Anthology Gives a ‘Killer’ View of Jerry Lee Lewis

Does the world need another Jerry Lee Lewis retrospective?

By last count, there were more than a dozen CD compilations saluting the man whose career first blossomed in the ‘50s with a series of landmark rock hits, including “Great Balls of Fire,” and then enjoyed a resurgence in the late ‘60s and ‘70s with some classic country singles.

The problem with previous studio collections is they focused on either Lewis’ country or his rock recordings, giving us only a partial glimpse of this Louisiana native’s full influence and talent.

The rock and country pieces are finally brought together in the highly recommended “The Jerry Lee Lewis Anthology--All Killer No Filler!,” which has just been released by Rhino Records.

The two-disc set contains 42 selections, ranging from such early Sun Records rock gems as “Whole Lot of Shakin’ Going On” and “Breathless” to his series of country hits on Mercury Records. The latter include “What Made Milwaukee Famous (Has Made a Loser Out of Me),” “She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye” and “Thirty-Nine and Holding.”

Actually, Lewis--who grew up listening to gospel, country and blues--included country material in his repertoire back in the Sun Records days. Among the country tunes he recorded for the label: “Crazy Arms,” an earlier hit for Ray Price, and Hank Williams’ “You Win Again.”

Indeed, Lewis has such a strong feel for country music that it’s a wonder he hasn’t been voted into the Country Music Hall of Fame as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. His country vocals are characterized by a wry, honky-tonk sentimentality that is as personalized and as ultimately convincing as the styles of the best singers ever in the field.

In the liner notes, Jimmy Gutterman captures nicely the way Lewis tackles a song such as “What Made Milwaukee Famous” with an aggressiveness that almost pushes it to parody, yet steps back just in time to make the vocal end up warmly effective.

Gutterman describes the song as an “archetypal honky-tonk ballad to which Jerry Lee contributed an incredibly involved vocal, drawing emotion out of the title’s punch line without falling into the prime vice of honky-tonk ballads--self-pity.”

Also new:

* “ ‘70s Teen Idols: Yesterdays Heroes” on Rhino. Among the youthful pop heartthrobs represented on these 18 tracks: Bobby Sherman, Davy Jones, Michael Jackson, Shaun Cassidy, the Hudson Brothers and the Bay City Rollers. (54 minutes, liner notes).

* Eddie Cochran’s “Singin’ to My Baby”/”Never to Be Forgotten” on EMI. The CD contains both the 1957 album debut by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame member, who was killed in a 1962 auto crash, and a posthumous album. (51 minutes, new plus original liner notes).