OUT OF THE VAULTS : The Sun Legacy in 74 Songs

*****; VARIOUS ARTISTS, “The Sun Record Collection” ( Rhino )

If Sun Records had begun in 1954 with Elvis Presley, it could still lay claim to the title of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll label.

But the legacy of Sun began five years earlier, when Sam Phillips decided to open a small Memphis studio to record local talent--including future Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members Howlin’ Wolf, B. B. King and Ike Turner--and sell the tracks to such established labels as Chess.

The first disc in this invaluable three-disc, 74-song set focuses on that period, starting with such pre-Sun Phillips recordings as Jackie Brenston’s landmark “Rocket 88” and including Junior Parker’s original “Mystery Train.”

Phillips started the Sun label in 1952, leading to a treasured body of work that stands as the defining moment when Southern blues, country and gospel roots blossomed into rock ‘n’ roll. Presley would be followed at Sun--and into the Hall of Fame--by such seminal artists as Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Roy Orbison and Carl Perkins.

Not everything Phillips touched turned to gold; many of the some three-dozen artists featured in the set have been long forgotten. In virtually every selection, however, you hear the ambition and desire of artists who were encouraged to put a liberating spark of individuality into their music.

“Money, fame, none of this jazz gets in my way of knowing the greatest thing on this earth is being able to feel something,” Phillips says in the liner notes, underscoring a Sun philosophy that could serve as a rock credo. “That’s the greatest freedom in the world. That’s what I wanted my records to do.”

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