Artist: Various Artists
Album: Feel Like Going Home (The Songs Of Charlie Rich)
Label: Memphis International Records
Release Date: 10/14/2016
Charlie Rich was known for varying his template — segueing from rockabilly, jazz and blues, to country, soul and gospel — and that’s what makes Feel Like Going Home such a wonderfully diverse record. Given its wide array of contributors — Jim Lauderdale, Will Kimbrough, Shooter Jennings, Kevin Connolly and Keith Sykes, among them — the song selection effectively reflects Rich’s wide range of styles. True, his crossover hits “Behind Closed Doors” or “The Most Beautiful Girl” aren’t included, but Lauderdale’s rootsy reprise of “Lonely Weekends” (arguably the best known song in the set), and Holli Mosely’s soulful turn on “Who Will the Next Fool Be” stake out the music’s broader parameters. Charlie Rich Jr.’s take on his dad’s classic “Break Up,” as well as the downcast ballad “Sittin’ and Thinkin’,” courtesy of Will Kimbrough, also define that diversity. In a sense, Feel Like Going Home seems more like a random sampler than the pure primer it could have been. Regardless, however, the producers have done Rich right, and these satisfying sounds make this a wealth of Rich’s best indeed.
-Lee Zimmerman
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