Customer Reviews

Feel Like Going Home: The Essential Charlie Rich

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If you own nothing by Charlie Rich, start here. This is a good sampling of some of his greatest tracks from the many labels he recorded for. Charlie Rich is the most misunderstood, underrated recording artist in the history of American music. He could sing a Frank Sinatra song better than Frank, rock with Elvis, and sing the blues like few people -- white or black. Charlie Rich was NOT a country music singer. He was a soul singer. Sometimes he sang soulful country music, some of which he wrote himself. He was, without a doubt, the greatest white bluesman who ever lived. The greatest track on this compilation is a spiritual Charlie wrote, "Feel Like Going Home." There are two versions of this song here, and the most powerful one is from a demo that Charlie made at home with a tape recorder. It was just Charlie Rich, his piano and a song he wrote. It will rip your heart out, shred it, and then put it back together again. Charlie could do that. All the songs here are wonderful in their own way. But don't think for a minute these songs are the only great music he ever made. You have to get your hands on a multi-CD set from his days on Sun Records. You should seek out and buy the things he cut on Smash Records too. Don't neglect the tracks he did on Hi Records and Groove Records. Finally, buy some of the country music he did with Billy Sherrill at Epic. By the way, the best ones on Epic are the things he cut BEFORE he hit the big time. When they let Charlie Rich sit down with his piano and sing his heart out, there was no stopping him. If you like soul, blues, jazz, rockabilly, 1960's pop, wall of sound, Motown, gospel or country music, Charlie Rich is your man.

The blackdirt farming land of Arkansas (just across the big river from Memphis) produced a jazz loving, gospel reared piano tickler who Sam Phillips (SUN RECORDS GENIUS/SAVANT) called the most talented performer he ever worked with. Great growling voice that could sing the blues, gospel and twist them into his own sound which I just call SOUL MUSIC 'cause, hell, that's what it is. Music to be played somewhere in the lost territory found after midnight when the Jim Beam bottle's losing weight and your baby is gone and you don't know why.

I've requested that the demo of "Feel Like Going Home" be played at my funeral services. That's it, indeed.

this two cd, thirty six track set is the first release to explore songs from the various labels that charlie rich recorded for over his entire career. this release shows the eclectic talent this artist had to move effortlessly from one genre to the next. at least eight different labels are represented - an excellent introduction to the man if you are not familier with all of his work. an excellent booklet accompanies the cds as well. charlie rich was one of the true greats in american popular music - very few, if any, can match the soul and emotion, not to mention the voice and piano, of this artist. an excellent jazz pianist, charlie rich was so much more than a country artist - this cd gives one a glimpse into that talent.

A friend of mind showed up at my house a couple of years ago all excited about this CD. To say the least I was very skeptical but I decided to humor him and listen to this for myself. Guess what? I ordered this 2 CD set the very next day. Based on my limited exposure to the music of Charlie Rich I had absolutely no idea what a talent he was. Let me be clear here....this is not a "Greatest Hits" package. There are several of those available. Rather, after his untimely death in 1995, Epic Records decided to showcase the considerable talents of this man in one 2 disc package. This retrospective covers his entire career from the early years at Sun Records until his final album in 1992.
Over the years, Charlie Rich recorded for five different record labels. For most of his career no one seemed to know just what to do with him. His earliest recordings at Sam Phillips legendary Sun Records were mainly rockabilly, but one can sample an early country ballad "Who Will The Next Fool Be" from 1961. Charlie Rich loved and recorded all kinds of music. Although his recordings could most often be found on the Billboard Top Country Singles chart, he recorded a lot of R&B, soul, pop standards and even a little jazz. And the remarkable thing that you will discover when listening to this collection is that it is all great stuff!!! Listen and enjoy Charlie's unique interpetations of Roy Hamiltons "You Can Have Her", Sinatra's "Nice'n Easy" and Lenny Welch's great standard "Since I Fell For You". Charlie Rich was also a tremendous piano player and a prolific song writer. There are a dozen or so of this own compositions on this collection including familiar favorites like "Lonely Weekends" and the awesome "Mohair Sam" from 1965. And you cannot help but be moved by the amazing "Feel Like Going Home". There are 2 different versions presented here, his original 1973 demo and the version from his 1992 album "Pictures and Paintings". Two other tracks deserving of mention are "When Something Is Wrong With my Baby" and of course the title song of his final album "Pictures and Paintings." So take my advice and pick up this CD. Then decide whether Charlie Rich was a country singer, a crooner or a soul singer. Like so many others along the way, you probably will be unable to make up your mind.

After reading Peter Guralnick's book 'Feel Like Going Home' I decided to give Charlie Rich another listen. I'd never heard his early stuff refered to in the article and was amazed to discover the incredible range that Rich had. Rock, hillbilly, blues, jazz and of course country all performed at a master's level. Just awesome.

There could be a third disc of Charlie Rich's songs in this set without a loss of quality or enlightenment for the listener. Pity that most people will remember him only for his "countrypolitan" years. It was thirteen years between "Lonely Weekends" and "Behind Closed Doors". Someone might have promoted Charlie Rich after 1965's "Mohair Sam" for another record company or saw the potential for his true stardom after "Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs" in the late 60s. Didn't happen. After the countrypolitan style's popularity faded in the early 80s, so did Charlie's career. But his experimentation in jazz then came forth, once again without proper appreciation. Only now with this 2-disc set can the world see the breadth of his talent. I saw Charlie in concert in the 70s; Kris kristofferson was in the crowd who came to see the Silver Fox. Charlie didn't disappoint us. Sometimes you want to hear "just the hits" but if you really want to know Charlie Rich, this is the music you'll want to have.

I have loved Charlie Rich since I was a kid (12 years old). I remember "Lonely Weekends" being played on the radio. But, it was when my grandmother bought "Who Will The Next Fool Be?" that I really started to pay attention. I know Bobby Bland also recorded this song, but it was Charlie Rich's version that I always remembered. "Feels Like Going Home" shows the versatility of Charlie Rich. I love "Field of Yellow Daisies" and "Have a Heart" Overall, I am very pleased that I finally decided to buy some Charlie Rich for myself. Even my kids like this CD. My son was amazed when he heard "Lonely Weekends". By the way, I still have my grandmother's 45 of "Who Will The Next Fool Be?" I think Charlie has been underrated all his life. That man could sing anything and he could play that piano.

This is one of the best compilations I have ever
purchased. I have listened to it over and over but,
to my surprise, my 18-year old grandson got pretty
excited over it and asked me to pick it up for him
if I could find it and he would pay me. I had
played "Mohair Sam" for him, then "Big Boss Man".
This album shows how Charlie Rich started out, with
mostly rock-a-billy as did many other country
artists, and shows how very versatile he was and
what a consummate musician. I really never realized
what a great musician he was until I bought this
set. I thought he sang mostly country
ballads.

Charlie Rich's recording career is nearly as complicated as the multiple dimensions of his musical character. Across the core years of 1959 through 1975 he worked for six labels (Sun, Groove, RCA, Smash, Hi and Epic) before moving on to Elektra and United Artists, and eventually to Sire in the early '90s. During that time he sang everything from proto-rockabilly to smooth Nashville Sound country, and through it all he maintained blues, jazz and soul flavors that lifted his works beyond the norm. If his labels couldn't always turn the breadth of his music into commercial gold, it wasn't for a lack of quality in the grooves.

Epic/Legacy's two-disc set -- reissued in 2007 with new cover art to fit into the "Essential" series -- sits amid a crowded field of Rich anthologies. It fills a niche between tightly focused sets on Sun, Smash and Hi, and collections of hits that focus on Rich's Epic years. By pulling together sides from Sun, Groove, RCA, Smash, Hi, Epic, and Sire, the 36 tracks display the full-breadth of Rich's musical language. Most of the best loved hits are here in their original, definitive versions, augmented by select tracks that help flesh out Rich's career.

The earliest sides combine the sassiness Elvis brought to Sun with the rock 'n' roll flippancy of Jerry Lee Lewis. Rich's piano wasn't as histrionic as Lewis', but his vocals had more swagger (rather than raw rebellion) and blue-soul. His was unable to fully capitalize on his early success in stints with Groove, RCA or Smash, despite a string of excellent sides that included the original blues "Let Me Go My Merry Way," the supremely cool "Mohair Sam" (which peaked at #21), and the Brill Building styled "A Field of Yellow Daises." He recorded originals and brilliantly selected covers, including "You Can Have Her" (which had hit for Roy Hamilton in 1961) and Isaac Hayes' Stax-era "When Something is Wrong With My Baby" (which hit for Sam & Dave).

Not until Rich met up with Billy Sherrill at Epic did the stars align to catapult his artistry to the tops of the charts. Together they created records of twang-free Nashville Sound smoothness topped by Rich's expressive, soulful vocals. Rather than turning Rich into a denatured country singer, Sherrill amplified all of the Memphis blues, soul, R&B and gospel in the vocalist's past. His cover of Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind" is an original combination of cooing background singers (reprising those on his 1961 rendition of "Who Will the Next Fool Be") and organ, with Rich's gravitas tying it all together. Similarly, the blue-eyed soul of "Nice 'n' Easy" (a song recorded by acts ranging from Frank Sinatra to the Four Tops) gives way to a jazzy solo in the middle.

Rich and Sherrill hit a groove throughout the early '70s, producing superb albums for Epic that stretched through country, brassy blues, and soul, and included the signature hits, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl." The original album "Behind Closed Doors" (available in a 2001 expanded reissue) marks the pair's highpoint. Rich continued to record throughout the '70s for Elektra and United Artists (not anthologized here), but never regained the commercial heights of his time at Epic. An early '90s return on Sire for his final album, "Pictures and Paintings," found his eclectic tastes intact, and strands of blues, jazz, and gospel continuing to intertwine.

It's rather staggering to loop around from the strings-and-soul Epic tracks at the end of disc two to the strings-and-soul Sun sides at the start of disc one and realize the cohesiveness of Rich's musical vision. As the liner notes suggest, Rich's breadth was similar to that of Ray Charles, as was his jazzy soulfulness. This is a great starting point for exploring Rich's catalog, and despite the missing late-70s sides, this is sufficiently definitive for casual fans. Those who want a deeper look can augment this overview with individual volumes on Sun, Smash and Hi, and key individual album reissues from Epic. But as a career summary in two discs, you couldn't ask for too much more. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]

In reviewing the reviews, it became apparent to me that a little more comprehensive and forthright analysis was in order~~

So far everyone raves about this collection and indeed it does cover a wide cross section of Charlie's amazing talent. A talent that gloriously spans a multitude of genres. And it's the first compilation that dips into most of the many labels he recorded for over the decades and that in itself is a tall order.
But there's a problem here: When you call something "essential" it darn well better represent most of the artist's best and most popular work. This compilation does not. If you have any doubts...read on.

>There are no less than 22 hits that aren't here!
Some of those missing songs are signature Charlie Rich.

Six were #1 songs

1. Very Special Love Song
2. I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore
3. She Called Me Baby
4. Rolling With The Flow
5. I Love My Friend
6. On My Knees (duet w/ Janie Fricke)

Other missing hits include:

Tomorrow Night (#29)
It's All Over Now #23)
My Mountain Dew (#24)
Part Of Your Life (#35)
I Take It On Home (#6)
My Elusive Dreams (#3)
Everytime You Touch Me (#3)
All Over Me (#4)
America The Beautiful (#22)
Easy Look (#12)
Raggedy Ann (#45)
Beautiful (#10)
Spanish Eyes (#20)
I'll Wake You Up When I Get Home (#3)
A Man Just Doesn't Know...(#12)

Another serious omission was one of Charlie's personal favorites-
"July 12, 1939" which hit #47

Certainly all of these would not fit on a double comp - along with the best of what's already there.
But there are about a baker's dozen on this list that are truly "essential" songs that needed to pre-empt some of the lesser titles that strangely made the cut on this release.

BOTTOM LINE: The world yet awaits a true Essential or Definitive (or whatever you what to call it) release by Charlie that truly represents him and his hits.