Carl Perkins – The Complete Sun Singles

In the end, nothing Carl Perkins tried came close to Blue Suede Shoes, the rockabilly standard that, even among his first singles, was a musical anomaly despite its status as cultural landmark. He was a gifted guitarist, a fine songwriter, a sturdy vocalist (inescapably from the Memphis neighborhood), a family man, and Johnny Cashs friend.

More than enough to be proud of, but there was Elvis.

The Complete Sun Singles is the latest handy summation of Perkins early days (1954-57), and does that necessary job quite adequately through 18 tracks. Here Perkins moves from the unmistakably rural Movie Mag through several unsatisfactory attempts to recapture lighting in a bottle (cf., All Mamas Children). And Blue Suede Shoes still rocks, sure enough.

Bear Familys second Perkins box covers the story from 1968-75. Johnny Cash had dropped by in early 1967 to offer Carl a job playing guitar, and he took it. The man needed to work. Cash was hot, and Perkins was a legend, so a series of labels and producers took a run at cashing in on that legend.

It helped that Dollie, the recording arm of Perkins publisher, Cedarwood, had placed two of his songs on the country charts in 1967. Back on Columbia, Restless made a nice start, going to #20 on the Bill_board country chart in 1968. His next hit, Birth Of Rock And Roll, came in 1986, topping out at #31.

They kept trying. They recut his old songs. Cash took one of his new songs (Daddy Sang Bass) to #1. He cut one of Cashs #1 songs (Folsom Prison). Bob Dylan co-wrote with him. NRBQ cut their second album backing him. Some of its quite good (not the NRBQ stuff, oddly split between two discs, which proves a blessing). None of it is equal to Perkins talent.

The fourth and final disc assembles some of Perkins demos, going back to 1960. Thats the magic stuff, just Carl Perkins, his songs, and his guitar. And if just once a record that captured that sound and intimacy had been issued…