and remorse in Rich's booze-wallowing "Sittin' and Thinkin'." The set closes with two of Rich's most stunning vocal performances: the anguished-but-determined, jazz-inflected "There Won't Be Anymore" and a spare demo of the gospel-influenced "No Headstone on My Grave." --Marc Greilsamer

Album Description

Unavailabe for many years, The Complete Sun Sessions, regarded as probably the most important recording sessions to have ever taken place, are finally out again through Chrome Dreams. Including every finished song and surviving take recorded at Sun during 1954 and 1955 (after which Presley signed with RCA) by Elvis, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, these are the recordings made as Rock N' Roll was invented. There's little else to say, except that virtually record made since has in some direct or indirect way been hugely influenced by the contents of this astonishing collection. Also features the complete 'Hayride' live recording from '54 and '55 (Louisiana's version of the Grand Ol' Opry), and the 1953 recordings Elvis made at Sun as a present for his mother. Includes a booklet, photos, picture disc packaged in a deluxe card slipcase. 2007.

The Sun Sessions CD: Elvis Presley Commemorative Issue

Average customer rating:

One of the Most Important Albums Ever Made by a White Man
The King, indeed.
Elvis in the beginning
Hell, that's different!
The true birth of rock 'n' roll

The Sun Sessions CD: Elvis Presley Commemorative Issue
Elvis Presley
Manufacturer: RCA
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music
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The Great Twenty-Eight
What's Going on
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The Velvet Underground & Nico

ASIN: B000002W9S
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

That's All Right
Blue Moon of Kentucky
Good Rockin' Tonight
I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine
Milkcow Blues Boogie
You're a Heartbreaker
Baby, Let's Play House
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone
Mystery Train
I Forgot to Remember to Forget
I Love You Because
Blue Moon
Tomorrow Night
I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')
Just Because
Trying to Get to You
Harbor Lights [Outtake]
I Love You Because [Take 2][Outtake]
That's All Right [Outtake]
Blue Moon of Kentucky [Outtake]
I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine [Outtake]
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (My Baby's Gone) [Take 9][Outtake]
I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') [Outtake]
When It Rains, It Really Pours [Outtake]
I Love You Because [Take 3][Alternate Take][#]
I Love You Because [Take 5][Alternate Take][#]
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (My Baby's Gone) ... [Take 7]
I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone (My Baby's Gone) ... [Take 12]

Amazon.com

This is the Big Bang of rock & roll, the moments when Elvis Presley, guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black first twanged up their R&B and heated up their C&W, igniting an explosion that created the world we now inhabit. Rock & roll has never been as elemental, as jubilant or desperate, as the versions here of Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right" and Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon Of Kentucky." And just as significantly, on "I Love You Because" and "Blue Moon," The Sun Sessions include the beginnings of Elvis' earnest ballad style that would soon be nearly as influential as his creation of rockabilly. --David Cantwell

Customer Reviews:

One of the Most Important Albums Ever Made by a White Man.......2006-08-08

I repeat, one of the most important albums ever made by a white man.

The King, indeed........2006-02-20

Elvis' recordings for Sun Records are often touted as the birth of Rock n roll. A lofty statement indeed, but one that is at least partially true: After all, songs like "That's All Right" and "Milkcow Blues Boogie" are among the purest of expressions of anarchic freedom to come out of the fifties. But cast aside the historical speculation, and the Sun Sessions becomes simply a great rock album, packed with some of the most vital and heart-pumping musical preformances ever.
Songs like the afformentioned "That's All Right," as well as "Blue Moon of Kentucky," "Good Rockin' Tonight," and the pulsating "Mystery Train" are energizing blasts of pure passion, with spastic and spare instrumentation and Elvis' hillbilly blues swagger. "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" and "You're A Heartbreaker" find Elvis diving into rhythmic, jaunty country, while "Baby Let's Play House" features some gorgeously scandelous hiccuping. There are even some superb ballads on board: "Blue Moon," "I Love You Because," and "Harbour Lights" are some of the most touchng, lovingly preformed soul-stirrers of all time. Over the course of this superb single disc collection, Elvis, croons, shouts, struts, moans, and hiccups some of his finest tunes. The result is one of the greatest songbooks in the history of American music. Your rock collection starts here.

Elvis in the beginning.......2006-01-13

First off, this is a must have for any serious music collector. This could very well be the birth of rock and roll but it is at least the birth of the King of Rock and Roll for sure. Even though I'm not a huge Elvis fan I do appreciate the fact that he was very talented and this CD showcases him to the hilt. This raw set of music demonstrates his talents as never before heard. Have fun trying to find a brand new copy of this gem without paying an arm and a leg!

Hell, that's different!.......2005-11-20

This is a collection of Elvis Presley's Sun Records recordings. It should be pointed out that the track listing here on Amazon is not correct. They have the track listing for a CD that is a reissue of an LP from the early '70s that was the first album to compile Elvis' Sun recordings. The CD that is pictured here features all the tracks listed here, plus an additional 12 tracks. Most of the additional tracks are alternate takes of songs already on the CD. These are the most important recordings of the early days of rock and roll. Highly recommended.

The true birth of rock 'n' roll.......2005-06-29

Rock 'n' roll was born on the day that a Mephis boy with little money but a whole lotta soul stepped into the recording studio to put onto vynil his version of Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right". He played it with an amount of charisma and speed that was never heard in the blues or gospel. This is where rock was born. Maybe blues and gospel artists had paved the way for this, but this is where everything truly came together. While subsequents artists certainly rocked harder and made rock 'n' roll and rockabilly better, none was more important to the genre than this fine young man. One must wonder if he had any idea of the cultural icon and beloved pop figure he would become when he stepped into the recording studio. Far from the greatest or most consistent rock 'n' roll or pop music, but definatly the most important. From the first notes of "That's All Right", he is the Elvis many know and love. More than just a vital cultural artifact - it's just great music.

Average customer rating:

The power and at the same time the magic of A Groove So Deep is
Wow!
A Rare find
What a Soul CD should sound like!!!!
Soul music with real musicians!

A Groove So Deep: The Live Sessions
Marlon Saunders
Manufacturer: Black Honey
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Enter My Mind
Breathe New Life
The Revelation is Now Televised
This Journey in
In This Life Together

ASIN: B000A1IKRO
Release Date: 2005-07-26

Tracks:

Afro Blue My Mind
I Wanna Get Next to You
Beginning of Never
Groove So Deep
Love's Interlude
Love Philosophy
Declaring Love
Inspiration
Groove...Somethin' Takin' Over
Keep Doin' What Ya Do
Pay It to the People (Keepers of the Gate)
Coolin'
Groove...Even Deeper

Album Description

Marlon Saunders, the soulful voice behind 2003's Enter My Mind, hailed by Billboard, Vibe and Straight No Chaser as one of the best soul recordings in recent years, gives us the greatly anticipated A Groove So Deep: The Live Sessions. Unlike most live albums, A Groove So Deep is not a recording of a performance before a screaming audience. For this project, Marlon decided to bring his band, Mood Control, together for a series of sessions in which the musicians experimented with different approaches to favorites from his critically-acclaimed debut release, Enter My Mind, and songs written especially for the new project. From over 14 hours of recorded material, Marlon selected just over 70 minutes to become A Groove So Deep: The Live Sessions.

Customer Reviews:

The power and at the same time the magic of A Groove So Deep is.......2006-08-12

A Groove So Deep: the live sessions is Marlon Saunders' second solo album. His first critically acclaimed album "Enter My Mind" was realeased in 2003. A Groove So Deep is a selection of live recordings where Marlon and his band Mood Control go as deep into the groove as their musical spirits and wits take them. And that's very deep in the heritage of black music.
A Groove So Deep contains thirteen tracks full of jazz, soul, funk and emotions. Five of them you'll recognize from "Enter My Mind" while Love Philosophy has previously been recorded with Jazzhole.The track Declaring Love might remind some of you of a superb edition of Soul and The City ,a column Marlon writes for SaveOurSoul.nl, which also has a spoken version for the radio broadcast. The power and at the same time the magic of A Groove So Deep is that it creates the feeling that Marlon and his wonderful musicians of Mood Control are giving a private concert, because you do not hear a screaming live audience on this CD.The only one(s) screaming and singing along will be you and your company while listening to these live sessions.(TA)

Stand Out Tracks: Afro Blue My Mind, I Wanna Get Next To You, The Beginning Of Never, A Groove So Deep, Love Philosophy, Declaring Love, Inspiration, Coolin'

Wow!.......2006-03-29

This guy is for real. I came up listening to all the great soul singers of the 60's and 70's and none of them has anything on Marlon Saunders. I have the studio album, Enter My Mind and it is great, but I am partial to well recorded live albums and this CD makes me want to go hear him live right away. I hope somebody brings him to Seattle soon. He is not well known out here so I would recommend he try to play something like Bumbershoot, the Labor Day music festival where a lot people would be able to hear him. A Groove So Deep and Coolin' are my favorite tracks on the CD but they are all slammin'. His band Mood Control sounds great too, real musicians.

A Rare find.......2005-10-25

I love Marlon Saunders and I especially love this new CD. I loved his first CD Enter My MInd but this live joint is amazing. I saw Marlon live with his band a few weeks ago at the Cutting Room in NYC with Angela Johnson. It was so amazing to see him live. He is so beautiful and sexy and he sang my favorite song Inspiration! If you want to hear good soul music then look no further. He is soul music's biggest star. I love you Marlon.

What a Soul CD should sound like!!!!.......2005-09-05

Marlon Saunders-Groove So Deep just raise the bar even higher Live Real Soul Music is slowly coming back..support this cd and you will truly enjoy every cut

Soul music with real musicians!.......2005-08-14

I loved Marlon Saunders' Enter My Mind, but A Groove So Deep is on another level. This is some raw soul music, where the whole band is together at the same time, not performing for an audience, but vibin' together as musicians. No matter how many times you listen to it, you will hear something new--somethin' cool the vocalists do creating background harmonies, somethin' funky happenin' on the bass or drums, somethin' jazzy on the piano, flute or sax, just the right rhythm on the congas--It may sound strange to say about a contemporary R & B recording, but Groove is actually exciting to listen to...This one's worth the money, because you'll want to play it again and again...just to see what you missed the last time.

Average customer rating:

Good Disc!

Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions
James Blood Ulmer
Manufacturer: Sin-Drome Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music

Modern Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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No Escape from the Blues: The Electric Lady Sessions
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Blues Preacher

ASIN: B00008OTU7
Release Date: 2003-04-22

Tracks:

Spoonful
I Want To Be Loved
Little Red Rooster
Dimples
I Just Want To Make Love To You
Evil
Death Letter
Fattening Frogs For Snakes
Money
I Love The Life I Live
Too Lazy To Work, Too Lazy to Steal
Double Trouble
I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)
Back Door Man

Album Description

Hyena Records is happy to announce the return to print of this critically acclaimed, Grammy Award-nominated album by celebrated guitarist James Blood Ulmer. Recorded at the legendary Sun Studios in Memphis, TN, and produced by Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, the date finds Ulmer returning to his roots to explore the blues. Digipak. 2003.

Customer Reviews:

Good Disc!.......2003-07-28

This is a good disc, with one caveat.

The singing is great, and the rhythm section is world class. These are some of the best songs ever written, and a terrific survey of blues songs/styles. "Dimples" and "Death Letter" are classic performances.

The one caveat is Vernon Reid's guitar playing. I could never tap into the music of "Living Color" -- it always seemed like someone had subtracted the rhythm. On this disc, Vernon tries to play blues guitar, and on a couple of songs he succeeds. On the others, his playing sounds like Ornette Coleman is sitting in while suffering from a middle ear disorder. This is a matter of taste, but it didn't suit me.

Tracks:

Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: Nature, The Gentlest Mother
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: There Came A Wind Like A Bugle
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: Why Do They Shut Me Out Of Heaven?
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: The World Feels Dusty
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: Heart, We Will Forget Him!
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: Dear March, Come In!
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: Sleep Is Supposed To Be
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: When They Come Back
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: I Felt A Funeral In My Brain
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: I've heard An Organ Talk
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: Going To Heaven
Copland: Twelve Poems Of Emily Dickinson: The Chariot
Rorem: Ten Songs: The Tulip Tree
Rorem: Ten Songs: The Midnight Sun
Rorem: Ten Songs: What Sparks And Wiry Cries
Rorem: Ten Songs: The Serpent
Rorem: Ten Songs: I Am Rose
Rorem: Ten Songs: For Poulenc
Rorem: Ten Songs: Little Elegy
Rorem: Ten Songs: Youth, Day, Old Age And Night
Rorem: Ten Songs: See How They Love Me
Rorem: Ten Songs: Visits To Saint Elizabeth's
Rorem: Cycle Of Holy Songs: Psalm 134
Rorem: Cycle Of Holy Songs: Psalm 142
Rorem: Cycle Of Holy Songs: Psalm 148
Rorem: Cycle Of Holy Songs: Psalm 150

Average customer rating:

Killer early work from R'n'B/R'n'R innovator

The Sun Sessions
Ike Turner & His Kings of Rhythm
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Memphis Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music

General | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Soul | R&B | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music
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1958-1959

ASIN: B00005LNH2
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Tracks:

Get It Over Baby - Ike Turner And The Kings Of Rhythm with Tommy Hodge
Dead Letter Blues - Johnny O'Neal
Hey Little Girl - Billy "The Kid" Emerson
I'm Gonna Forget About You Baby (Matchbox) - Ike Turner And The Kings Of Rhythm with Tommy Hodge
The Snuggle - Raymond Hill
No Teasing Around - Billy "The Kid" Emerson
Love Is A Gamble - Bonnie Turner
You Can't Be The One For Me - Ike Turner And The Kings Of Rhythm with Tommy Hodge
I'm Not Going Home - Billy "The Kid" Emerson
Ugly Woman - Johnny O'Neal
Bourbon Street Jam - Raymond Hill
when My Baby Quit Me #2 - Billy "The Kid" Emerson
Old Brother Jack - Bonnie Turner
How Long Will It Last - Ike Turner And The Kings Of Rhythm with Tommy Hodge
If Loving Is Believing - Billy "The Kid" Emerson
Way Down The Congo - Bonnie Turner and Raymond Hill
Why Should I Keep Trying - Ike Turner And The Kings Of Rhythm with Tommy Hodge
When My Baby Quit Me #1 - Billy "The Kid" Emerson
I'm Lonesome Baby - Ike Turner
The Woodchuck - Billy "The Kid" Emerson

Amazon.com

Rock & roll pioneer Ike Turner isn't a name usually associated with Sun Records, probably because he didn't actually put out any Sun singles under his own name. But Turner was the bandleader for two early '50s singles by blues bellower Billy "The Kid" Emerson (including the barreling novelty tune "The Woodchuck") and one by saxophonist Raymond Hill, and he recorded a dozen or so other sides that stayed in the archives for a while. Some of them went unreleased for a reason--as sharp as the band's rhythms are, a few of the vocalists aren't quite up to them--but singer Tommy Hodge roars like he's having a great old time, Turner's unmistakable whammy-bar attack foreshadows the way blues guitar evolved into rock guitar, and you can always hear the distant pulse of the sounds coming closer that would dominate Memphis for the next 20 years. --Douglas Wolk

Customer Reviews:

Killer early work from R'n'B/R'n'R innovator.......2001-08-31

Turner's fame as half of Ike & Tina, along with the infamy he gained from his ex-wife's biographical revelations, has all but erased any popular knowledge of his seminal role in the R 'n' B roots of Rock 'n' Roll. But seminal he was, from his pivotal role on 1951's "Rocket 88" (often considered the first rock 'n' roll record), to his piano backings for Little Milton and Junior Parker and his twangy, whammy-bar heavy guitar playing throughout the 50s, Turner was there, contributing ideas and stretching existing sounds into new territory.

As a recording artist, Turner hopped around quite a bit, recording for (or having his recordings leased to) a variety of labels throughout the 50s, including RPM, Modern, Chess and Sun. His nomadic wanderings make a label-centric compilation such as this more like a snapshot than a coherent view of his pre-Ike & Tina work. Even the liner notes (from Bill Dahl) have a difficult time providing context for these tracks without alluding to coincidental tracks (on other labels) that aren't here.

Most notably absent is the aforementioned "Rocket 88," recorded in the studio that would be renamed "Sun," and leased to Chess Records for release (and then, under the name of the vocalist, Jackie Brenston). Conversely, present on this disc are several late 50s recordings that Turner cut himself in St. Louis, and leased back to Sun for release. On balance, the absence of "Rocket 88," which is readily available elsewhere, isn't a bad trade for other, less well-anthologized tracks contained herein.

Of the actual Sun-cut tracks, there are many stand-outs, including several that weren't released at the time of their waxing. Billy "The Kid" Emerson vocalizes on several of the disc's highlights, including his Sun debut, the tremelo-and-blues "No Teasing Around." Here he mixes R 'n' B crooning (of the sort peaking with Specialty artists like Percy Mayfield and Joe Liggins) with a bit of the rockabilly swagger that would soon flourish. His follow-up, "The Woodchuck," features a lyric that riffs on the childhood rhyme, and is powered by a generous helping of Turner's stinging guitar.

"Way Down the Congo," features a vocal from Bonnie Turner that's oddly reminiscent of Yma Sumac (of all people), and a song structure that suggests the tempo changes found later in the Cadets' "Stranded in the Jungle." A reunion with Brenston in '53 produced the wild "Ugly Woman," on which Turner really exercises his (then) new-found guitar chops.

After leaving Memphis and cutting sides for Federal in '56 and '57, Turner self-produced recordings in St. Louis in 1958 and sold them to Sun. New lead vocalist Tommy Hodge had great style, and the Louis Jordan-like jump-blues of "I'm Gonna Forget About You Baby (Matchbox)" is very catchy. Carlson Oliver's rocking sax solo is a real standout, and Turner's whammy bar gets a full workout on "How Long Will It Last."

A number of complementary compilations such as Rhino's "I Like Ike," Jewel's "Ike Turner 1958-59," See For Miles' "Kings of Rhythm," Ace's "Rhythm Rockin' Blues" and Charly's "Trailblazer" each provide a piece of the pre-Ike & Tina puzzle. Varese's 20-track collection serves up seminal early sides recorded at Ground Zero (Sun Studios, Memphis) in '53 and '54 with a handful of late-50s recordings that show what Turner was up to in his St. Louis years. For those weaned on Ike's Ike & Tina years, this will revolutionize your view of his music. For those already familiar with his early work, this is plain great listening.

The Complete Sun Sessions
Average customer rating:

all Orbison fans collection will now be complete

Historically interesting but not truly essential early sides

The Complete Sun Sessions
Roy Orbison
Manufacturer: Varese Sarabande
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Pop | Styles | Music
Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
Contemporary | Vocal Pop | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
General | Rock | Styles | Music
Rockabilly | Oldies & Retro | Rock | Styles | Music
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The Complete Sun Singles

The Essential Sun Collection

The Essential Roy Orbison

Roy Orbison Sings/Memphis/Milestones

Sings Don Gibson/Hank Williams the Roy Orbison Way

ASIN: B00005LNGM
Release Date: 2001-06-26

Tracks:

Ooby Dooby - Roy Orbison And Teen Kings
Go! Go! Go! - Roy Orbison And Teen Kings
Trying To Get To You - Roy Orbison And Teen Kings
You're My Baby - Roy Orbison And Teen Kings
Rock House - Roy Orbison And Teen Kings
Sweet And Easy To Love
Devil Doll
Fools Hall Of Fame
A True Love Goodbye
Chicken-Hearted
I Like Love
Mean Little Mama
Problem Child
Domino (Cat Called Domino)
You Tell Me
I Give Up
One More Time
Lovestruck
The Clown
Claudette
I Was A Fool
The Cause Of It All
You're Gonna Cry
This Kind Of Love
It's Too Late
I Never Knew
Chicken-Hearted (alternate)
Problem Child (alternate)
The Clown (alternate)
This Kind Of Love (alternate)
Claudette (alternate)

Customer Reviews:

all Orbison fans collection will now be complete.......2001-09-16

When I think of Roy Orbison, many songs come to mind ~ "Only The Lonely", "Dream Baby (How Long Must I Dream)", "Oh, Pretty Woman", "Crying", "It's Over", "Blue Bayou", "Candy Man", "Mean Woman Blues" and "Running Scared", recorded on the Monument Record label...none of these tunes appear on this Varese Sarabande release, but the high point of this CD is the raw talent you can hear...just like early Elvis, the diamond is there, just needs to be cut and polished.

Interestingly enough, Orbison had that driving style in his voice from early on in his career...the only draw back was he needed better material, much of it sounded the same...you can tell the artist that recorded with Sun Records ~ Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins and Elvis Presley, each artist had a very similar sound...only difference with Orbison, his vocal range and voice was better than the others, proved this when he would hit some high notes, that other singers would just look at, and say no way...the exception is when Elvis sang "It's Now Or Never", Presley sounded so much like Roy, it was difficult to separate the two.

Great Job by ~ Cary E. Mansfield & Bill Dahl (producers of compilation), Dan Hersch (digitally remastered), Sun Records and Varese Sarabande Records/Varese Vintage...presenting and sharing those early years of rock & roll featuring the original style and songs of ~ ROY ORBISON!

Total Time: 66:24 on 31 Tracks ~ Varese Sarabande 302-066-233-2 ~ (2001)

Historically interesting but not truly essential early sides.......2001-08-02

Unlike Orbison's fraternity brothers (Elvis, Jerry Lee, Carl and Johnny), "The Sun Sound" sound didn't provide definition for his career. His famous labelmates delivered to Sun more fully formed renditions of themselves: Jerry Lee Lewis found his piano-pounding swagger, Carl Perkins his rock-hillbilly-country crossover, Johnny Cash his train rhythms and driving baritone voice, and Elvis, well... Elvis. Orbison, on the other hand, had his voice, and the beginnings of his songwriting, but hadn't yet developed a sound that particularly suited either. The vital elements that would propel him to artistic stardom were awaiting his move to Monument a few years later.

His stint at Sun (1956-58) evidenced plenty of talent, and many of the tracks he recorded at the Memphis studio rise above the rectangular-peg-round-hole mismatch. Still, the overall impact of his Sun sessions is 'talent in waiting'. His slower blues numbers (replete with rockabilly hiccups) simply don't provide the balladry that he later leveraged to such incredible effect.

There are many memorable tracks, including the hit single, "Ooby Dooby," and the Cramps-inspiring "Domino (Cat Called Domino)," but they fair better without comparison to his labelmates concurrent work, and his own breakout work of a few years later. His demo of "Claudette" (complete with a melodic screw-up) suggests it was written with the Everly Brothers in mind, as it fits their voices better than Orbison's.

Numerous tracks (including "Claudette") feature Orbison alone with his guitar, providing a special opportunity to hear the beauty of his voice without the orchestral surround that would become his trademark. Among the alternate versions, the half-spoken "Chicken Hearted," with extra lyrics missing from the officially issued track is a treat. The sax line that propels both versions is sadly uncredited, as the wicked, wicked tone is just the sort that made early rock really rock so hard.

Orbison's Sun-era work has been anthologized numerous times on both vinyl and compact disc. Whether or not Varese's generous 31 tracks (about 66 minutes on a single disc) constitute a "complete" collection, as denoted by the title, is arguable. Bear Family's German import, "The Sun Years 1956-58" sports a lower track count (28), but includes a pair of alternate/demo takes ("Ooby Dooby" and "Claudette") seemingly not found here. The 36-track, 2-disc, import "Essential Sun Collection" features an additional alternate take of "Tryin' to Get to You."

These minor differences are a quibble to the casual early-rock fan, but important to Orbison collectors (who are more likely to be interested in this Sun-era material in the first place). Like many of Varese's recent Sun collections, this fills a niche in the domestic issue catalog, saving those who want a reasonable taste of the early material from having to buy the entire meal at import prices. And to be fair, this is perhaps everything but the complimentary toothpick on your way out the door. New liner notes from Bill Dahl provide a good overview of Orbison's early career, and the photos (especially of vintage concert posters) provide excellent atmosphere.

The Sun Studio Sessions
Average customer rating:
The Sun Studio Sessions
Elvis Presley
Manufacturer: Wave Imports
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music
General | Oldies | Pop | Styles | Music
Rock | Imports | Stores | Music
ASIN: B000CY3UDS
Release Date: 2006-11-28

Album Description

Fairly self explanatory- every track the King ever cut for the legendary Sam Phillips at the equally legendary Sun label in Memphis, prior to his signing to RCA. Here are the roots of rock and roll at their purest and most undiluted- when the country boy picked up his guitar, entered a studio and crystallised the whole essence of what was about to become America's own and greatest contribution to music. He may not have been the first to rock and roll, but boy did he make an impact. Practically everyone in the world knows the name Elvis- or at least should- and here are 31 of the reasons why, including acetates, live tracks, radio sessions and alternate takes.The complete Sun recordings by Elvis have been remastered in classic Rev-Ola style. Includes 6 bonus tracks, 'Fool Fool Fool', 'Shake Rattle & Roll', 'Hearts Of Stone' (Live), 'I Got A Women' (Live), 'Tweedle Dee' (Live) and 'Maybellene' (Live). 2006.

Average customer rating:

Good Party Record but Hardly Essential
Raw and Soulful
Chicago at Sunrise
Blood Shows a Side That I Always Knew Was There

Memphis Blood: The Sun Sessions
James Blood Ulmer
Manufacturer: Label M.
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Blues | Styles | Music

Electric Blues Guitar | Blues | Styles | Music

Modern Blues | Blues | Styles | Music

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | Funk | R&B | Styles | Music
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No Escape from the Blues: The Electric Lady Sessions
Birthright

ASIN: B00005NNOK
Release Date: 2001-09-04

Tracks:

Spoonful
I Want To Be Loved
Little Red Rooster
Dimples
I Just Want To Make Love To You
Evil
Death Letter
Fattening Frogs For Snakes
Money
I Love The Life I Live
Too Lazy To Work, Too Nervous To Steal
Doublt Trouble
I Asked For Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)
Back Door Man

Amazon.com

Some of his previous work hinted that free-jazz guitarist James Blood Ulmer could do something interesting in the blues form, but Memphis Blood may surprise his admirers with its impressive display of respect and knowledge in a set of much-loved blues from the repertoires of Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, John Lee Hooker and, above all, Howlin' Wolf, the point of origin of five of the selections. There is nothing invariable about the Ulmerising process: the bursts of noise guitar in "I Just Want to Make Love to You" and "I Asked for Water (She Gave Me Gasoline)" are outnumbered by the less dramatic, more conventional Chicago blues arrangements of "Little Red Rooster," "Evil," and Otis Rush's "Double Trouble," and a long but compelling reading of Son House's "Death Letter." David Barnes's harmonica and producer Vernon Reid's guitar are stylistically right on the money, too, but the album's chief revelation is that Ulmer is a natural blues singer. --Tony Russell

Customer Reviews:

Good Party Record but Hardly Essential.......2002-08-11

Solid and well (over?)produced but ultimately unremarkable. Like Buddy Guy's recent "Sweet Tea", Ullmer is putting himself in a no-win situation. A fine and inventive guitarist, what can he bring to the Chess canon that Robert Lockwood or Hubert Sumlin or Willie Johnson or Pat Hare haven't already accomplished? The answer is not much besides a good-natured delivery, which works well on some songs but fails in others. For example, we don't really get the impression that evil is going on in "Evil", nor do we get the feeling that his woman is really lying on the cooling board in "Death Letter. And do we really need to hear another cover version of "Money?"

Like another reviewer remarked, these are all songs you can hear cranked out by a band of moonlighting dilletante fat white accountants at any faux-blues bar in America on a Friday night. Ullmer plays reverential and straightforward and doesn't really take it to the next level the way you might expect of someone who has played with Rashied Ali and Ornette Coleman.

Raw and Soulful.......2001-12-04

I've never listened to much blues music, but I heard this one playing at a record store and had to have it. The sound is raw as if these musicians got together in the studio and just started playing from the hip with the red light on. I don't think they did much in the way of mixing, editing, or second takes. It's not the cleanest, crispest album I've heard but man it is good listening! Without a blues background, I can't really critique this album nor can I compare it to anything I've heard. But I can say that this album has opened a whole new genre in my music library.

Chicago at Sunrise.......2001-11-21

Weird--a lot of this is Chicago blues from the pen of Willie Dixon. "Double Trouble" is the Otis Rush classic; "Fattening Frogs for Snakes" is the Sonny Boy Williamson song. Doesn't have a lot to do with Memphis musically or spiritually, in my opinion, but it's good stuff nonetheless. I mean, they don't play it like Memphis guys would and the repertoire itself doesn't much suggest Sun Records or Memphis-style blues. It's Chicago blues as it should be played, full-out, and mostly excellent if occasionally a little boring for my taste. There's some nice guitar but it's not quite adventurous enough from a man who has explored harmolodics with the likes of Coleman and Blythe. On a lot of the classic Chess blues records, Robert Lockwood Jr. plays some really interesting jazzy stuff and you woulda thought Ulmer would have taken that and expanded upon it. There's a certain purity here and lack of detail and definition that I guess is intended as a kind of statement--they just chop away at these tunes. Blood sings pretty well but he isn't quite singer enough to pull off "Double Trouble" or "Evil"; however, this band generates enough momentum to get around that. For the most part this is predictable material that any bunch of fat white guys at Huey's in midtown Memphis would do on a Sunday afternoon. Ulmer does it much better and I guess the point is the predictability of it all. "Death Letter" is a masterpiece and "Too Lazy to Work, Too Nervous to Steal" is charming--sounds kinda like that old Buster Brown version of "Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby." Memphis isn't known for blues any more, although there are some exceptions like Alvin Youngblood Hart, and the Fat Possum school of music (from down in the "hill country" southeast of Memphis and east of the Delta) doesn't really have a lot to do with "blues" as it's usually known; the Fat Possum guys are more like atonal one-chord frat-boy whomp, cool if you like that sorta thing, boring if you don't. Nonetheless, sending Ulmer to Sun Studios is an audacious concept that works. I wonder what they think of it down in Memphis. Nicely retrograde in an age when the most commercial music coming out of the Bluff City is rap. How quickly our musical revolutionaries--that rhymes with "millionairies"--age.

Blood Shows a Side That I Always Knew Was There.......2001-11-14

What a great CD. This man is a versatile genius! I get tired of people criticizing Blood's vocals - and here he turns in one of his best vocal performances. Blood's South Carolina blues roots come out in this wonderful CD. Vernon Reid and Charles Burnham sound great on here too! I always thought Blood had a lot of Howlin wolf and Muddy Waters in him.

All of these blues classics are interpereted in Blood's unique style. I particularly like the way he gives a nod to much of his avante garde work but still sticks to the blues. One of the best blues CD's of 2001.

Tracks:

Four
Split Kick
East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)
A Night In Tunisia
Suddenly It's Spring
Summertime
S-h.i.n.e.
Of Thee I Sing (previously unissued/incomplete take)
Of Thee I Sing (previously unissued)
Of Thee I Sing (Master Take)
Of Thee I Sing (previously unissued/incomplete take)
Of Thee I Sing (previously unissued)
Of Thee I Sing (previously unissued)

Tracks:

A Handful Of Stars
Love Is Here To Stay (previously unissued)
Love Is Here To Stay
Serenade In Blue
Blues For Mary Jane
There Will Never Be Another You
You're Blase
Too Close For Comfort
Like Someone In Love
How About You? (previously unissued)
How About You? (previously unissued/incomplete take)
How About You? (Master Take)

Tracks:

Where Or When
Woody 'N' You (previously unissued)
Woody 'N' You (master take)
Woody 'N' You (previously unissued/incomplete take)
Smiles
Three Little Words
But Beautiful (previously unissued)
All Gods Chillun Got Rhythm (Master Take)
All Gods Chillun Got Rhythm (previously unissued)
Time After Time (previously unissued)
Time After Time (Master Take)
This Can't Be Love

Customer Reviews:

One of my random favorites.......2007-02-22

I ADORE THIS MUSIC. I don't know how else to put it. This is some of my favorite jazz music, it's got that sweet, swinging, mellow, cool feel of West Coast jazz from the late 50's & early '60's. Stan Gets, at this point, was at the height of his powers as an improvisor. The sidemen may not be the most famous players in the world, but for some reason, Stan Levy, the pianist, lays down some of the most swinging sounds you'll ever hear. These were clearly jam sessions, they mainly played standards, and allowed themselves plenty of space to improvise, but that takes nothing away from the impact of the music. Yes, there are some repeated tracks (which an above lame critic complains about) which I simply programme out when I listen. You still get over two hours of music, if you omit the alternate takes of songs. I can't reccomend this highly enough to anyone who likes the lighter West Coast feel. I probably have about 1000 jazz albums, and this set is easily in my top 10. BUY IT, SUCKER! JUST A LITTLE OVER 20 BUCKS, AND IT'S OUT OF PRINT!!!

Tha master in west vein.......2003-02-18

The sound in his west coast days.
It doesn't come more better than this.
Applause to Conte Candoli, Stan Levey and the other californians too.

poor value, get this music & more on other CD's.......2002-04-23

There is much good music here but some of this 3 cd box set CD is duplicated on the more recent released single CD's "West Coast Jazz", "The Steamer" & "Award Winner". Those CD's, better mixes with more bits, contain less duplication of outtakes and more other songs, particularly more ballads (see my reviews).

For the same price, the prudent Getz collector will get the three Cool classics listed above, instead.

This music is mostly faster bebop.

At last..these Superb sessions are Finally out on C.D.!!!!!!.......1998-12-29

These Mid-Fifties Sessions by Stan-The-Man, are the most frequently played in my collection. Their enjoyment being enhanced by his accompanying musicians (Conte Candoli,Lou Levy,Leroy vinnegar & Stan Levey(D)). Excellent West Coast Jazz Epitomising the Style and the time!

Album Review:

Album Review

Album Review