Legacy [4 CD Box Set]

The foremost teen idol of all time finally has a comprehensive domestic boxed set of his own, and what a set it is: 100 tracks on 4 CDs, with 15 previously unreleased songs (including the legendary Gloomy Sunday ), as well as a half-dozen of his early Imperial gems mixed in true stereo for the first time. Produced with the help of the entire Nelson family, the set, which covers his entire career with Verve, Imperial, Decca, Epic and Capitol, includes a 48-page booklet with rare photos and essays. Among the tracks: I'm Walkin'; A Teenager's Romance; You're My One and Only Love; Be Bop Baby (single version); Have I Told You Lately That I Love You (single version, stereo debut); Stood Up; Waitin' in School; Believe What You Say (single version); Poor Little Fool; Lonesome Town; It's Late (stereo debut); Travelin' Man; Hello Mary Lou; Bye Bye Love (unreleased, live with Don Everly!); Garden Party , and more. Rick Nelson's lengthy career spanned 30 years, with records on the charts from the late '50s to the early '80s, yet most remember him only as "Little Ricky." This comprehensive, 100-song retrospective rectifies that, giving full scope to his remarkable and surprisingly robust career. Additionally, the photo-heavy booklet gives insight into the era when rock & roll, television, and culture first merged. Ricky Nelson was the first teen idol who grew up on television. His parents' Ozzie and Harriet Show afforded him the opportunity to sing, and he was groomed to be early TV's middle ground between Elvis and Pat Boone. Disc 1 captures this period, featuring his earliest hits such as "I'm Walkin'" and "Poor Little Fool," though others like Little Walter's "My Babe" and "There Goes My Baby", with sizzling guitar leads by James Burton, reveal a genuine rockabilly edginess, suggesting Ricky's truer leanings. Disc 2 has the majority of Ricky's largest hits, pop pieces from '59 to '65, where the addition of strings and the Jordanaires' backing vocals led to smash hits like "Mary Lou," "Travelin' Man," and "Young World." Disc 3 documents Rick's (he had dropped the y) mid-'60s evolution into a country sound heavily influenced by Bob Dylan's Nashville Skyline. Rick's version of Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" was well received, but the big hit on this disc is "Garden Party," a wry, autobiographical take on his rejection by a '72 oldies-oriented crowd at Madison Square Garden. Disc 4 features material with his Stone Canyon Band, covering the period from 1972 to 1985, the year of his unfortunate plane crash. By now, his rich, yearning voice blends perfectly with the pedal-steel-led band, and the music sounds remarkably contemporary. Rick Nelson's teenage celebrity typecast him for life, but Legacy reveals a solid musician who matured and grew over time. This anthology does him and his fans a great service. --Wally Shoup

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