Ask any
rockabilly
cat and they'll tell you that
Warren Smith
was one of the greats. He's somebody the hardcore love, not just because he produced the frenzied
"Ubangi Stomp"
and not just because he cut the definitive version of
"Rock & Roll Ruby,"
but also because he was a passionate, powerful
country
singer, wrenching enough emotion out of the traditional
"Black Jack David"
to make it seem like his own. He also had great mid-tempo sides like
"So Long, I'm Gone,"
written by
Roy Orbison
and
Sam Phillips
, and
"Red Cadillac and Black Moustache."
As great as these songs are -- and, decades later, they retain their vitality, thanks to both
Smith
's performance and the spare, vibrant sound of
Sun Studios
-- they were not big hits, with only
"So Long, I'm Gone"
scraping the bottom reaches of the Top 100; but they are among the finest
of the late '50s, as
Bear Family
's stellar
The Classic Recordings: 1956-1959
proves. This single-disc, 31-track collection contains everything
cut at the studio, including several alternate takes and unreleased material. Instead of cluttering the disc, these rarities show
's depth and range, as he sounds equally comfortable with hardcore
as he does with down and dirty
. The remarkable thing about the disc is that the songs and performances are all of consistently high quality. Unlike many of his
peers, either at
Sun
or elsewhere,
cut almost no dross, and his sides for
rank among the finest at the studio, holding its own against the work of
Johnny Cash
,
Carl Perkins
Jerry Lee Lewis
, which is high praise indeed. Needless to say,
belongs in the library of any serious fan of '50s
, or
rock & roll
. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine