13. The Sun Records Collection.

 Hello again friends! As I type I am listening to CD number three of this 1994 compilation of music recorded at the "Birthplace of Rock and Roll". The discs progress through early blues, country and rockabilly and you can hear how rock and roll was influenced by the output of this early indie label. I don't know what the established pecking order was back in the 1950s for recording companies, but this one definitely made a splash. I am reminded of how Sub Pop took a new genre of music and catapulted it to the forefront of the music world's consciousness in the 1990s, changing the landscape of the music to follow. I can't say that is an accurate parallel, but I am out of coffee, so let's just go with that.

 This being a 3 CD set, it takes a while to listen to it all (there are 74 songs). I was listening to Disc 1 yesterday and made some notes. I put a post it on my phone with some titles, and a thought or two that I would want to write about. I just went to locate the note, and it wasn't on my phone. It wasn't in the pocket of my hoodie. I started to get a little concerned. I could picture my wife finding this note with chicken scratch all over it and trying to piece together whether it was evidence of wrongdoing on my part. Why would I be worried? Because I had copied the title of one of the tracks down, and there are no notes beside it. It is just plainly written at the bottom of the note. "I'm Gonna Murder My Baby." Where might that scenario have led, had I not shortly thereafter found the note in the pocket of my jeans?  I can only imagine the furor that would erupt if an artist were to release a song with that title today. Although apparently it is OK to key up a cheating spouse's brand new truck. Go figure.

 The first disc is early blues and country. We have a couple of tracks from our old friend Howlin' Wolf, one from B.B. King, and a really interesting tune called "Swamp Root". Harmonica Frank Floyd was the artist, and he sounds a little crazy when he sings. He slurs his S's much in the same way that Sylvester the cat would. The narrative follows the man and his girl on a trip through the swamp, where all sorts of horrible things happen to the girl, and he finds it hilarious. The net result is the woman leaving the swamp distraught and naked, and he is relaying the sequence of events, probably at the bar. Swamp Root was some kind of herbal tonic back in the day, so it must have messed him up. The resulting trip through the swamp may well have resembled the acid riddled Manson family chasing their victims on Cielo Drive, but as I said, I am out of coffee, and it is putting me into a dark mood. I must rectify this situation soon. The track "Tiger Man" takes us to the jungle. The song opens with Tarzan like calls, and heads right into the blues. Picturing Tarzan as a Memphis bluesman is a funny image, in my opinion.

 There is a country tune called "Make Room In the Lifeboat for Me" that caught my attention. That's a powerful metaphor, now, isn't it. Obviously, his plan has hit a snag of some kind. I hope things worked out for the guy. It's just good old country, the kind when you play it backwards you get your dog back, you get your car back, you get your house back, etc. Kinda depressing if you worry about it too much, but it is very easy to listen to.

 The second disc has many tunes that I already knew, starting out with "That's All Right" by Elvis, continuing to several Johnny Cash tunes, and a few tracks by Carl Perkins. I was less familiar with Perkins, but knew that he was responsible for some of the biggest tunes, although they were made more famous by other artists. He was clearly a powerhouse for the rockabilly scene, although he didn't seem to bring as much oomph to it as Elvis did. Listen to the two versions of "Blue Suede Shoes" as proof.  A standout on the second disc is the Miller Sisters offering "Someday You Will Pay". It sounds like the Dixie Chicks on speed, but it is excellent. Perkins also delivers a good country tune called "Let the Jukebox Keep on Playing", that features some tasty steel guitar and nice fiddle parts. 

 The final disc continues in this vein, after fifty or so rockabilly country songs they start to blend together. But Jerry Lee Lewis and his raucous piano dominate the third disc. There are a couple of Roy Orbison tracks too, I always loved his voice, it had strength and was instantly recognizable. Charlie Rich sounds a lot like Elvis, which was probably both a curse and a blessing for him. I knew very little about Mr. Rich, and was surprised to find that he was white when I looked him up on Google. I then realized that I had been thinking of Charlie Pride. I'm leaving to get that coffee as soon as I finish typing. My favourite tune that I hadn't heard before was by Onie Wheeler. "Jump Right Outta This Jukebox" is an old style country piece that features great singing and subdued rockabilly guitar and rhythm. As an aside, Mr. Wheeler had his biggest hit later on, in the 70's with "John's Been Shucking My Corn". It's worth a listen as well. The lyrics actually made me snort with laughter. That rascal John. 

 These are great old tunes; as I said, the collection runs together after a while, but the big names that Sun Records put on the map are all here, with some lesser known treats thrown in as well. I don't think I'll be giving this collection heavy listening, but it is easy to see why Rolling Stone included this on the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, placing it at number 308.

Buy it here.