A mysterious, and quite possibly unauthorized, CD release of 23 hard-to-find tracks from Nelson's early career. It's actually debatable how "rare" some of these items are; there are seven songs from his 1962 LP Album Seven By Rick, which made the Top 30 and can probably still be found today without breaking a leg. For those who want some more Rick than the greatest-hits collections offer, this does have the three fairly unremarkable tracks he released on Verve in 1957 before hooking up with Imperial, all of which were hits ("Teenagers Romance," "I'm Walking," "You're My One and Only Love"). The Album Seven cuts are respectable rockabilly-pop, and there are "single versions" of the hits "Believe What You Say" and "Be Bop Baby," although the version of "Be Bop Baby" here sounds different (and inferior) to the one you usually hear on oldies stations, and which was released by Rhino as "the single version" back in the 1980s.

Snapper's Hello Mary Lou spotlights Ricky Nelson's hits recorded in the '50s and '60s including "Travelin' Man," "Stood Up," "Poor Little Fool," and " Hello Mary Lou." While this set isn't bad for casual listeners, the better choice is Greatest Hits on Capitol, as it includes "Garden Party" and other favorites not included on this compilation.