Disc 1
01. I Get Evil (Albert King) (2:30)
02. Baby, Let Me Follow You Down (Bob Dylan) (2:36)
03. Hide Away (Freddie King) (2:39)
04. Hold That Train (B.B. King) (3:18)
05. Crying at the Station (Brownie McGhee) (4:03)
06. Train Done Gone (Eddie 'Blues Man' Kirkland) (2:32)
07. Casey Jones (Pete Seeger) (2:13)
08. Too Close Blues (Lightnin' Slim) (1:59)
09. Stormy Monday (Jimmy Witherspoon) (3:43)
10. Where Have All the Flowers Gone (The Kingston Trio) (3:05)
11. Stewball (Memphis Slim) (4:17)
12. Highway Blues (Lightnin' Hopkins) (2:40)
13. Roll On, Buddy (Paul Clayton) (2:41)
14. Love Me Baby (Shakey Jake) (3:06)
15. Jack Went a Sailing (Lori Holland) (1:58)
16. Just Make Love to Me (Muddy Waters) (2:48)
17. Johnny Runkins (Pat Foster) (1:36)
18. Rainin' in My Heart (Slim Harpo) (2:31)
19. I'm Crazy 'Bout You Baby (Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee) (3:24)
20. Boom Boom (John Lee Hooker) (2:33)
Disc 2
01. The Hammer Song (B.B. King) (2:12)
02. Dimples (John Lee Hooker) (2:10)
03. I Wanna See My Baby (T-Bone Walker) (3:19)
04. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Dave Van Ronk) (1:53)
05. Mean Ole Frisco (B.B. King) (2:28)
06. Man of Stone (Eddie 'Blues Man' Kirkland) (1:57)
07. Little Old Log Cabin in the Woods (Pegram and Parham) (3:05)
08. I've Made Nights by Myself (Albert King) (2:39)
09. Patrol Blues (Lazy Lester) (2:34)
10. Love Henry (Peggy Seeger) (6:25)
11. I'm a Mojo Man (Lonesome Sundown) (2:24)
12. A Worried Man (The Kingston Trio) (2:52)
13. I Love You Baby (Smokey Hogg) (2:19)
14. Wreck of the Old '97 (Woody Guthrie) (2:14)
15. Bye Bye Baby (Memphis Slim & T-Bone Walker) (2:38)
16. late Last Night (Slim Harpo) (2:39)
17. Heads Up (Freddy King) (2:32)
18. Peg and Awl (Doc Watson) (2:13)
19. I'm a Rollin' Stone (Lightnin' Slim) (2:27)
20. Hoochie Coochie (Muddy Waters) (2:50)
Disc 3
01. When My Heart Beats Like a Hammer (B.B. King) (2:47)
02. Mean Old Frisco (Brownie McGhee) (2:16)
03. In the Pines (Dave Van Ronk) (3:03)
04. We're Gonna Rock (Memphis Slim) (3:00)
05. I Wonder Why (Lightnin' Hopkins) (2:30)
06. Tom Dooley (The Kingston Trio) (3:05)
07. Mind Your Own Business (Lightnin' Slim) (2:18)
08. Down on My Knees (Eddie 'Blues Man' Kirkland) (2:21)
09. The Yellow Rose of Texas (Pegram and Parham) (2:05)
10. Don't Start Cryin' Now (Slim Harpo) (2:12)
11. I'll Never Be Free (Jimmy Witherspoon) (3:21)
12. Jackhammer Blues (Woody Guthrie) (2:38)
13. Can't Keep from Cryin' (Earl Gaines) (2:30)
14. Strawberry Roan (Pat Foster) (4:01)
15. Swooshy (Freddy King) (2:20)
16. I'm in Love (T-Bone Walker) (3:56)
17. Shake a Leg (Smokey Hogg) (2:58)
18. Goodbye, Little Bonnie, Goodbye (Paul Clayton) (1:40)
19. Goin Down Slow (Sonny Terry) (3:16)
20. Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream (Pete Seeger) (2:29)
Back on Top might be a slight overstatement in regards to Carl Perkins'
late-'60s return to Columbia. He did not quite tear up the charts but
he did have a considerable comeback, especially in terms of quality,
creating music that arguably surpassed his Sun recordings in depth and
range, even if it didn't produce any songs as iconic as "Blue Suede
Shoes" or "Matchbox." This resurgence -- partially fueled by having been
Johnny Cash's wingman -- on Columbia and his subsequent short stint at
Mercury is documented on Bear Family's four-disc box set Back on Top,
its title a play on the name of his 1969 album On Top, which peaked at
42. All his master recordings from On Top until 1973's excellent My
Kind of Country are here -- including his NRBQ-supported 1970 set
Boppin' the Blues -- along with a disc that's billed as demos, but
these aren't stripped-down guitar-and-voice things from Carl; they're
full-fledged band records, raw and vigorous, not so much an addendum to
the rest of this box but a complete unreleased album that helps
illustrate how Perkins was flourishing during this time.
