This double-CD pack, complete with a 68-page booklet, surveys the breadth of the Southern hybrid of country, blues, soul, pop, gospel, and rock that falls loosely under the umbrella term "Southern rock." At 25 tracks, it's hardly an exhaustive study, and cuts by
the Allman Brothers
("Ain't Wastin' Time No More") and
Lynyrd Skynyrd
("The Seasons") are here, of course, but so are such varied and interesting sides as
Joe South
's "Hush,"
Tony Joe White
's "Polk Salad Annie,"
Big Star
's "Thirteen," and
Johnny Cash
's "If I Were a Carpenter," among others, that show how the musical circles in Memphis, Nashville, and Muscle Shoals all worked with and off of each other to create the Southern rock genre between 1969 and 1975. ~ Steve Leggett