Legacy
Rick Nelson's lengthy career spanned 30 years, with records on the  charts from the late '50s to the early '80s, yet most remember him only as  "Little Ricky." This comprehensive, 100-song retrospective rectifies that,  giving full scope to his remarkable and surprisingly robust career.  Additionally, the photo-heavy booklet gives insight into the era when rock &  roll, television, and culture first merged. Ricky Nelson was the first teen  idol who grew up on television. His parents'Ozzie and Harriet Showafforded him the opportunity to sing, and he was groomed to be early TV's middle  ground between Elvis and Pat Boone. Disc 1 captures this period, featuring his  earliest hits such as "I'm Walkin'" and "Poor Little Fool," though others likeLittle Walter's "My Babe" and "There Goes My Baby", with sizzling guitar leads by James Burton, reveal a genuine rockabilly edginess, suggesting Ricky's truer leanings.Disc 2 has the majority of Ricky's largest hits, pop pieces from '59 to '65, where the addition of strings and theJordanaires' backing vocals led to smash hits like "Mary Lou," "Travelin' Man," and "Young World."Disc 3 documents Rick's (he had dropped they) mid-'60s evolution into a country sound heavily influenced byBob Dylan'sNashville Skyline. Rick's version of Dylan's "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" was well received, but the big hit on this disc is "Garden Party," a wry, autobiographical take on his rejection by a '72 oldies-oriented crowd at Madison Square Garden.Disc 4 features material with his Stone Canyon Band, covering the period from 1972 to 1985, the year of his unfortunate plane crash. By now, his rich, yearning voice blends perfectly with the pedal-steel-led band, and the music sounds remarkably contemporary.Rick Nelson's teenage celebrity typecast him for life, butLegacyreveals a solid musician who matured and grew over time. This anthology does him and his fans a great service.--Wally Shoup