Is there a good sounding SUN comp out there?

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Dean De Furia, Aug 26, 2002.

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  1. Dean De Furia

    Dean De Furia Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Northern NJ
    I just got back from a week in Nashville/Memphis and really loved the SUN Studio tour. Man, it gave me goosebumps standing in that place! I pulled out my Rhino SUN comp and I hate it... too shrill and lifeless. What's the best one out there? It seems like a lot of labels, domestic and import, have this stuff out. I want to hear that throbbing, full-of-life sound!
     
  2. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Believe it or not, the old Charly comps sounded pretty good.

    The Best Of Sun Rockabilly Volume 1 Charly 16

    The Best Of Sun Rockabilly Volume 2 Charly 36

    These are amazing CD's.

    Also, Bear Family....

    Nice hanging out at Sun, wasn't it? Good vibes in that place. I felt funny standing where Elvis, Jerry Lee and my all time favorite Carl Perkins stood. Had to go eat at the Rendezvous after to recover. :)
     
    StormSignal likes this.
  3. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Try Bear Family - Boppin' Bob Jones grooves to the Sun throb, and our fearless leader Steve has fessed up to enjoying BB's work... Only one tiny caveat - Bear Family hasn't done a comp with the obvious hits all in one place like the Rhino set, but if you dig the Sun Sound then you'll like the lesser knowns, too. Maybe Steve can talk the Audio Fidelity folks into doing a set (HINT, HINT)...

    Oh, see Steve's above post..
     
  4. Dean De Furia

    Dean De Furia Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Northern NJ
    Steve, Yeah it was cool! The room was very small, like an average 1 car garage. It sounded pretty "live" for a recording studio. I guess that's how they got that "sound".
     
  5. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    When my wife and I went there, a few Japanese tourists were there - 2 touristy looking types and the 3rd wearing a black leather jacket in June - that cat looked like he was gonna jump outta his skin and scream "Go, cat, go!!!" when they played Blue Suede Shoes. The look on his face matched how I felt - just flat out bliss in that tiny room...
     
  6. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Hey, are those the ones with the black and brown covers? I've got them out in my pickup truck - hadn't played them in awhile and they sound better than I remembered - a couple of those songs are available in better sound on Bear since more goodies have been excavated from the Sun vaults (Sonny Burgess comes to mind). Those Charly sets are well picked, but the King is MIA... Charly discs are less expensive than the Bear's, but the Bear's have superfine booklets with session info - some guy on Ebay has the Sun stuff and other Bear RAB discs starting around $14.50 - hey Steve, you remember that cat's name??? :confused:
     
  7. Dean De Furia

    Dean De Furia Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Northern NJ
    I also tried to find "Studio B'" in Nashville but I didn't know the address and the people I asked on the street thought I was crazy. What I did find in Memphis on my first night in the first Elvis stuff store I walked in to was TWO copies of "Elvis Is Back" on DCC LP, one opened mint, one sealed. I bought both for $50 each. I spent the rest of the week looking in all the other stores for more treasures but came up empty handed. Oh well, I was lucky enough!
     
  8. Steve Hoffman

    Steve Hoffman Your host Your Host

    Good score. Memphis did right by ya.
     
  9. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    I think that address is 639 Madison for the "new" studio - check out Good Rockin' Tonight by Colin Escott and Martin Hawkins for the poop on that studio and the whole Sun scene - thanks for starting up a boppin' thread - I've been itching to see some stuff like this pop up!
     
  10. Matt

    Matt New Member

    Location:
    Illinois
    Is anyone here familiar with the two-disc CD compilations Charly put out a few years ago? The discs come in separate jewel cases housed in a slipcase/box. I spotted two of them, "They Very Best of Johnny Cash" and "The Very Best of Jerry Lee Lewis," at a local store. Are these worth getting?
     
  11. mudbone

    mudbone Gort Annaologist

    Location:
    Canada, O!
    Matt, I've always been satisfied with the Charly discs. Pick 'em up because Charly went out of business. Whoever owns the Chess stuff (Universal?) sued them and they have been out of business for a few years. They had some great boxsets. 9cd Chuck Berry, 12cd Bo Diddley, etc. Every track (plus outtakes) these people recorded for Chess.

    Awesome stuff.

    Mud-
     
    Imagine70 likes this.
  12. peterC

    peterC Aussie Addict

    Location:
    sydney
    I'm kinda fond of the 3CD Rhino box.
    Not too much, not too little.
     
    vinnie likes this.
  13. Jamie Tate

    Jamie Tate New Member

    Location:
    Nashville
    It's the first cross street between 16th and 17th Ave. I think it's on Chet Atkins Way. Small white brick front building. A studio I worked at was moved into Studio B when our roof fell in. I used to do recording sessions there in the early to mid 90's before the Country Music Foundation closed it off except for tours. The live chamber is still upstairs. What a trip standing there imagining all the sounds that have bounced around. I did them same thing at Abbey Road last year. Studio 2 has the same wood floor as it did in the sixties. There's a B-3 and a few pianos that were around 40 years ago too. One of the upright pianos was used for the last chord on Pepper. The organ was played on Whiter Shade of Pale as well as the Beatles stuff. Incredible history.

    I know the picture isn't at Sun Studios but I thought someone might find it interesting.
     

    Attached Files:

  14. Dean De Furia

    Dean De Furia Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Northern NJ
    Does anyone own any of the Bear Family "Sun Singles" boxes? Talk about complete! 24 cds! How do they sound? Nice and punchy?
     
  15. mudbone

    mudbone Gort Annaologist

    Location:
    Canada, O!
    Dean, I have the Sun Singles boxes. It is a bit of overkill but they, indeed, sound great. If only Bear could get its hands on, say, the Apple Singles. Oh well......

    Note to yesman: I am impressed !!! (and damn jealous, too ! :D )


    Mud-
     
  16. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    YIKES - wanna come over and spin those babies one at a time??? I'm assuming that El-vez is part of that set - if so, how does the King come out sonically???
     
  17. mudbone

    mudbone Gort Annaologist

    Location:
    Canada, O!
    Indy, I don't think you'll find too many that criticize what Bear does. The EP tracks sound fabulous.

    I am glad I bought these babies as they were released. I couldn't afford to buy 'em all at once. But they are cheaper these days. You can score 'em for $66 each.

    Mud-
     
  18. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, that's a lotta jack, but I GOTTA have the King done right regarding the Sun stuff - how many discs per set? Was Boppin' Bob Jones manning the controls, or were they done by Duncan Cowell, who also gets the RAB throb right.... I love Bear's stuff - got a bunch of the That'll Flat Git It series, and several of the single artist sets. Wish they'd continue the state/region sets and hit Indiana - there's some great Howlin' Hoosier 'billy tunes needing a proper reissue...
     
  19. mudbone

    mudbone Gort Annaologist

    Location:
    Canada, O!
    Indy, mastered by Bob Jones. There are 6 cds in each box. All the EP tracks are in Box 1. So you'll only need that boxset to get what you want.

    Mud-
     
  20. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Cool, daddio!!! :D Where are those beauties available at that most reasonable price you mentioned??? Boppin' Bob gots the throb!!!
     
  21. jdw

    jdw Senior Member

    One Sun compilation worth looking for is the 8 CD "Sun Records: The Blues Years 1950-1958" on Charly (released in 1996).

    The set includes a huge booklet and discography and the music is fantastic. Audio production is another matter, because No-Noise is listed specifically in the liner notes. Disc noise and other cool stuff is still present, though, so perhaps the post-production was not
    overdone.

    The 1996 CD box is a reissue of the 1980s LP set, so purists might want to search for that one instead. However, the CD version does not contain the Gospel and Vocal group material included on the vinyl release. The CD liner notes state that 40 alternate takes/rarities and 31 unreleased tracks are new (as compared to the LP set).

    Amazing music...
     
    Imagine70 likes this.
  22. mudbone

    mudbone Gort Annaologist

    Location:
    Canada, O!
    Indy, here's where I get all my Sun stuff. The guy's really reasonable and turns your order around quickly.

    http://www.cdwolf.com/index.html

    He's upped his price to $69 for the Sun Singles Boxes and I made a friggin' mistake. There are only 4 cds per box but still you'll only need box 1 for the Elvis stuff.

    Rock On!!!

    Mud-
    :cool:
     
  23. mudbone

    mudbone Gort Annaologist

    Location:
    Canada, O!
    jdw, I've got that box as well. It is amazing stuff. I didn't know it was originally a vinyl release. Too bad it doesn't have as many tunes.

    Mud-
     
  24. indy mike

    indy mike Forum Pest

    Thanx!!! Good dealer info is appreciated here in ABKCO-land (oops, the House of Hoffman!!!) :love:
     
  25. mudbone

    mudbone Gort Annaologist

    Location:
    Canada, O!
    Well, I am expecting Allen or Betty to post here soon.

    Mud-

    :D
     
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