Jerry Lee Lewismusic Legends

Is there an early rock & roller who has a crazier reputation than the Killer, Jerry Lee Lewis? His exploits as a piano-thumping, egocentric wild man with an unquenchable thirst for living have become the fodder for numerous biographies, film documentaries, and a full-length Hollywood movie. Certainly few other artists came to the party with more ego and talent than he and lived to tell the tale. And certainly even fewer could successfully channel that energy into their music and prosper doing it as well as Jerry Lee. When he broke on the national scene in 1957 with his classic "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On," he was every parents' worst nightmare perfectly realized: a long, blonde-haired Southerner who played the piano and sang with uncontrolled fury and abandon, while simultaneously reveling in his own sexuality.

Jerry Lee Lewis - The Killer Live! (1964-1970) {Hip-O Select B0016749-02 rel 2012}
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© 1964-70, 2012 Hip-O Select / Island Def Jam / Mercury | B0016749-02
Rock & Roll / Rockabilly / Honky Tonk / Country

Hip-O Select's triple-disc 2012 set The Killer Live (1964-1970) fills a bit of a gap in Jerry Lee's archival discography by rounding up his four officially released live albums for Smash and Mercury: Live at the Star Club, Hamburg and The Greatest Live Show on Earth, both released in 1964; By Request: More of the Greatest Live Show on Earth from 1966; and Live at the International, Las Vegas in 1970. The Killer Live expands these four LP by adding 16 bonus tracks, ten of which are previously unreleased, all of which are equally as good as the finished albums – and that means they're terrific, as good as rock & roll music gets.

Jerry Lee Lewis - I-40 Country (1973) & Odd Man In (1975) {BGO Records BGOCD1216 Digitally Remastered rel 2015}
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© 1973, 1975, 2015 Phonogram Inc. / BGO Records | BGOCD1216
Rock & Roll / Rockabilly / Honky Tonk / Country

BGO's 2015 two-fer pairs two mid-'70s albums from Jerry Lee Lewis – 1974's I-40 Country and 1975's Odd Man In – on a single CD. Jerry Lee Lewis didn't get much of a boost out of his 1973 return to rock & roll – a revival arriving on two separate LPs, one recorded in England (The Session) and one back home (Southern Roots) – so he slid back to country, scoring a hit with "Sometimes a Memory Ain't Enough" from the album of the same name. I-40 Country arrived a year later, easing into stores in 1974 under the guise of a truck-driving country LP. While these 11 songs do sound good on the open road, none of them are about big rigs or highways, nor do they roll along to a Bakersfield beat. No, they're straight-ahead barroom weepers punctuated by the very occasional novelty – so occasional, it doesn't extend beyond "Alcohol of Fame."

Jerry Lee Lewis - Another Place Another Time (1968) & She Even Woke Me Up To Say Goodbye (1970) {Raven RVCD-155 rel 2002}
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© 1968, 1970, 2002 Mercury / Smash / Raven Records | RVCD-155
Country / Rock & Roll / Traditional Country / Honky Tonk

Raven's 2002 two-fer CD reissue of Jerry Lee Lewis' 1968 album Another Place Another Time and 1970's She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye contains the added bonus of six tracks – over half the album – from 1969's She Still Comes Around (To Love What's Left of Me). By doing this, the disc transcends typical two-fer status (which, frankly, would have been enough, since these two albums are so tremendous, their first CD release is something to celebrate) and becomes the best single-disc collection of Jerry Lee's country material. There have been other discs that tackle the same recordings for Smash (all unfortunately out of print as of this writing), but their scope was a little broader, including many of his '70s hits for Mercury as well as Smash sides unheard here.