Kenny Rogers and the First Edition – Greatest Hits (1971):  This is a great overview of an under-rated country-rock band that released 11 studio albums and covered a lot more of Kenny Rogers’ early career than most people realize (including me, until I got this record).  The First Edition was assembled in 1967 mostly by former members of the New Christy Minstrels; and like most folk groups of that type, there were several lead singers in the beginning.  On their first album, The First Edition (1967), Kenny Rogers sings lead on only two songs; though one was their first hit single, the Top 5 curiosity “Just Dropped in (to See What Condition My Condition Was In)”.  This pop-psychedelic song has goofy lyrics that makes it close to a novelty song if you ask me, but the performance benefits from studio effects that producer Mike Post introduced, such as backwards guitar by Glen Campbell in the introductory section.  No less than Jimi Hendrix once told Kenny Rogers that “Just Dropped In” was his all-time favorite record.  Their follow-up single “But You Know I Love You” (1968) made it to #19 on the Billboard singles chart.  By 1969, the band’s name was changed to Kenny Rogers and the First Edition; Kenny Rogers did not begin his solo career until the fall of 1975 (four years after this Greatest Hits album came out).  Most of their later hit singles were more country flavored and include “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town”, “Something’s Burning”, “Heed the Call”, “Tell it All Brother”, and “Reuben James”.  Mike Post, who produced the first three First Edition albums, later gained fame after providing the theme music for numerous legendary television dramas, including Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The A-Team, NYPD Blue, The Rockford Files, L.A. Law, Magnum, P.I., and Hill Street Blues.