Customer Reviews

Rick Nelson - Greatest Hits

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From his first Top 40 hit in 1957 to his last in 1972 this is a superb beginning to anyone interested in Rick Nelson. Only 2 of his Top 10 hits are missing (57's "A Teenager's Romance" and 62's "It's Up To You") but all his other Top 10's are here. Hard-core Nelson fans might find a favorite track missing, but this is geared for the Nelson novice, and succeeds on that level. Up-to-date liner notes, photos and chart information make this an ideal sampler. If you want to venture further into his career pick up the Legacy Box Set which goes from 1957-1985. If that's too much than 3 budget compilations will do the trick: Legendary Masters Vol. 1 and 2 go up to 1963. While the out-of-print (but easy to find used) Best of 63-75 covers the rest. P.S. Also try the remastered Ricky Sings Again/Songs By Ricky (Capitol 1959) just in case you're wondering if Nelson could cut it for a whole album (he could).

Rick Nelson is one of the greatest, but also one of the most overlooked singers around. His songs are as famous as his name and family tree. This collection contains most of Rick's greatest hits like "Fools Rush In","For You", "Travelin' Man", "Hello Mary Lou", and many more. I encourage you to buy this CD if you are a fan of Rick Nelson or just a music lover in general. He's Great!

Rick Nelson is one of the least celebrated and yet most profoundly memorable of all the rock stars of the late fifties and early sixties. His work spanned a time frame that included a lot of rock greats, and yet he stood shoulder to shoulder to them in delivering a phenomenal string of successes which no one other than Elvis Presley could keep pace with in his time. Yet today he is often seen in less than flattering terms, even though he is likely one of the greatest balladeers of the day. Anyone taking a good listen to such songs as "Lonesome Town", "Young World' and ""Never Be Anyone Else But You" can hardly deny his powerful and sensitive voice as a perfect vehicle for the songs. Unfortunately, Nelson is too often treated as more of a star than an artist.

Yet all of the proof of his ability is here in a collection of his greatest hits, which range from the early "Stood Up" to the more complex and appealing "Travelin' Man". There is quite a range of work here, from "Waiting In School" to "Be-bop Baby", from "Poor Little Fool" to "It's Late", and from "Hello, Mary Lou" to "Believe What You Say". My favorites here are a rocking rendition of "Just A Little Too Much", with some terrific guitar licks by his preferred studio back-up man, James Burton, and "Teenage idol", which shows Rick to considerable advantage later in his recording career. He later did some great covers of songs by everyone from Eric Andersen (a personal friend of Nelson's) to Dylan's "She Belongs to Me" to his own "Easy To Be Free" and "Garden Party". With a career that spanned more than thirty years before his untimely demise in an airplane crash, Rick Nelson remains one of rock's most under-appreciated artists.

Ricky had more than twenty hits in America but all the important ones are in this collection. Ricky's hottest period was from May 1957 to June 1959, during which time he scored many American top ten hits including several double-sided singles that yielded two top ten hits. Ricky was much less successful in the UK although it's not clear why as he didn't suffer from competition by British cover versions as (for example) the Drifters did. During this period, Ricky made the UK top ten with Poor little fool (an American number one hit), Someday and It's late, although Someday is omitted from this compilation. Ricky's American top ten hits from this period included I'm walking, Be-bop baby, Stood up and Believe what you say, all of which made the top five, as well as Never be anyone else but you, which may well be the most-covered of all Ricky's songs. Saying that, covers of Ricky's songs are far less common than covers of some of his contemporaries' songs, such as Buddy Holly or the Everly Brothers.

Following the double-sided American top ten hit, Just a little too much / Sweeter than you, Ricky's career went into a bit of a decline. All that changed in 1961 when he had another double-sided hit - the biggest of his career. On one side was Travelin' man, which gave him his second and last American number one hit, selling over six million copies. On the other side was Hello Mary Lou, written by Gene Pitney who (at the time) was known only as a songwriter. It was also an American top ten hit, but it made number two in the UK, where it became his biggest ever hit.

The revival in Ricky's career was short-lived. He scored two further American top five hits (Young world, Teenage idol) before changing record labels, when he also changed his name from Ricky to Rick. After a promising start in which he nearly made the American top ten with a cover of Fools rush in (Glenn Miller) and did even better with For you, the hits dried up.

With his hit-making days over, Rick tried various things including country music. He eventually formed the Stone Canyon Band. Two of their American hits are included here, the most notable of which is Garden party, in which Rick sings about how his audiences are only interested in his old songs while he wants to sing contemporary material.

While this collection omits the UK top ten hit Someday and also omits some notable American hits that didn't make the top ten there, the twenty tracks here represent Ricky's career fairly and include all the essential. It's particularly satisfying to see that this compilation encompasses the whole range of his hits from the fifties to the seventies - and they are all original recordings.

This is a pretty good collection of Rick Nelson songs. Or should we say, "Ricky" Nelson songs, since most of these recordings are from his teen idol days. Still, they give you a very good taste of what made him popular, and the recordings are outstanding. Most of the big hits are there, but if you're a fan of his later work, you'll be disappointed. That's why I'm not giving it 5 stars. "Garden Party" and "She Belongs to Me" are the only Stone Canyon Band era songs on this collection. Nonetheless, it's a good introduction if you want to become familar with an artist whose reputation is growing more and more each year after his untimely death. For me, this will be what I'm listening to until I get his "Legacy" box set.

As a musician that was a child of the fifties and sixties, it was easy to get caught up in the next new wave of talent and musical phenom of the time (classic case, The Beatles,1963). We were starving for musical identity in the 1955 to 1963 period, but one of the mainstays was Rick(Ricky)Nelson. He was the smooth transition we needed to have that identity, and his music was easily accepted by our parents(remember those days??). Even Elvis owes him a debt of gratitude in my opinion for making rock-and-roll more palatible to all who listened, either directly or indirectly(our parents). All of us have memories that are triggered by songs, events, and places in time. I have recently conjured up a lot of my forgotten past by listening to this CD. Thanks, Rick, for keeping our heads together, even if we didn't realize it at the time. You are sorely missed, but the music carries on, and gets better with age.

This CD brings back lots of memories for those of us who grew up with Ricky on "Ozzie and Harriet" and saw him emerge into an early rock star. I do not think Rick can be accused of having an outstanding or distinctive voice. At times, he could even sound a little unemotional. However, his songs were carefully selected and crafted, and the arrangements were first rate. That is evident as you listen to this career spanning look at one of Rock n' Roll's early teenage idols. My personal favorites include I'm Walking, Hello Mary Lou, Fools Rush In, Teenage Idol, For You, Garden Party, and She Belongs to Me. This CD is an excellent value for those wishing to add Ricky Nelson to their collection.

Just a wonderful sound and talent from what most reports stated was a nice guy and sadly we lost him way too soon. One of many voices that can't be matched a unique sound not to be re-made again by today's artists.

Great compilation of all his hits & two modern pieces on this CD. Loved it. If you like his stuff, this is the best assortment of his music for the price--it can't be beat.

We enjoy the Fifty-early Sixty's music. Ricky Nelson, is one favorite we needed, found it on Amazon.
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