From Small Things: The Best of Dave Edmunds

Welshman Dave Edmunds made a career of pulling melodies from rockabilly roadhouses, English pubs, and country lanes. So this near career-spanning collection is a swell mixer of history-tripping nostalgias. It reveals Edmunds' ability to absolutely possess songs he didn’t write; stunning are his takes of Smiley Lewis’ “I Hear You Knockin’,” Elvis Costello’s “Girls Talk” (live here), Nick Lowe’s “I Knew the Bride,” John Fogerty’s “Almost Saturday Night,” and The Everly Brothers’ gorgeous “Let It Be Me.” Worthy oddities abound too, such as the Jeff Lynne–helmed “Slipping Away” and “Run Rudolph Run” from the Party Party soundtrack.