Search - Ricky Nelson :: The American Dream: The Complete Imperial and Verve Recordings 1957-1963

EVERYTHING YOU COULD ASK FOR IN A BOX SET!!!

S. SMITH | COLONY 9, PLUTO | 07/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bear Family does it again! If you are a Ricky Nelson fan, you can't go wrong. The book is excellent, and the songs sound superb! Please don't settle for the "Legacy" box set, although that one does span his entire career. But who knows? Perhaps BF is working on a collection of his Decca output..."

INCREDIBLE!!!

Larry Ortiz | Santa Barbara, CA | 01/12/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had been hoping for a Bear CD treatment of Ricky Nelson since I discovered Bear Family several years ago--and now it's here! Ricky Nelson was second only to Elvis in the early days of Rock 'n Roll and it's practically criminal how his record label(s) have ignored his talent and enormous material for so long. EMI put out a paltry couple of best of's several years ago and finally came out with a box set a year ago. Then they released all his early albums during what I consider his best, raw, rock-a-billy years. But of course no one does it better than Bear Family and if you're a Ricky Nelson fan, this is the set you MUST have! [....]"

A great set but only for really, really serious collectors

Robert Moore | Chicago, IL USA | 09/24/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This set is sadly no longer available except very expensive used copies. I managed to find a comparatively inexpensive copy on eBay, but frankly I'm not confident that it ought to be the first choice for the vast majority of music fans. Like most of the Bear sets, this album is the definitive presentation of the early part of Ricky Nelson's career. The sound is great, the materials are first-rate, and it is all remarkably attractive. But in general I don't think the material with which I was not previously familiar is so good that it quite justifies the significant expenditure. Back in the days of the LP I owned the EMI America LEGENDARY MASTERS greatest hit disc. It was a very, very good album and is still available as a download only album. If you primarily listen to music on your computer or and iPod, you might consider getting that version. As a download it is very inexpensive. I can also very strongly recommend the 2005 Capital GREATEST HITS album. It features five more cuts than the LEGENDARY MASTERS disc, all of them stellar. It costs a couple of dollars more as a download, but it is worth it. It is definitely the single-disc CD that I most strongly recommend, unless you just want a whole lot more. I do not have firsthand knowledge of the LEGACY box set. Looking at its track list it looks pretty decent and includes some of the songs from the later much far less interesting part of his career. I'm pretty confident that the Capital GREATEST HITS disc will satisfy most who want a great collection of his music.



Ricky Nelson is the one performer from the period framed roughly by the death of Buddy Holly and the British Invasion who is most unjustly neglected. He didn't rock as hard as Elvis or Carl Perkins, but neither was he as bland as Pat Boone. He had a genuine respect for the music, obtained some great material from some very good song writers, had a decent if not a great voice, and had the great sense to hire the greatest rockabilly guitarist that there was, the legendary James Burton (so superb that Elvis himself made him the cornerstone of his band). Without Burton, Nelson's music would have been pleasant and worth hearing, but Burton's scintillating solos make a knowledge of at least the best of Burton's music essential for any student of rock. Fifty years after these songs were recorded, Burton's guitar playing sounds as extraordinary as ever. Honestly, without Burton I'm not sure how much of a fan of these songs I would be, but luckily that is not an issue. These are great songs and ought to be listened to by anyone who loves music.



On a side note, I was actually listening to Ricky Nelson at the moment of his death. I was in 1985 while attending grad school working as a graveyard shift desk clerk at the faculty club at the University of Chicago (twenty years earlier blues-rock legend Paul Butterfield had the same position -- I always liked to think that Butterfield's buddy and fellow band member Michael Bloomfield might have stopped by to say hello and keep him company). None of the other clerks wanted to work on New Year's Eve so I agreed to work four straight shifts. Because the building was empty I brought along my portable tape player. For a couple of hours -- from around 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm -- I listened to a recording I made on tape from my LP of Nelson's LEGENDARY MASTERS. The next morning when the papers were delivered I opened them to read with some alarm that Nelson had died the previous evening at around (I think I'm remembering the time correctly) 5:45 pm. I realized I had been listening to him at the time.



So, if you want this album and are willing to pay the very high price it will take to acquire it, I definitely recommend it. But I think that most people will be happier paying far less for the GREATEST HITS album (the 2005 release by Capitol). But if money isn't an issue for you, this is the set to acquire."