Customer Reviews

Definitive Collection

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Jerry Lee Lewis compilations have often been lackluster affairs. The bulk of them focus on his years at Sun, while others are cheap and messy overviews of his country material. Seldom do these compilations justice to the performer Jerry Lee Lewis really was. In essence Jerry was a Southern man, a true country star. His songs are honest and raw tales about the ups and downs on the wild side, they don't call him the Killer for nothing.

Jerry started his career with some immensely successful rockabilly sides. He was the only true competitor to one Elvis Presley. Lewis could have gone in to history as the King of Rock & Roll if it weren't for his highly controversial marriage to 13 year old kin. Because R&R was marketed to kids radio stations refused to play his music once the scandal got out. This chain of events turned out to be a curse and a blessing at the same time. Although it slowed down his career it did push Jerry into country recordings. As it turned out this is were his true strength lied.

This taken into account the decision to include only a hand full of his Sun material is completely justified. It highlights only his biggest hits for the label before moving on to his Mercury of the sixties and seventies. The first of these selections "What's Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out Of Me)" immediately illustrates this is a much more edgy and mature Lewis. Gone are the dance crazes of "Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On" and gone is the teen romance of "High School Confidential", only to be replaced by tales of a man struggling to get through his life. These are songs of a man who realizes life isn't as clear cut as it seems in High School. Titles as "She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left Of Me)" and "One Has My Name (The Other Has My Heart)" speak for itself on that matter.

One could argue that a single disc could never cover the essential Jerry Lee Lewis. Too much highlights of his career are missing. Yet for a single disc, with an insightful 16 page booklet, and Rhino's "All Killer No Filler" now out of print, this is the only compilation around that gives you an introduction to the man that does him justice. It's a Killer!

The Music? Five stars without a doubt...marvellous, fantastic, prime-Killer cuts, the absolute top man....

But...Universal (zero stars, hence the average rating) have been at it again.... following on from the consistent (and unwelcome) party trick played by UK Spectrum in featuring 'wrong tracks' on their JLL collections, most recently in respect of the '1963-77' Mercury set "Many Sides Of JLL", which includes a 1989 (movie-soundtrack) recording of 'Crazy Arms', their US colleagues have shown that they are equally adept at screwing things up...

Hard on the heels of "Many Sides" comes, on Universal's US imprint Hip-O Records, a fine looking collection called "The Defintive Jerry Lee Lewis", featuring, as a sticky label proclaims, "His 24 Greatest Hits 1957-81", taking us through from 'Whole Lotta Shakin' (plus five other Sun tracks) and concluding with a couple of Elektra masters, sandwiching sixteen of Jerry Lee's biggest Mercury hits.

A good looking, 16 page booklet, fronted, mercifully, by a highly suitable circa 1970 photo, with extensive, well-written (if predictable, in terms of content), liner notes. So far so good, although strange that the chronological order of the recordings is compromised by 'inverting' "What's Made Milwaukee Famous" and "Another Place Another Time" - be that as it may, a minor blemish on what appears to be, indeed, a 'Definitive' collection; the sort of thing you'd happily pass on to a friend as an 'introduction' to JLL, to convey something of the scope and depth of his career to those who haven't got beyond 1958...

And then, just when you thought they'd cracked it..

You get to 1973 and, sandwiched between "Sometimes A Memory Ain't Enough" and "He Can't Fill My Shoes", is a 'boisterous' "Drinkin' Wine Spo-dee o'dee" (okay, again messing slightly with the chronology, but perhaps forgivable), originally released, as the booklet tells us, on
Mercury single 73374 and a #20 country, #41 pop hit. Well, sort of. What you actually get is a 1963 recording originally outed on the 1966 album 'Memphis Beat'.

Fantastic music; Jerry Lee in his prime, marred only by the serial-spoilers at Universal. One is always left with the impression that the attitude is 'just get it out; make a buck; why should we care?'

This cd includes the absolute best of Jerry Lee Lewis , awesome Country and Rock n Roll tracks that remain fresh to this day , highly recommended.

I like this collection as it includes only a few wild Jerry. The sound is very good also.

"Jerry Lee Lewis: The Definitive Collection," (2005) might not be quite as definitive as his most knowledgeable fans could wish. Still, for us just plain old fans, it sure delivers a lot of favorites. It's a good showcase for "The Killer," as this booming piano player, an outstanding rockabilly musician, has long been called, and will do very well for some of us, who love his work, without necessarily wishing to live next door to the artist, and his oddly assorted wives. Furthermore, there can be no doubt that he's still a musical force to be reckoned with, for anybody who caught his recent explosive live Grammy performance.

Lewis first was widely noticed after a December 4, 1956 Sun Studios recording session of Carl Perkins's: he was Perkins's pianist. And, after Sun boss/kingmaker Sam Phillips turned off the mics, Elvis Presley and Johnny Cash, his studio's greatest stars, who were there just visiting, began a jam session with Perkins. The wavy-haired Lewis was there to pound that piano. Businessman Phillips was inspired to call the local paper to memorialize the event, and next day the "Memphis Press-Scimitar" had a picture and story, headlined "The Million Dollar Quartet." The rest is history: before you knew it, Lewis's second Sun single, 1957's "Whole Lot of Shakin'Going On," sold millions, as did his follow-up, "Great Balls of Fire." Then the man, already third time around, married his thirteen year old cousin Myra. His rockabilly career never really recovered: he was forced to retreat into country, which might not have been the worst thing for him. But, anyway, despite the man's wild and crazy life, he's the only member of that quartet still here.

This CD gives us, of course, his two great early hits; also a number of songs from later in his career that reflect where he was at: "What Made Milwaukee Famous," "Drinking Wine Spo-Dee O'Dee," "Middle Age Crazy," "Another Place Another Time," and Kris Kristofferson's classic, "Me and Bobby McGee." You might not be crazy about the man or his music, but he was there at the beginning, and he's still here; the man has not yet left the room.

Good selection of tunes spanning Jerry Lee's entire career until very recently. Remastering done well.

Part rock, part country and all good. This is the best of Lewis' career. He may go on but this is when he was in his "sleazy" prime. Love it.

The unsung KING OF ROCK N ROLL!!!!! The best of the best and still going after the rest are gone.

Jerry Lee Lewis redefined rock n roll and boogie woogie during the late 50s, spawning a chain of several top billboard hits including Great Balls of Fire, A Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On, and Breathless. Lee was arguably the second fastest and most flamboyant pianist of the 20th century, only second to Liberace. Jerry Lee could play the piano like he invented it, he knew every trick behind it, what made it produce the most upbeat sound. Lees music was like a slap in the face to classical pianists and his highly controversial piano burnings and rebellious attitude, which only added to his fame. Sure Lee isn't a classical pianist, and his style isn't quite anything you would find in any other pianist, but that is what makes Lewis the genius that he is, he invented his own style, combining the old fashion boogie woogie bass line, with the at the time, new sensation rock n roll. Lee played with the energy and soul of a gospel singer, and incorporated much of this style into his music as well. Unfortunately his success was cut short when his controversial marriage to his cousin was made public, and he was shamed by the public and decided to leave Sun records and stay in the shadows for a few years. Lee was later rediscovered in the late 60s, which was after he divorced his cousin, and started playing country, which might not have been as big as his earlier hits, but it still was good, and showed Jerry Lee was a man of many styles. Of course, Lee did grow up a country boy in the deep south, and grew up with country. Now Lee might have been no Ray Charles, or Liberace, or even Elvis, but he played with just as much enthusiasm and soul, and this collection showcases a wide variety of his songs, spanning his early years with Sun, to his later success in the 70s and 80s. If you are a die hard Lewis fan, you will probably be disappointed, as this is only a small slice of what Lewis produced, but if you are just a contemporary fan who admires his work, this will really be all you need. And honestly if it weren't for his controversial marriage, Lewis may have gained almost as many billboard hits as Elvis. Regardless, Lewis is one of the best pianists of all time, and has a different sound that makes him one of the strongest performers of the rock n roll era.

For me, this really is the definitive Jerry Lee collection. I've listened to it about 10 times and love it every time. The "killer" really is one of a kind.