Disco de Charley Pride: “Essential Charley Pride [RLG Legacy]”

Charley Pride - country music's lone black superstar - ranks behind only Elvis Presley in all-time sales figures for RCA artists. Yet his deep RCA catalog has never been properly exploited. The forty-track remastered Anthology - the first multi-disc Pride retrospective available domestically in stores -was a step in the right direction. Now, just three years later, Sony/BMG has lazily just reissued that collection under a new name and upped the price by $10!

Pride created his own vocal style by melding the smooth delivery of Jim Reeves with a natural twang that recalled Lefty Frizzell and Ernest Tubb. The early singles (1966-68) that lead off disc one, like "Just Between You And Me" and "The Easy Part's Over," are all ballads sung in a lower key. With the 1969 live recording of Hank Williams' "Kaw-Liga," Pride added an uptempo hit to his repertoire that finally captured his warm baritone in its natural register (which he used on all recordings thereafter).

"Kaw-Liga's" follow-up, the ballad "All I Have To Offer You (Is Me)" gave Pride the first of twenty-nine number one country hits at RCA. Aside from a gospel number "Did You Think To Pray," the tracks that make up the rest of disc one - covering 1970 through 1973 - also hit number one and are among Pride's most enduring recordings, including the uptempo "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore," "Is Anybody Going To San Antone" and his signature tune "Kiss An Angel Good Mornin'," as well as his common man odes "I'm Just Me" and "All His Children."

Disc two is dominated by relationship tunes - mostly ballads - such as "Then Who Am I" and "She's Just An Old Love Turned Memory." This disc also denotes a change in producers (from Jack Clement to Jerry Bradley). While not reflected in their first collaboration - 1974's seemingly biographical "Mississippi Cotton Pickin' Delta Town" - Bradley's production approach eventually altered Pride's sound dramatically. Adding layers of strings and supersweet background vocals that created a lushness more typical of Ronnie Milsap (particularly on "More To Me" and "When I Stop Leaving"), Pride's voice - which had grown more expressive over the years - is often rendered indistinctive on these mid-70s through mid-80s singles.

While most of Pride's hits are here, Anthology and this set omit some key tracks: his first single "Snakes Crawl At Night," his last big RCA hit "Every Heart Should Have One," the haunting "Missin' You," and the nostalgic "Burgers And Fries," among others. It's too bad that Sony/BMG didn't include the ten additional tracks that it easily had room for in order to get this overview absolutely right (instead of just releasing the same tracks again). Incidentally, there is a fifty-track Pride collection (Legendary) that is available as an import from RCA-Australia.

This double-disc set is a straight up reissue of 2003's "Anthology," featuring the same 40 tracks, and the same liner notes. That said, it's still the best introduction to Pride's great career at RCA, whatever RCA wants to use as a title. The material spans Pride's entire twenty year run at RCA, from his second single, 1966's "Before I Met You," through his final year's "Down on the Farm" in 1985. In between, the collection does an excellent job of cherry-picking from Pride's extensive catalog and eye-popping chart success. Out of 54 singles issued for RCA, 51 hit the country Top-10, and many of his chart-toppers crossed over to minor pop success.

Pride's commercial success began with the Grammy® winning top-10 "Just You and Me" from 1966. Written by Jack Clement and produced by Chet Atkins, Bob Ferguson and Clement, Pride's masterful baritone is set between twangy pedal steel and a countrypolitan background chorus. For all the recognition Pride has received as country music's first (and really only) African American superstar, his music, particularly as produced by Clement, is completely colorblind. His song choices speak to country music's universal experiences of love and loss, and his voice, while quite unique, is marked mostly by his Southern raising.

Taking off from his first chart success, Pride minted an amazing streak of top-10s, including a run of #1s from 1969 through 1971. Of the six ("All I Have to Offer You (Is Me)," "(I'm So) Afraid of Losing You Again," "(Is Anybody Going To) San Antone," "Wonder Could I Live There Anymore," "I Can't Believe That You've Stopped Loving Me," and "I'd Rather Love You), only the last is missing from this set. Clement's use of chorus backings adds an element of resolve and strength to Pride's laments, creating the sense of a man who still has friends to help pick him up after various emotional devastations. His carefree whistling outro to "San Antone" suggests a happier future, and a cover of Merle Haggard's "A Shoulder to Cry On" is more apologetic than Haggard's desolate original.

Pride could also sing happy songs, like his signature "Kiss an Angel Good Morning," topping the country chart and nearly edging into the pop Top-20. The faith-inspired follow-up, "All His Children" (from the film "Sometimes a Great Notion"), adds a sweeping chorus and a Henry Mancini string arrangement. Even more lush are the strings and harmonies for 1978's "Someone Loves You Honey." Pride continued to sound country in voice, even as the productions crossed over to the pop music featured on disc two. The early '80s brought the disco-fied #1 "Night Games" a twangy live cover of George Jones' "Why Baby Why," and the collection closing homage to small farms, "Down on the Farm."

A recording career as deep as Pride's can't be fully covered in only two discs, and so there are missing hits (e.g., 1980's #1 "Honky Tonk Blues") and favorite album cuts that still await reissue. But with the bulk of Pride's catalog still in the vault, these forty tracks will need to sate those new to Pride's catalog, and whet the appetite of those who still hanging on to their original vinyl. [©2006 hyperbolium dot com]

Very good collection. Has some that are a little harder to find, like "All His Children" and "We Could." For the price, it's a good buy. All of your Charley Pride favorites can't be on one CD, but this one makes a good effort.

I had purchased this product as a Christmas present for my Father. He had been looking everywhere for a CD to buy. I found out and decided to find via internet,. Great Job

Love some Charley Pride. I met him when I was very young and I will never forget how kind and considerate he was back then! I HAD to have some of his music! Great performer!