Most of the tracks here were made after Carl Perkins jumped from Sun Records to Columbia in 1958 and stayed there five years with a major label that promoted his friend and former Sun colleague Johnny Cash to superstardom but had little idea what to do with Perkins. Nonetheless, there's a lot of great rock here -- even the shoe songs (obvious attempts like "Pink Pedal Pushers" and "Pointy Toed Shoes" to capitalize on Perkins' great hit at Sun) are exciting, driving rock.
The album contains two tracks from his "Whole Lotta Shakin'" album of rock covers, including Jimmy Lloyd's "Where the Rio de Rosa Flows" -- transformed from a nice little mid-tempo country honky-tonker into driving, scorching rock that stands alongside "Blue Suede Shoes," "All Mama's Children," "Dixie Fried" and "Matchbox" atop Perkins' discography.
The disc also has three tracks from Perkins' second period as a Columbia artist (1968-1973), including the surprise country hit "Restless" and a remake of "All Mama's Children" with the 1960's band NRBQ. But it's the tracks from Perkins' first Columbia stint -- including sly, infectious country-rock pieces like "Honey, 'Cause I Love You", "L-O-V-E-V-I-L-L-E" and "Sister Twister" -- that make this disc a must-have for fans of pre-Beatles white rock.
Pink Pedal Pushers
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