All too often, the incredible legacy of Sun Records is boiled down to five names:
Elvis Presley,
Johnny Cash,
Roy Orbison,
Carl Perkins and
Jerry Lee Lewis. There's good reason for that, of course, but they are far from the whole story. Several other box sets in various configurations have attempted to drive that point home, but this British three-disc summation does so in a clear and concise manner that ultimately serves to emphasize the others' contributions. Rather than lay out the history of
Sam Phillips' label chronologically, the compilers broke Sun's output up into three categories that they dub "Rockin'," "Cotton Crop Country" and "Beale Street Blues." Three of the aforementioned
rock & roll architects can be found on disc one (
Elvis, unnamed on the packaging, and
Cash turn up only as members of
the Million Dollar Quartet), but some of the real stars are the ones whose names don't shine quite as brightly:
Jackie Brenston, whose "Rocket 88" is considered by some to be the first
rock & roll record;
Charlie Rich,
Bill Justis ("Raunchy") and the wild
Billy Lee Riley ("Flying Saucers Rock 'n' Roll). The second disc is given over to those mainstream honky-tonkers that found their way to 706 Union in Memphis, some of whom enjoyed greater fame elsewhere (
Webb Pierce,
Jeannie C. Riley,
Dave Dudley,
Cash), others whose moment in the sun, so to speak, began and ended right here. And then there's disc three, which spotlights the
blues titans who
Phillips championed, often when no one else would: most notably
Howlin' Wolf, but also the great
Rufus Thomas (who would soon be instrumental in establishing another crucial Memphis label, Stax),
Little Milton and
James Cotton. Even this set doesn't tell the entire Sun story, but it provides considerably more than a cursory glimpse. ~ Jeff Tamarkin, All Music Guide
