"rock'n'roll, country, blues, jazz, soul & classic pop"

Hip-O Records present one of the best "Ultimate Collections" to date. What can one say about Charlie Rich - "The Silver Fox", who mastered virtually every style and vernacular of American music from rock'n'roll to classic pop, from country to blues, from supper club jazz to soul.

A few stand outs - "LONELY WEEKENDS" (1959) clearly his first classic - "WHO WILL THE NEXT FOOL BE?" (1961) high octane on rhythm & blues, with perfect lyrics and arrangements - "RIVER STAY AWAY FROM MY DOOR" (1963) this rendition has to be one of the best ever, Rich completely throws himself into the mood and the rest is "perfection" - "A FIELD OF YELLOW DAISIES (1965) in top form, and working on all cylinders for this ballad - "YOU CAN HAVE HER" (1965) no other artist can top this performance, as Charlie's talent comes shining through - "BEHIND CLOSE DOORS" (1972) and "THE MOST BEAUTIFUL GIRL" (1973) both charted number one on the Country Charts.

Charlie Rich was one of the most talented artist ever to record, his voice and piano complemented each other. Rich painted his thoughts and feelings through music, as you will hear and see through the - "Ultimate Collection of Charlie Rich"!

Total Time: 48:54 on 18 Tracks/ Hip-O Records - 012 157 597 2 (2000)

Chased Success and Finally Caught It

Charlie Rich was a regional favorite both before and after "Lonely Weekends" sparked a minor dance craze at the University of Tennessee ("the U T"). As he bounced from one record company to another, he rerecorded his non-hit records until, well, they were hits (to varying degrees). "On My Knees" and "Midnite Blues" (not included on this album) were two; there was more than one effort with "Sittin' and Thinkin'" and alternate takes of "Big Boss Man". There is a slow, growly blues version of "There Won't Be Anymore". This album is a fair representation of Charlie's best. For those of us who grew up in the listening area of Memphis radio, when Charlie hit it big in 1973 with "Behind Closed Doors", we thought it was high time that he got the recognition he deserved. His "countrypolitan" sound lasted for several years. I would recommend this album to everybody.

Genre-busting, hard living, heartbreaking Charlie Rich

Charlie Rich is a renegade of the 1950s southern roots rock tradition that produced Elvis, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Waylon Jennings and Jerry Lee Lewis, all of whom (except Elvis) had to balance themselves commercially between the markets of rock and country. Charlie, although equal in talent to any of them had more trouble finding his commercial niche, and so is less well known, but in a way that makes him more interesting today.

Charlie Rich was an already prematurely silver-haired country crooner in the early 70s when he finally scored big with "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl", the latter of which topped both the country and pop charts in 1973. Well, he didn't start out that way. On the back cover you see him as he was in his Sun Studio days, Elvis-handsome but much more rugged-looking, and he sounds it too. The collection follows his career from 1959 to his 1970s heyday, and a powerful, moving and (one senses) personal 1991 swan song "Feel Like Going Home", but it is the 1959-1965 material that is the goldmine here.

Charlie sings (like Elvis, but stronger), writes (sometimes) and plays piano, and the tracks are organized chronologically. There are no weak tracks, but these are the ones I like best, and I have indicated how they show off his boundary-busting diversity. #1 "Lonely Weekend" (rock 'n roll), #6 "There's Another Place I Can't Go" (country/R&B), #7 "Big Boss Man" (blues/rock 'n roll - and funny as heck, you'll want to play this one over and over), #10 "She Called Me Baby" (country ballad), #11 Fast-talking, slow walking, good looking "Mohair Sam" (R&B), #16 "Behind Closed Doors" (country), #17 "The Most Beautiful Girl" (country-pop and still sounds great), and #18 "Feel Like Going Home" (gospel). For those of you who may have grown up in the New York area in the 60s, you'll recognize Charlie's version of "Big Boss Man" as the theme song of WMCA's Dandy Dan Daniels. But I never knew it was Charlie Rich until now, and I'll bet you didn't either - what a find!