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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Not Hit Oriented, But Still Great Mar 15, 2009
While this does not contain Charlie Rich's hits as an Essential compilation should, Feel Like Going Home features the bluesy Let Me Go My Merry Way (the flipside of Big Boss Man), impressive gospel (Milky White Way), piano rock (Break Up), jazz (Don't Put No Headstone On My Grave), and even my favorite song (the choir recording of Feel Like Going Home from his jazz album Pictures And Paintings), if you're looking for great eclectic material, you can't go wrong with this one!
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
 NOT the "Essential Charlie Rich" Oct 26, 2008
In reviewing the reviews, it became apparent to me that a little more comprehensive and forthright analysis was in order~~
So far everyone raves about this collection and indeed it does cover a wide cross section of Charlie's amazing talent. A talent that gloriously spans a multitude of genres. And it's the first compilation that dips into most of the many labels he recorded for over the decades and that in itself is a tall order.
But there's a problem here: When you call something "essential" it darn well better represent most of the artist's best and most popular work. This compilation does not. If you have any doubts...read on.
>There are no less than 22 hits that aren't here!
Some of those missing songs are signature Charlie Rich.
Six were #1 songs
1. Very Special Love Song
2. I Don't See Me In Your Eyes Anymore
3. She Called Me Baby
4. Rolling With The Flow
5. I Love My Friend
6. On My Knees (duet w/ Janie Fricke)
Other missing hits include:
Tomorrow Night (#29)
It's All Over Now #23)
My Mountain Dew (#24)
Part Of Your Life (#35)
I Take It On Home (#6)
My Elusive Dreams (#3)
Everytime You Touch Me (#3)
All Over Me (#4)
America The Beautiful (#22)
Easy Look (#12)
Raggedy Ann (#45)
Beautiful (#10)
Spanish Eyes (#20)
I'll Wake You Up When I Get Home (#3)
A Man Just Doesn't Know...(#12)
Another serious omission was one of Charlie's personal favorites-
"July 12, 1939" which hit #47
Certainly all of these would not fit on a double comp - along with the best of what's already there.
But there are about a baker's dozen on this list that are truly "essential" songs that needed to pre-empt some of the lesser titles that strangely made the cut on this release.
BOTTOM LINE: The world yet awaits a true Essential or Definitive (or whatever you what to call it) release by Charlie that truly represents him and his hits.
Fantastic way to find some rich music Jun 26, 2008
Charlie Rich's voice is one of the best in rock, country, blues or any other genre you'd care to name. He may be best remembered for his hits in the 70s, which are good, but this anthology shows how great a talent he truly was.
Starting with his work for Sun in the late 50s, we get his hit "Lonely Weekends" and the fantastic "Who Will the Next Fool Be." Rich has enough soul in that track and "There Won't be Anymore" to make anyone sit up and take notice. The first disc moves through his time with the Groove, Smash and Hi labels. He may not have had much in way of hits, but no one can argue with the strength of "A Field of Yellow Daisies" or his soulful take on "When Something is Wrong With my Baby," a hit for the duo Sam and Dave. The demo version of "Feel Like Going Home" is so emotional and strong that it's hard for me to listen to, but it's a wonderful and spiritual song. Clearly written by someone who's gone through some hard times. Mohair Sam was his other big hit in the 60s and it's a neat, if silly, novelty tune.
The second disc starts with "Set me Free," his first hit on Epic and the beginning of his relationship with producer Billy Sherrill. Sherrill is famous for his work with Rich, George Jones, and Tammy Wynette, to name a few. He did add choruses and strings to Rich's songs, but the ones on this two disc set are still strong. Rich has a wonderful version of "I Almost Lost my Mind" by forgotten r&b great Ivory Joe Hunter, as well as a stirring version of his own "Stay," which was originally recorded on Sun.
Songs such as "Why oh Why" and "Have A Heart" transcend country or any other label because of Rich's voice, which oozes with emotion and feeling. He's one of the most underrated singers in country or rock music. The set continues with those monster hits "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl in the World." They sit fine next to some of the blusier material because they are good songs, if not the best of Rich's career.
This isn't necessarily the same as a greatest hits package, though. Later hits such as "Rollin' With the Flow" and "On my Knees" were left off to showcase the versatility of Rich and some of his stronger songs, such as "Don't Put No Headstone on my Grave." It ends with a pair of songs from his final album, 1992's Pictures and Paintings. The version of "Feel Like Going Home" offered from that is nice, but isn't as powerful as the demo that closes disc one.
Rich had some big hits, but those weren't always the strongest tracks. This collection, though, is a fantastic introduction to a great singer, songwriter and piano player. I own several Rich albums, but this is the one I play most often. His voice simply can't be beat.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
Superb anthology of Rich's varied riches Apr 01, 2007
Charlie Rich's recording career is nearly as complicated as the multiple dimensions of his musical character. Across the core years of 1959 through 1975 he worked for six labels (Sun, Groove, RCA, Smash, Hi and Epic) before moving on to Elektra and United Artists, and eventually to Sire in the early '90s. During that time he sang everything from proto-rockabilly to smooth Nashville Sound country, and through it all he maintained blues, jazz and soul flavors that lifted his works beyond the norm. If his labels couldn't always turn the breadth of his music into commercial gold, it wasn't for a lack of quality in the grooves.
Epic/Legacy's two-disc set -- reissued in 2007 with new cover art to fit into the "Essential" series -- sits amid a crowded field of Rich anthologies. It fills a niche between tightly focused sets on Sun, Smash and Hi, and collections of hits that focus on Rich's Epic years. By pulling together sides from Sun, Groove, RCA, Smash, Hi, Epic, and Sire, the 36 tracks display the full-breadth of Rich's musical language. Most of the best loved hits are here in their original, definitive versions, augmented by select tracks that help flesh out Rich's career.
The earliest sides combine the sassiness Elvis brought to Sun with the rock 'n' roll flippancy of Jerry Lee Lewis. Rich's piano wasn't as histrionic as Lewis', but his vocals had more swagger (rather than raw rebellion) and blue-soul. His was unable to fully capitalize on his early success in stints with Groove, RCA or Smash, despite a string of excellent sides that included the original blues "Let Me Go My Merry Way," the supremely cool "Mohair Sam" (which peaked at #21), and the Brill Building styled "A Field of Yellow Daises." He recorded originals and brilliantly selected covers, including "You Can Have Her" (which had hit for Roy Hamilton in 1961) and Isaac Hayes' Stax-era "When Something is Wrong With My Baby" (which hit for Sam & Dave).
Not until Rich met up with Billy Sherrill at Epic did the stars align to catapult his artistry to the tops of the charts. Together they created records of twang-free Nashville Sound smoothness topped by Rich's expressive, soulful vocals. Rather than turning Rich into a denatured country singer, Sherrill amplified all of the Memphis blues, soul, R&B and gospel in the vocalist's past. His cover of Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind" is an original combination of cooing background singers (reprising those on his 1961 rendition of "Who Will the Next Fool Be") and organ, with Rich's gravitas tying it all together. Similarly, the blue-eyed soul of "Nice 'n' Easy" (a song recorded by acts ranging from Frank Sinatra to the Four Tops) gives way to a jazzy solo in the middle.
Rich and Sherrill hit a groove throughout the early '70s, producing superb albums for Epic that stretched through country, brassy blues, and soul, and included the signature hits, "Behind Closed Doors" and "The Most Beautiful Girl." The original album "Behind Closed Doors" (available in a 2001 expanded reissue) marks the pair's highpoint. Rich continued to record throughout the '70s for Elektra and United Artists (not anthologized here), but never regained the commercial heights of his time at Epic. An early '90s return on Sire for his final album, "Pictures and Paintings," found his eclectic tastes intact, and strands of blues, jazz, and gospel continuing to intertwine.
It's rather staggering to loop around from the strings-and-soul Epic tracks at the end of disc two to the strings-and-soul Sun sides at the start of disc one and realize the cohesiveness of Rich's musical vision. As the liner notes suggest, Rich's breadth was similar to that of Ray Charles, as was his jazzy soulfulness. This is a great starting point for exploring Rich's catalog, and despite the missing late-70s sides, this is sufficiently definitive for casual fans. Those who want a deeper look can augment this overview with individual volumes on Sun, Smash and Hi, and key individual album reissues from Epic. But as a career summary in two discs, you couldn't ask for too much more. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Charlie Rich is equal to Elvis and Orbison Aug 06, 2005
I haven't bought this cd (yet), but I have all his original recordings on other discs. The tracklist of this CD looks essential, indeed, but for completists I reccommend the Bear Family Box with all his SUN stuff, The Groove Sessions with the best of the RCA recordings, The complete SMASH sessions, The Complete HI recordings of Charlie Rich and some of the EPIC compilations and Pictures And Paintings.
This CD is essential because it's a crosslabel compilation. I discovered Charlie Rich last year when I listened very carefully to his major hit Behind Closed Doors. After some research on internet I discovered that Charlie Rich made a lot of music in other genres like Jazz, Rockabilly and Blues. One of his best recordings is his amazing version of Ol' Man River, which is not on this cd unfortunenately. It has the same feel as River Stay Away From My Door and Let Me Go My Merry Way which are Jazzy broadway like tunes, really masterpieces. The music of Charlie Rich is quallity wise equal to Elvis' and Orbison's music...Really interesting and you will listen to it over and over again.
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