Search - Various Artists :: Memphis Belles - The Women Of Sun Records

Fabulous pop-culture history; so-so music

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 06/10/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an amazing and historically significant 6-CD set that gathers together all the songs ever recorded by female artists on the legendary Sun Records label during its brief and glorious reign in the early years of rock'n'roll. To be honest, these are mostly marginal performances, demo-y sessions from a flock of gals of variable talent, with material ranging from triplet-heavy pop vocals and proto-girl group weepers to awkward hillbilly numbers and a surprisingly solid cache of little-known blues sides. There was very little of the raw rockabilly that the label's male artists made so famous -- if you're looking for some obscure, unremembered Janis Martin or Wanda Jackson type, this set will come as a bit of a letdown. But as a glimpse into the creative process at Sun, hearing their house bands back the gals up is a pretty fascinating exercise -- and there are certainly several gems scattered throughout the collection. (These tunes could probably be condensed down to a single-disc set that would still have a mediocre air about it, but would give more bang for the buck. But then the authoritative, archival quality of the collection would be lost, and that would be a shame.) There are tantalizing glimpses of lost opportunities: some of the most promising rockers never really got a fair shot, gals like Gloria Brady, who apparently only got to record a handful of demos, but never waxed a proper single. Jerry Lee Lewis's little sister, Linda Gail Lewis emerges clearly ahead of the pack with a couple of ripsnorters, but really it's the forlorn, amateur-hour quality that makes many of these tracks so charming, and the clear emulation of other artists, particularly the heavy presence of Dinah Washington hovering over the robust vocals on the fourth disc, "Blues," and the taunting awareness of how much more vibrant --and more successful -- the sides recorded by the boys had been. The packaging of this set should also be noted... What the box set lacks in musical punch, it more than makes up for in scholarship and presentation -- the enclosed squarebound booklet is an impressive coffeetable collection, with copious liner notes and archival photos and extensive biographical entries for each of the artists. These gals might not have shaken up the world with their chart action, but they still occupy a unique and significant place in the heart of American popular culture, and this box set certainly does their legacy up right. If you're a 'Fifties rock or pop music fan, it's certainly worth checking this set out."