Customer Reviews

From the Vaults: The Complete Sun Singles, Vol. 3

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"The Complete Sun Singles Volume 3" is the third of six CD sets which collect all the single masters ("A" and "B" sides) released under Sam C. Phillips' Sun and Phillips International record labels. Sun fans should hear every volume in the collection; there's no better way to follow the rise and fall of Phillips' recordings. But for anyone familiar with the handful of Sun/Phillips International hits like "Blue Suede Shoes," "I Walk The Line," "Great Balls of Fire," and "Raunchy," and an interest in hearing more, only a few of the volumes are essential listening.

Volume 3 is the last (and weakest) of the essential sets in the collection. It covers the best years of Sun's popular Rock and Roll (1957-1959), when Sun's influence gave way to its acceptance of the trends it set only a year earlier, and the raw, minimalistic sound that defined Sun's Golden Era gives way to the overdubbed Gene Lowery Singers. Phillips had turned over many production responsibilities! to Jack Clement and Bill Justis, and the result was a softer, more commercial sound in Sun's releases. However, those changes had little effect on the power of Jerry Lee Lewis, whose best chart-topping singles, along with more solid Rockabilly from Billy Riley, Sonny Burgess and Warren Smith, and a lot of Johnny Cash, are included in the set.

The nature of "The Complete Sun Singles Collection" says it all: if it was released under the Sun or Phillips International label, it will be on one of the collection's six volumes. With that sort of criteria, the listener can expect to hear some songs which would otherwise have no place on any collection, as well as others which ought to appear more frequently. Volume 3 contains the most forgettable Sun single, "Winnie The Parakeet," and a handful of rather weak attempts at pop chart success. But with the driving power of The Killer's Pumping Piano and tracks like Billy Riley's "Baby Please Don't Go," Sonny Burgess' "Itchy,"! Warren Smith's "Got Love If You Want It" and Johnny Cash's! "Big River," "The Complete Sun Singles Collection Volume 3" still proves a rewarding listen for Sun fans and casual listeners alike.