Product Review

Charlie Rich's Smash recordings were described by the artist as the favorite of his career. This glorious compendium features all 29 tracks that he cut for the Mercury subsidiary between 1965 and 1966, including the Top 10 US hit Mohair Sam.

Rich was one of the last discoveries of Sam Phillips at Sun, and the one who Phillips thought could challenge Elvis' success. His love of R&B, jazz and country made it hard for his record companies to know quite how to present Rich. Super-stardom did not arrive until his breakthrough #1 The Most Beautiful Girl in 1973.

At Smash he was paired with producer Jerry Kennedy who let Rich have his way. As a result the sides he recorded for them are a splendid representation of Rich's many influences, from the forlorn passion of No Home, the desolate Field Of Yellow Daisies to the dance-floor R&B grooves of Party Girl and the updated rockabilly of Hawg Jaw.

Rich and his wife Margaret Ann provide many of the songs alongside Nashville greats such as Donnie Fritts and Dallas Frazier. The production from Kennedy is exemplary throughout.