Search - Carl Perkins :: Back on Top

A treasure for serious fans

Greg | Appalachia | 01/20/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This box set is something I HAD TO have. It is an amazing, revealing, rewarding document of long unavailable material.If you are casually interested in hearing some music straight from the master who influenced the Beatles, CCR, NRBQ and the Stray Cats, this is not the recording for you. I'd suggest giving a listen to GO, CAT! GO! and reading the biography of the same name. Johnny Cash's latest memoir and Ralph Emery's `A VOICE FROM NASHVILLE' also have chapters of information about Carl's career and unique place in American popular music.If you are hooked after getting a taste of Carl's music and story (and you should be!!) the box sets available from Bear Family records are the best collections available today.The `BACK ON TOP" set cover the years of 1967-1974. Throughout this period, Carl returns to roughly 8 song forms that run through all his work: 1. Odes to his wife Valda: "Read Headed Woman", "You'll Always Be a Lady To Me'2. Ruminations about the fathers and children: "Me Without You", "What Every Boy Ought To Know"3. Classic Honky Tonk Country : "Bottoms Up", "You Tore My Heaven All To Hell"4. Blues stomps: "Big Bad Blues", "Mean Mean Martha"5. Rockabilly Raves: "Sorry Charlie", "Restless", "Cotton Top" , and versions of "Dixie Fried" and "Blue Suede Shoes"6. Country Gospel: "Rise & Shine", "Someday"7. Commentaries on social order and class in America: "Born Equal", " Walk With Your Neighbor"8. Piggy-back songs (songs that aim to recapture the magic of his previous work or work of others). For example, "Riverboat Annie" bears a strong resemblance to "Proud Mary" of the CCR/Tina Turner hit; One later version of Dixie Fried inserts a mention to "Bad, Bad Leroy Brown".This box set included over 100 tracks. There are several absolute gems including the definitive version of "Restless": "Champaign, Illinois" co-written by Perkins and Bob Dylan; "The Trip", the only Perkins recording I know of that is longer than 4 minutes; and Carl's own versions of "Daddy Sang Bass", "So Wrong" , and "When You're a Man On His Own" all classic Perkins tunes that have been hits for others."