Search - Jerry Lee Lewis :: 25 All Time Greatest Sun Recordings

Seminal Rock 'n' Roll Recordings

hyperbolium | Earth, USA | 12/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Given how well anthologized Lewis' recordings for Sun are, anyone issuing yet another collection is going to find themselves the target of criticism. Why these 25 tracks? Why so much duplication of material that's readily available elsewhere? Why only one disc? Tough questions in a market that has been glutted with this material for many years.On the other hand, what Varese's included here is the Real Stuff: pristinely transferred original singles recordings. The 25 tracks include all of Lewis major chart hits (both pop and country) during his six-year tenure at Sun. All of the best-known early titles (and those most overplayed by Oldies radio) are here, "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," "Great Balls of Fire" (which, amazingly, makes an entire band out of only a piano and a guitar), "Breathless," and "High School Confidential." Non-charting B-sides such as his cover of Roy Orbison's "Down the Line," and previously unissued rarities like "Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee" show that The Killer had more good material than radio and the public were able to soak up at the time. Throughout the recordings, the support from guitarist Roland Janes is stellar, and drummer J.M. Van Eaton mostly keeps pace with Lewis' manic performances.The wealth and breadth of material that Lewis recorded for Sun couldn't possibly be represented in only 25 tracks, and Varese clearly knows this. They've chosen to focus on Lewis' seminal contributions to the birth of rock 'n' roll, seasoned with a few ballad, pop novelties and country tunes. It's a common musical characterization of Lewis, and though perhaps not fully revealing of his talent, what's here is sure to please most listeners. As a single-disc summary of Lewis' Sun years, this is as good as any and better than many. For the whole story, save your pennies and buy Bear Family's comprehensive 8-disc box set."

The place to start

Tony Thomas | SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL USA | 12/03/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For those of us who cannot afford the Box sets of Jerry Lee Lewis, this is a good place to start. It contains the early hits that JLL made when he burst upon the national scene in the 195os, and by and large it contains most of the Good sides he recorded for Sun Records. Sun records kept Jerry recording tunes throughout the fifties and early 1960s and did not release many of those sides until the 1970s or 1980s. Despite the fact that there were many great tracks there, it is a good thing that almost none of those recordings were released on this Sun Collection.



This is the stuff that broke big. Several of these songs were number one hits on the pop, country, and R&B charts at the time.

You get a lot of the youthful energy with spare production. You get just a lot of JLL here.



Jerry Lee Lewis is a serious artist. He has continued performing until today and like any serious artist he developed over time. I believe in the 1960s he was the best Rock and Roll performer ever, but unfortunately his music wasn't being picked up by many people and, sadly, Rock came to replace rock and role. Likewise, I think some of the sides he released in the 1970s which were more in a Southern groove were great music in and of themselves. Finally, his great country recordings of the late 1970s and early 1980s are among the finest recordings anyone has ever done in Country music. Finally, there are some real gems on some of the albums produced by Jimmy Burton that the Killer has released in the last 20 years.



One needs to have it all, or suffer the fact that our society is so backward as not to supply every citizen with all of the JLL that can be absorbed. However, this collection is a good place to start, a good place if you are interested in the history and development of rock and roll. Maybe you do just have to get it all!"

Primo from start to end!!!

J. Lovins | 09/09/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Another reviewer gave this CD one star because all of this material has been issued elsewhere. That would be like rating any compilation by the Stones, Beatles, CCR, Chuck Berry, Dylan, etc. as poor merely because you may have all this material on other discs. Well, if you do already have these songs, don't buy the disc. However, if you don't already own these 25 gems, buy the CD, sit back, and git gone with the Killer! The sound is great, and there isn't one second of sonic fat to be trimmed from this collection. This is a truly amazing compilation of rock and roll and country tunes from one of the industry's greatest song stylists."