Carl Perkins Some Things Never Change 2025

I need an editor. If I had one, she would have told me some time ago to stop using the phrase "there's not a weak track". I'll be working on that, but this new Carl Perkins record is going to test my resolve.

Recorded in 1990 and produced by the talented Bill Lloyd, the recording was lost until Lloyd found it in his archives in 2024. It is essential Perkins. It sounds like the follow-up to Perkin's debut, the wonderful Dance Album of Carl Perkins from 1958, which was a collection of singles released on Sun Records between 1955-1958. 

It is 33 minutes long. Lots of artists make records that are too long in this CD era. This one leaves you wanting more. 

The record kicks off with Perkins' Baby, Bye Bye, a classic rockabilly stomper, followed by Don't Cha Know I Love You, a fine mid-tempo rocker with Perkins' southern drawl and sweet pedal steel guitar from Pete Finney. Then it's on to John Hiatt's great Memphis In The Meantime, and Perkins does it even better than the original and gives it a hot lead guitar break. Messin' Around With Rock and Roll tells the story of a young man in love with country and blues who discovers that his rockabilly is indeed rock and roll, and Perkins lays down some serious chicken-pickin' leads and fills.

The title track is a sweet love ballad about love that lasts, and is enhanced by Joe Schenk's piano. Miss Muddy is a piano-led boogie-woogie blast of an ode to the Mississippi river with more hot guitar in Perkin's inimitable style. The country-folk of Where Does Love Go makes heartache sound fresh, and again Carl adds a simple yet perfect lead. Since Carl played lead guitar in Johnny Cash's band for a decade he has the right to do a cover of Get Rhythm, and while nothing new, it's a fine version again with Carl's guitar featured. Finally Heart Of My Heart is pure stomping rockabilly with more guitar and steel guitar.

Every song is an opportunity for Perkins' country twang of a voice to light up the room. He's a fine singer, a great songwriter, and a killer guitarist. His sons make up the rhythm section, and they are competent professionals. In addition to the aforementioned sidemen, Jerry Douglas helps out too.

Perkins made five or six more records after this before his passing in 1998. But like that Jerry Lee Lewis record I reviewed recently, this is a late career masterpiece. Available for streaming and on all physical formats, including vinyl.