Photographers: Colin Escott; Bill Millar; John Reggero; Philip Day.
Culling 24 classics from 1957 to 1981, THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION is one of the finest single-disc Jerry Lee Lewis compilations available. Beginning with Lewis's raucous landmark singles for Sun Records ("Whole Lot of Shakin' Going On," "Great Balls of Fire"), this release also touches on his oft-underrated late-'60s comeback as a lovelorn country crooner ("Don't Let Me Cross Over," "She Even Woke Me Up to Say Goodbye"), and includes other latter-day tracks, most notably an inventive, world-weary take on the standard "Over the Rainbow." Although the set skimps a bit on the Killer's Sun heyday, it offers a well-selected sampling of his '60s and '70s recordings, providing an excellent, if not complete, overview of Lewis's remarkably productive career.
