The comprehensive package Rick Nelson - Legacy, released last month on Capitol Records, was a labor of love for the children of the late Rick Nelson. Much of the four-disc set--which features more than 100 tracks, many previously unreleased--was compiled by Nelson's four children: daughter and actress Tracy Nelson, and sons and musicians Gunnar, Matthew, and Sam Nelson.

Gunnar told LAUNCH that the entire process--from locating missing session tapes to the finished product--took more than 10 years, and he explained how the project actually came about. "We actually had heard rumors that some garage existed in the middle of Hollywood and our uncle David actually never told us that our father's tapes were in there," he said. "Basically, the only thing that we knew was some of the stock from Ozzie & Harriet was in there, and we went around for years, literally, asking people, 'Have you heard about this track?' I mean, James Burton said he was present during the recording session of 'Jingle Bells,' but it was never released and it was never aired on the show. 'Do you know where it went?' 'Oh, no, don't know where it is,' and all that."

Nelson said not realizing his father's tapes were in the garage--most of the boxes they eventually found were not labeled--was an unfortunate oversight on his uncle's part. quot;Just on a whim, we went down to this garage one day," Gunnar recalled. "Uncle Dave gave us the keys, and we open it up and, yeah--one half was all Ozzie & Harriet stock, and the other half was hundreds of reels of original Rick Nelson session tape from 1957 all the way--1956 actually--all the way up to the year he died. It was all there."

Along with previously unreleased tracks, the package also includes alternate versions of songs, rarities, outtakes, and live recordings. From teen idol to acclaimed songwriter and musician, Rick Nelson --Legacy represents every stage of Rick Nelson's short but well-documented career. An accompanying 48-page booklet includes liner notes by the four Nelson children, as well as by some of the top musicians and producers with whom Nelson worked.

-- Sue Falco, New York.