The names Sam Phillips and Sun Records may not mean much to a lot of people, but the number of artists who owe their start to Phillips and his small, independent record label located at 706 Union Avenue Memphis, Tennessee, is incredible. Opening in 1952, artists such as Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins got their start there, and that’s just the white folks. Sun Records was also known, by word of mouth, for being a studio that anyone could record in. The blues-playing black folk in the area took full advantage of this, and Sun Records became one of, if not the, most successful independent record labels in the world during the 1950s.

Throughout the decade Sun Records grew from strength to strength, as artists got their break, recorded a few million-sellers, then promptly jumped ship to larger, more corporate labels that had more money, more influence and better distribution. It must have been quite frustrating for Phillips to watch the talent that he kick-started go to other labels and become better paid, huge international stars.

That’s not to say that these artists had to jump ship to make it. Most of them, Elvis included, had already become very successful while on the Sun label, but it’s hard not to jump when people are offering obscene amounts of money. It is a trend that continues to this day.

This DVD is a first hand account of what Sun Records was. With a large amount of input from Phillips and many of the artists who recorded there, memories are tested, friendships rekindled and the odd grudge acknowledged. The feature culminates in the 50th anniversary of Sun Records in 2001, and while the biggest names such as Presley and Orbison were absent for obvious reasons, there is still a lot of great music here, all with that distinct Sun Records sound.

The biggest recordings from Sun Records are acknowledged. Hits such as That’s Alright, Mama, Blue Suede Shoes, Honey Don’t, and I Walk the Line, are faithfully, and occasionally not so faithfully, re-recorded for a tribute album by the likes of Paul McCartney, Johnny Hallyday, Ben Folds Five and Live. Some of these re-recordings, such as those from McCartney, Mark Knopfler, and Zuchero, were recorded at Sun Records itself, and feature most of the members of Elvis Presley’s band amongst other Sun label artists. Some numbers, such as that from Jimmy Page and Robert Plant are recorded elsewhere. They are all shown as full-length recordings however, and Lonely Weekends by Matchbox Twenty even has Jerry Lee Lewis on piano.

Music historians will know much of this, but it is always more interesting to hear these stories first hand. The featured artists are all mostly big names and many of the songs are rock and roll staples. Music lovers should be more than happy.

Being a recent production, this DVD boasts a very nice video and audio. The 16:9 enhanced 1.85:1 aspect ratio looks mostly clear and clean with good definition, though things look a bit shaky when the camera pans from one face to the next during round table discussions. Colours are solid, natural and unaffected by noise or bleeding. There are fine black levels and shadow detail is mostly good, occasionally dipping in some of the bar room discussions. There is little evidence of grain, very minor and negligible shimmer and virtually no artefacts such as dirt of flecks. The layer change is neatly placed at 58:32. The only real problems are a few frame lockups in Chapter 14 that were confirmed on two other DVD players. They are quite annoying, but thankfully only occurred in the one chapter and the rest of the viewing was plain sailing. Of course, this could just be a faulty disc. We will endeavour to find out more.

Audio is courtesy of a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix. I was expecting a shocker where a mono signal is simply piped in 5.1 directions souding like you are sitting inside a big tin can, but I am pleased to say this is not the case. This is a genuine 5.1 audio track and a nice one to boot, having been well mixed and well balanced. Most of the audio comes from the front sound wall, with a subtle bass directed to the subwoofer. Trebles are clear, as are all vocals, and each instrument is nicely positioned. The rears are used more to fill up the room than for flashy audio gymnastics. There are no problems with synchronisation, nor distortion or hiss. Dialogue is heavily focused in the centre speaker, and is also clear and bright.

The very minimal extras amount to a Sun Records Selected Discography which lists seven pages of albums from the likes of Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins, and Umbrella Propaganda which consists of four standard trailers for Road to Nashville, Johnny Cash - An Anthology of the Man in Black, Gene Vincent - At Town Hall Party, and Bob Luman - At Town Hall Party.

Music historians owe it to themselves to check out the history of Sun Records and its role in bringing essentially black music to a white audience. It made stars out Elvis Presley, Carl Perkins and the like, and was fundamental in giving a musical voice to many when no one else would listen. Sun Records these days is little more than a museum, but, as the guy from Matchbox Twenty (or was it Live?) said, “If these walls could whisper…�