Charlie Rich - The Complete Sun Masters

Four hours of cruelly overlooked potential

In a 2001 biography of the celebrated record label boss, Sam Phillips is quoted as saying, “There was not one human being I know who was more talented than Charlie.” Despite such praise, however, Rich was ultimately, like Roy Orbison, a Sun Records alsoran who only achieved widespread fame after leaving the Phillips stable.

Rich scored big with Lonely Weekends, and his skills as a writer and musician was put to good use by Phillips when recording other artists, but an innate shyness meant he was uncomfortable in the spotlight and follow-up hits were hard to come by. Had Phillips found a way of harnessing Rich’s blues and jazz chops, Sun may have been able to branch out into new and lucrative directions.

The 102 tracks here, most recorded for the Sun subsidiary Phillips International, offer a complete picture of a genuinely gifted performer who inhabited several boxes while failing to leave a resounding tick in any. He became a million-selling country star in the 70s, belatedly sparking interest in his earlier work as one of popular music’s great unsung pioneers.

4 stars 4 stars 4 stars 4 stars

Charly | SNAJ 744 (3-CD)

Reviewed by Terry Staunton
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