COUNTRY,
BLUEGRASS & OLD-TIMEY
Dock Boggs -> The
Byrds
| DOCK BOGGS |
Smithsonian Folkways 40108 |
His Folkways Years, 1963-1968 |
● CD $24.98 |
Two CD set featuring all the recordings
made by this great traditional musician for Folkways between 1963 and '68
and originally issued on three LPs. Although lacking the ferocity of his
early recordings he was still a fount of great songs and music.
|
| JOHNNY BOND |
Cattle 266 |
The Fabulous Johnny Bond |
● CD $18.98 |
27 tracks recorded between 1941 and 1951 by this popular West
Coast country artist includes 15 sides from rare radio transcriptions cut
between 1949 and 1951. Sidemen include Joaquin Murphy, Jimmy Wakely, Noel
Boggs and others.
JOHNNY BOND: A Heart Full Of Love (for A Handful Of Kisses)/ Baby You're Thru
Foolin' Me/ Cherokee Waltz/ Hills Of Kentucky/ I Found You Out/ I Love You
Because/ I Won't Stand In Your Way/ I'll Step Aside/ It Ain't A Gonna Happen
To Me/ John's Other Wife/ Kentucky Waltz/ Lily Of The Valley/ Mister And
Mississippi/ Oklahoma Waltz/ Put Me To Bed No. 2/ Read It And Weep/ Somebody
Loves You/ Sparkling Blue Eyes Waltz/ Starlight On The Prairie/ Tennessee
Saturday Night/ Texas Cannonball/ The First Rose/ They Got Me/ Till The End
Of The World/ Wasted Tears/ What Would You Do If You Were Me/ What's Been
Goin' (while I've Been Gone)
|
| JOHNNY BOND |
Cattle 313 |
Alabama Boogie Boy |
● CD $18.98 |
27 tracks recorded between 1951 and '54 by this popular
and prolific performer. Sidemen on these sessions include Speedy West,
Jimmy Bryant, Joe Maphis, Tommy Jackson, Wesley Tuttle and others.
JOHNNY BOND: Alabama Boogie Boy/ Anybody's Baby/ Back
Street Affair/ Born To Be Bad/ Broke, Disgusted And Sad/ Everybody Knew
The Truth But Me/ Fire Water/ I Dreamed I Searched Heaven For You/ I Found
You Out/ I Lose Again/ I Went To Your Wedding/ I Wonder Where You Are
Tonight/ In Old Mexico/ Live And Let Live/ Louisiana Lucy/ My Darling Lola
Leestealin'/ Number Nine Blues/ Old Man Blues/ Our Love Isn't Legal/ Peace
Be Still/ Put A Little Sweetnin' In Your Love/ Sweet Mama, Tree Top Tall/
Thanks/ The Hills Of Old Kentucky/ The Man Behind The Throttle/ The Ninety
And Nine
|
| JOHNNY BOND |
Starday SCD 147 |
Songs Of That Wild, Wicked But Wonderful
West |
● CD $9.98 |
|
| BILL BOYD'S
COWBOY RAMBLERS |
Acrobat ACRCD 145 |
Volume 2 : Lone Star Rag, 1937-1949 |
● CD $10.98 |
15 tracks, 41 minutes, essential
Thirty years ago western
swing collectors considered Bill Boyd one of the genre's "Big Three," his
stature equal to Milton Brown and Bob Wills. Because so little of his
music has been available on compact disc, Boyd's reputation has suffered
in recent decades. More of a Dallas radio and recording act than a dance
ensemble, Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers delivered peppy novelties, cowboy numbers
and instrumental specialties. Essentially stripping the sound of Brown's
Musical Brownies down to its basics, the Ramblers provided the stylistic
template that other hot string bands and small western swing ensembles
would follow throughout the late thirties. For his Bluebird sessions, Boyd
augmented his core quartet with hot musicians recruited from the Light
Crust Doughboys and other bands, most notably fiddlers Cecil Brower,
Carroll Hubbard and Kenneth Pitts, and pianist Knocky Parker. This set
provides a cross-section of the Ramblers' 1937 to 1949 output. As with
Acrobat's first Boyd release ("Saturday Night Rag: 1934-1936"; Acrobat 132
[$10.98]), the sound quality is superb, all tracks lifted directly from
RCA's long-unavailable 2-LP Boyd anthology. The set includes a perfunctory
bio and complete session details. (DS)
BILL BOYD'S COWBOY RAMBLERS: Beaumont Rag/ Boyd's Tin
Roof Blues/ Fan It/ Guess Who's in Town/ I've Got Those Oklahoma Blues/
I've Got the Blues for Mammy/ La Golondrina/ Lone Star Rag/ Mill Blues/
New Fort Worth Rag/ New Spanish Two Step/ New Steel Guitar Rag/ Singing
and Swinging for Me/ Spanish Fandango/ What's the Use
|
|
BILL BOYD &
HIS COWBOY RAMBLERS |
B.A.C.M. 049 |
Singing & Swinging |
$13.98 |
21 tracks, highly recommended
21 tracks from one of the
finest and most prolific Western Swing bands led by singer/ guitarist Bill
Boyd. The varied material here was recorded between 1934 and 1950 and
features appearances by lots of stellar musicians like Bob Dunn, Noel Boggs,
Zeke Campbell, Cecil Brower, Knocky Parker, Art Davis and others. Includes
I Wish I Knew The Way You Feel/ An Ace/ Oh Monah (You Shall Be Free)/
That's Why I'm Jealous Of You/ Why Don't You Love Me/ Singing And Swinging
For Me/ Lone Star/ Spanish Fandango, etc. Excellent sound and
informative notes from Kevin Coffey. (FS)
BILL BOYD & HIS COWBOY RAMBLERS: An Ace/ Boyd’s Tin Roof Blues (instr)/ Fan
It/ Goofus (instr.)/ Guess Who’s In Town/ Homecoming Waltz (instr.)/ I Can’t
Tame Wild Women/ I Wish I Knew The Way You Feel/ I’ve Got The Blues For
Mammy/ Lone Star/ Mama Don’t Like No Music/ New Steel Guitar Rag (instr.)/
Oh Monah (You Shall Be Free)/ Palace In Dallas/ Ramblers Rag (instr.)/
Singing And Swinging For Me/ Spanish Fandango (instr.)/ That’s Why I’m
Jealous Of You/ Wah Hoo/ Why Don’t You Love Me/ Windswept Desert (Desert
Blues)
|
| BILL BOYD
& HIS COWBOY RAMBLERS |
Cattle CCD 229 |
The Golden Age Of Bill Boyd & His Cowboy
Ramblers |
● CD $18.98 |
A collection of 24 tracks recorded between 1934 and 1947 by
this fine and popular Western Swing band - most which have not been
reissued before in any form. Includes sidemen like Marvin Montgomer/
banjo, Noel Boggs/ steel, John "Knocky" Parker/ piano and
others.
|
| BILL BOYD
& HIS COWBOY RAMBLERS |
Cattle CCD 234 |
Swing With Bill Boyd & His Cowboy
Ramblers |
● CD $18.98 |
24 more sides from the late 30s and early 40s by this
excellent Western Swing band.
|
| THE BRAY
BROTHERS WITH RED CRAVENS |
Rounder 1011 |
Prairie Bluegrass |
● CD $15.98 |
| Fine set of traditional style bluegrass mostly drawn from
1961/62 radio shows in Aurora, Illionois featuring brothers Nate (lead
vocals & mandolin), Francis Bray (bass) and Harley Bray (banjo &
baritone vocals) together with singer/ guitarist Red Cravens. Mostly
bluegrass favorites like Blue Eyed Darling/ Girl In The Blue Velvet
Band/ Toy Heart/ Billy In the Lowground, etc along with a few
originals. The set also includes several tracks originally on rare 45s.
|
| ELTON BRITT |
Cattle 260 |
Stars And Stripes Forever |
● CD $18.98 |
Collection of yodeling songs (including duets with Rosalie
Allen), Western songs, country blues, polkas and more from this popular
performer recorded between 1933 when he cut his first solo recording through
1951. Most tracks have not been reissued before on LP or CD.
|
| ELTON BRITT |
Collector's Choice 31 |
The RCA Years |
● CD $15.98 |
23 track collection of his most popular sides from 1944-1950
- Patent Leather Boots/ I'm A Convict With Old Glory In My Heart/
There's A Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere/ Someday (You'll Want Me
To Want You/ Wave To Me, My Lady/ Blueberry lane/ Detour/ Gotta Get
ToGther With My Gal, etc.
|
| ELTON BRITT |
Soundies 4121 |
Ridin' With Elton |
● CD $15.98 |
23 tracks from radio transcriptions.
|
| HERSCHEL BROWN |
Document DOCD 8001 |
Complete Recorded Works In Chronological
Order, 1928-29 |
● CD $15.98 |
23 tracks, 71 mins, recommended. First in what promises to be
a very extensive series of early country music reissues from Johnny
Parth, the man who has reissued more than 700 CDs of pre-war African
American blues, gospel and vocal quartet material. Like those reissues the
country reissues will feature the "complete recordings in
chronological order" of the artists included. Sound quality is
generally decent, packaging is basic with black and white graphics, notes
by an expert in the field and full discographical information. This first
volume features 23 tracks recorded 1928/29 by various groups featuring
washboard player, spoons player and raconteur Herschell Brown. Half the
cuts feature him on washboard with various small groups playing old time
breakdowns and the rest are a mix of novelty sketches with music and
talking blues. With the exception of L.K. Sentell who plays some very fine
guitar most of the other musicians are unknowns but whoever they are they
are generally good ans in addition to the usual fiddles and banjo some
cuts include harmonica, piano and even clarinet - the latter fitting in
surprisingly well. An entertaining selection of music - good sound and
informative notes from Tony Russell who is one of the leading experts in
the field of old time country music. (FS)
|
| HYLO BROWN |
Bear Family BCD 15572 |
1954-60 |
● CD $41.98 |
The man whose vocal range and use of falsetto was so
impressive that he was promoted as "High-Low" gets a
well-deserved retrospective. The 46 Capitol tracks here include solid
bluegrass numbers, mainstream country songs, and even several previously
unreleased tracks aimed at a slightly more pop market, numbers on which
Brown is ably backed by the Jordanaires. Titles include Flower Blooming
in the Wildwood/ Put My Little Shoes Away/ Lost To A Stranger/ The
Prisoner's Song, and It's All Over Now (But the Crying). Brown
is generally held to be one of the unheralded heroes of bluegrass, but he
served part of his apprenticeship under the country balladeer Bradley
Kincaid, and he liked the early songs of Eddie Arnold, so his approach to
a song, even one that's clearly in the bluegrass camp, is much less
hard-edged than those singers who sought more directly to imitate Bill
Monroe. As a result, a CD-length program of his material is both more
varied and easier on the ears. Full discographical information, solid
notes, and excellent sound. Recommended. (DH)
|
| HYLO BROWN |
Copper Creek 135 |
In Concert |
● CD $16.98 |
17 tracks, 38 min; recommended. This live concert recording
from 1959 was recorded at The New River Ranch in Rising Sun, Maryland. It
is especially welcome since there is so little vintage material available
from the redoubtable Hylo Brown, so nicknamed because his natural vocal
range in his prime extended from a warm, rich baritone at bottom to a
sweet, high tenor on top; he often sang falsetto as well. Brown recorded
an album's worth of classic bluegrass material for Capitol in the early
fifties, played bass for Flatt and Scruggs during the late fifties, and
led his own Timberliners, featured here, after that for a time, including
a stint as a sort of second unit to Flatt and Scruggs for Martha White
Mills. This recording features Hylo's legendary voice and guitar along
with an excellent band featuring Jim Smoak on banjo, Tater Tate on fiddle
and Jay Bailey on bass in a program of oldtime bluegrass bound to please
aficionados of the traditional repertoire. Songs and tunes include The
Girl I Love Don't Pay Me No Mind/ Farewell Blues/ Cabin On The Hill/ Roll
In My Sweet Baby's Arms/ Will The Angels Play Their Harps For Me/ Paddy On
The Turnpike/ Tragic Romance, and others. Satisfying. (RP)
|
| JUNIOR BROWN |
Curb 77622 |
Guit With It |
● CD $11.98 |
12 tracks, 44 mins, essential. Brown's major-debut is even
wilder and more engaging than
"12 Shades Of Brown." Junior jumps between 6-string and steel with more
speed and care (his invention the "guit" is a double-neck
combination of the two guitars), his band understands him even better, and
the songgwriting is at once more diverse, more daring, and more grounded
in Texas country traditions. From honky-tonk standouts like Doin' What
Comes Easy To A Foo and You Didn't Have To Go All The Way to
droll strolls like My Wife Thinks You're Dead, Brown presents
himself with more charisma and talent than an arena full of
"hat" performers. Anyone who loves country music needs both of
Junior Brown's records. (JG)
|
| JUNIOR BROWN |
Curb 77635 |
12 Shades Of Brown |
● CD $11.98 |
12 tracks, 35 mins, essential Original released by the U.K.
indie Demon in 1990, this is a reissue of the debut record by the most
welcome new country performer since Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam arrived
nearly a decade ago. Brown is a terse traditional writer, a soulful singer
in the Ernest Tubb mode (My Baby Don't Dance To Nothing But Ernest Tubb
is the theme song here), and an outstanding guitarist in any country,
blues, or rock 'n' roll style you can name. (JG)
|
| JUNIOR BROWN |
Curb 77843 |
Semi Crazy |
● CD $16.98 |
10 tracks, 35 minutes, essential. The master of the guit-steel
is in top form on this, his 4th release. The recording includes such
instant classics as Gotta Get Up Every Morning, Venom Wearin'
Denim, and the title tune, a great duet with Red Simpson in praise of
the trucking life. Brown is equally effective on old style country weepers
like Parole Board and guitar rave ups like I Hung It Up. Of
course there's lots of the great honky tonk style that Brown has done so
much to help promote and preserve, but he also reaches out to include less
obvious material like Stokey Carmichaels's Hong Kong Blues. Closing
the album is a great instrumental medley of surf tunes featuring Pipeline,
Walk Don't Run, and Secret Agent Man. While his playing is not
quite as over the top as on similar workouts from other albums, it clearly
demonstrates Brown's allegiances to rock and roll as well as country. (DP)
|
| MARTY BROWN |
Hightone 8075 |
Here's To The Honky Tonks |
● CD $13.98 |
11 tracks, 40 mins, highly recommended. When Marty Brown's
razor sharp honky tonk voice leaps out of your speakers with Here's
To The Honky Tonks you know you're in for something very different
from most of what passes for country music these days. Brown is a terrific
singer and a fine songwriter (he co-wrote all the songs here) and is
accompanied by a solid hard country band on some excellent songs. After
the blistering opener we plunge into honky tonk gloom with the powerful You
Can't Wrap Your Arms Around A Memory and then into the catchy Love
Come's Easy which brings to mind The Everly Brothers. The disc is full
of contrasts and even the sentimental song He Thinks Daddy Hung The
Moon is given an intense treatment that prevents it from becoming
maudlin. Crisp production by Brown himself and Hightone honcho Bruce
Bromberg. Brown's early 90s MCA recordings didn't achieve the success they
deserved - let's hope that Hightone has better luck - they and Brown
deserve it. (FS)
|
| JIM ED BROWN
& THE BROWNS |
RCA 66783 |
The Essential Jim Ed Brown & The
Browns |
$15.98 |
20 tracks good for hardcore fans This mixture of material
from both the Browns (Jim Ed, Maxine and Bonnie Brown) and Jim Ed's RCA
solo career reveals the limited and boring style of both incarnations,
beginning with the Jim Ed-Maxine Brown duet Looking Back to See and
the Browns' The Three Bells (an adaptation of a French number) as well as
the excruciatingly schlocky Scarlet Ribbons Here Today and Gone
Tomorrow, and a cover of Hank Locklin's hit Send Me The Pillow That
You Dream On. The remainder are Jim Ed solo hits, starting with the
excellent Pop A Top and running through Bottle, Bottle, Morning,
Southern Loving and one unreleased song, Gently Comes Love
from 1974. Brown was consistent if sometimes dull, but at least his duets
with Helen Cornelius were omitted. (RK)
|
| THE BROWNS |
Bear Family BCD 15665 |
The Three Bells |
● CD $189.98 |
Eight discs, 257 songs, approximately 10 hours, fans only I
guess the Browns (Jim Ed Brown and sisters Bonnie and Maxine) must have
one helluva following in Europe. The Beatles liked 'em, according to the
notes. That would explain why Bear Family's issued their complete Fabor
and RCA recordings in this beautiful box. That's the good news. In all
honesty, this is more Browns than anyone except a dyed-in-the-wool fan
could take. They had only 21 Billboard chart entries through their entire
career, way less than 10 percent of their total output. And once you get
past their decent 1954 Looking Back to See and Here Today and
Gone Tomorrow (their first hits). the early, novelty-laden Abbott
stuff is hard to take. Songs like the moronic Itsy Witsy Bitsy Me/ Set
the Dawgs On 'Em, and Goo Goo Da Da shouldn't be listened to on
a full stomach. The harmonies are pleasant on the ballads, but awfully
monotonous. At RCA, Chet Atkins produced them and at times played some
tasty guitar. They found their biggest successes there with I Take the
Chance/ I Heard the Bluebirds Sing. Their biggest triumph was their
sentimental crossover smash, The Three Bells, a reworked French pop
hit recorded by, among others, Edith Piaf. Equally sentimental versions of
Scarlet Ribbons and The Old Lamplighter also crossed over
though, thank God, their awful version of Indian Love Call did not.
Despite recording album after album, their country hits were few. The set
ends with their final 1967 session. Jim Ed, who'd also recorded as an RCA
solo artist, ultimately found his greatest success there. This is one of
Bear's finest packages, however. Country Music Foundation staffer Chris
Skinker's tremendous liner notes, done with full cooperation from the
Browns, rank with the best Bear has ever published. Just as fine are the
rare photos from the Brown archives, including a doozy of the threesome
performing in front of an old S & H Green Stamp store. If only the
dull music justified all this . . . (RK)
|
|
MILTON
BROWN & HIS MUSICAL BROWNIES |
Origin Jazz Library 1000 |
Western Swing Chronicles, Vol. 1 |
● CD $13.98 |
25 tracks, essential
If you can't afford the box set of
Brown's complete recordings (Texas Rose 1-5 Five CDs with book - $69.98)
this single album is a great introduction to the music of one of the
creators of Western swing featuring sides ranging from the bouncy Nancy
Jane recorded at his first session in 1932 as a member of The Fort
Worth Doughboys -a group that also included Bob Wills - and ends with the
beautiful love song A Thousand Good Nights recorded at his last
session in March, 1936 - just a month before his tragic early death.
Brown's group, The Musical Brownies, changed musical history. To his
brother Derwood's rock solid guitar, he added Ocie Stockard's equally
steady tenor banjo, the Earl Hines-influenced piano of Fred
"Papa" Calhoun (the 1st piano in Western Swing), and the
dazzling, jazzy, Venuti-styled fiddle of Cecil Brower. Then, in 1935, he
added the utterly astounding, revolutionary amplified steel guitar of Bob
Dunn, whose take-off style featured some of the earliest examples of
amplified guitar to be recorded and incorporated blues, Hawaiian guitar
& the trombone of Jack Teagarden. This wildly infectious, jazzy
danceband served the marvelous, easy-swinging vocals of Milton, who could
croon sweetly, growl the blues, jive like Cab Calloway, or shout to the
heavens the joys of womanhood, babies, Texas, or rascality. All manner of
vaudeville, blues, pop, and swing were given his special treatment. Sound
quality on this issue is superb and the 20 page booklet has informative
notes by Brown's biographer Cary Ginell, great and rare photos and
discographical information. (JM/ FS)
|
| MILTON BROWN
& THE BROWNIES |
Texas Rose 1-5 |
Complete Recordings Of The Father Of Western
Swing |
● CD $69.98 |
5 CDs, 120 tracks, 350 min, essential
At last, the complete
recorded legacy of Milton Brown, the charasmatic vocalist/bandleader from
Fort Worth who, as detailed in Cary Ginell's fine book Milton Brown and
the Founding of Western Swing-$29.95, created the hybrid music known
as Western Swing. Born in 1903 in central Texas, he started singing his
mixture of country, pop & Tin Pan Alley, and blues songs in high
school, joining with fiddler Bob Wills & guitarist Herman Arnspiger,
eventually recording 2 sides Sunbonnet Sue & Nancy Jane (included
here) as the Fort Worth Doughboys in 1932. Soon he formed his Musical
Brownies, with innovations that changed musical history. To his brother
Derwood's rock solid guitar, he added Ocie Stockard's equally steady tenor
banjo, the Earl Hines-influenced piano of Fred "Papa" Calhoun
(the 1st piano in Western Swing), and the dazzling, jazzy, Venuti-styled
fiddle of Cecil Brower. In 1934, they recorded 18 lively sides for
Bluebird, strutting the stuff that made them the most popular band in Fort
Worth and caught the ear of every aspiring picker in the state. Then, he
added the utterly astounding, revolutionary amplified steel guitar of Bob
Dunn, whose take-off style incorporated blues, Hawaiian guitar & the
trombone of Jack Teagarden. Among the 84 hot sides recorded for Decca in
1935-36 are the 1st (maybe 2nd) examples of amplified guitar to be
recorded. This wildly infectious, jazzy danceband served the marvelous,
easy-swinging vocals of Milton, who could croon sweetly, growl the blues,
jive like Cab Calloway, or shout to the heavens the joys of womanhood,
babies, Texas, or rascalarity. All manner of vaudeville, blues, pop, and
swing were given his special treatment. Unfortunately, this unique talent
was silenced by an auto crash in 1936. His brother Derwood tried to
continue, waxing 14 fines sides in 1937, 2 with vocals by Jimmie Davis.
But, the magic left with Milton, leaving Wills & others bring Western
Swing to wider acceptance and glory. Still, these wonderful sides, heard
here with amazingly fine sound and complemented by the fine booklet by
Ginell, have a joy and vivacity rarely equaled in popular music. Rush to
your phone, mailbox, fax or passenger pigeon to order this jewel. (JM)
|
| THE BROWN'S FERRY FOUR |
King 590 |
Sacred Songs, Vol. 2 |
● CD $9.98 |
16 tracks, 39 mins, highly recommended. 16 superb examples of
gospel quartet sings from this legendary occasional group featuring Merle
Travis, Grandpa Jones & The Delmore Brothers. The Delmores provide
most of the leads with the others providing harmonies with occasionally
Red Foley substituting for Travis on bass vocals. Backup is mostly Merle's
guitar with occasional mandolin. Songs include Will The circle Be
Unbroken/ If We Never Meet Again/ Everybody Will Be Happy Over there/ When
The Good Lord Cares/ When he Blessed My Soul, etc. Half a dozen tracks
are duplicated on Starday 3017. Sound is not great but certainly
satisfactory. (FS)
|
| THE BROWN'S FERRY FOUR |
Starday 3017 |
16 Greatest Hits |
● CD $9.98 |
16 tracks, 39 mins, highly recommended 16 superb examples of
gospel quartet sings from this legendary occasional group featuring Merle
Travis, Grandpa Jones & The Delmore Brothers. The Delmores provide
most of the leads with the others providing harmonies with occasionally
Red Foley substituting for Travis on bass vocals. Backup is mostly Merle's
guitar with occasional mandolin. The songs are mostly Alton Delmore
originals along with a few old favotites. The sound on a few tracks is
muffled but most of it sounds fine. (FS)
|
| ED BRUCE |
Bear Family BCD 15830 |
Puzzles |
● CD $21.98 |
|
|
| CLIFF BRUNER |
Bear Family BCD 15932 |
Cliff Bruner & His Texas Wanderers |
● CD $135.98 |
5 CD set with book featuring 123 tracks by this fine western
swing band recorded between 1937 and 1950 for Decca, Mercury and AYO.
Includes sidemen like Bob Dunn, Link Davis & Moon Mullican. Includes
unissued tracks and alternate takes. With lavishly illustrated 56 page
book
|
| THE BUCHANAN BROTHERS |
Bronco Buster 9018 |
Atomic Power |
● CD $18.98 |
18 tracks 48 minutes essential
Georgia's Buchanan Brothers,
Chester and Lester, whose close-harmony music was in the traditions of the
Blue Sky Boys and the Monroe Brothers, are known primarily for the
post-World War II song Atomic Power and the gospel followup There's
A Power Greater Than Atomic. Beyond those songs, the Buchanans have
been pretty much ignored, and this album of 1944-1948 RCA Victor material
proves they deserved better. The music here, usually featuring the
brothers backed by jumping bands of various sizes (drums, trumpet and
clarinet prominent on certain tunes), is never less than inspired,
particularly the opening number High Tempered Mama. Even after Atomic
Power, the Buchanans stayed up with postwar events, waxing bizarre on (When
You See) Those Flying Saucers in 1947. Ervin T. Rouse's The Silver
Meteor is supercharged. Uptempo numbers like I Got Worries, the
Ted Daffan favorite Shut That Gate, Left By the Wayside and Hootin-
Nanny Papa are pure, playful fun that anticipate the novelty material
Little Jimmy Dickens later excelled with. Only occasionally do they wax
maudlin, as they do on the morbid My Little Boy Blue. For the most
part, even on gospel tunes such as two Bob Miller tunes: Singing An Old
Hymn and When I Put On My Long White Robe, (with kick-ass piano
on the latter), the Buchanans' energy never flags. Anything they recorded,
it seemed, could work, even an oldie like Don't Cry, My Coney Island
Baby. Fans of the Louvins or the Armstrong Twins will love this one, a
real sleeper among the recent Bronco Busters. This will be the definitive
set unless Bear Family takes on a Buchanan Brothers collection, which they
should. (RK)
THE BUCHANAN BROTHERS: (When You See) Those Flying Saucers/ Am I Still
P-a-r-t of Your H-e-a-r-t/ Atomic Power/ Don't Cry (My Coney Island Baby)/
High Tempered Mama/ Hootin-nanny Papa/ I Got Worries/ Just Hangin' On/
Left by the Wayside/ Mama I'm Sick/ My Little Boy Blue/ Shut That Gate./
Singing an Old Hymn/ The Heartsick Blues/ The Silver Meteor/ Then You'll
Be the One to Cry/ There's a Power Greater than Atomic
|
| LUKE & JENNY
ANNE BULLA |
Rounder 0291 |
Luke & Jenny Anne Bulla |
● CD $15.98 |
These remarkable young fiddle players (Luke was 11, Jenny
Anne 10 at the time of this recording) have mastered the intricacies of
"Texas" style contest fiddling as well as players much older.
Accompanied by their father, Brad Bulla, on guitar, Jim Wood on tenor
guitar, Tom Adams on banjo, Butch Baldassari on mandolin, and Mark Schatz
on bass, Luke and Jenny Anne work their way through a program of standards
including Sally Anne/ Brilliancy/ Tom And Jerry and Grey Eagle
(very nicely done by Jenny Anne.) Two more cuts worthy of note are the
twin fiddle standard Tallahassee/ Dusty Miller and a chop
stretching Milk Cow Blues/ Lady Be Good medley. All in all, a fine
example of contest style fiddling regardless of the performers' age. Nice
liner notes by Mark O'Connor. (RP)
|
| BURNETT &
RUTHERFORD |
Document DOCD 8025 |
Complete Recordings In Chronological Order,
1926-1930 |
● CD $15.98 |
24 tracks from this fine old time fiddle and banjo duo from
Kentucky.
|
| SMILEY BURNETTE |
Cattle 203 |
Gentle Genius Of Country Music, 1934-47 |
● CD $18.98 |
21 tracks from this singer. comedian and movie star, 3
previously unissued. Among the accompanying musicians is Merle Travis.
|
| JETHRO BURNS |
Acoustic Disc 15 |
Swing Low Sweet Mandolin |
● CD $15.98 |
|
|
| SAM BUSH |
Rounder 0195 |
Late As Usual |
● CD $15.98 |
|
|
| SAM BUSH |
Sugar Hill 3849 |
Glamour And Grits |
● CD $15.98 |
12 tracks, 53 minutes, recommended After years out of the
spotlight managing Emmylou Harris' band, Sam Bush recently began touring
again, often together with ex bandmate John Cowan. Now we have this strong
solo album, Bush's first since 1984. Actually this could be described as
3/4 of a New Grass Revival reunion, as Cowan and Bela Fleck are featured
prominently throughout. Bush remains very much in the forefront however,
in this collection evenly divided between instrumentals and vocal numbers.
To my ear the instrumentals are the most enjoyable, but fans of Bush's
blend of musical styles will be more than satisfied by everything here. Whayasay
opens the album featuring fine jazz influenced bluegrass picking all
around. Bush sings and plays beautifully on Bob Marley's Is It Love.
All Night Radio has the makings of an FM radio hit, with more than
a nod to Van Morrison. Bush's slide mandolin is featured on Watson
Allman and the whole group rocks out on the closer Galway. (DP)
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| BUZ BUTLER |
B.A.C.M. 156 |
MOney Ain't Everything |
● CD $13.98 |
24 tracks, recommended
Buz Butler's main claim to fame was
that he was the first artist to record the song Mule Train that was
subsequently a #1 hit for Tennessee Ernie Ford but as this collection shows
he was a very worthwhile artist. This collection of sides recorded between
1947 and 1951 is thought to be his entire output. Very little is known about
Busby but publicity material from the time indicates he was originally from
Georgia and got interested in music as a child. The material here is varied
with novelty songs, country boogies and soulful honky tonk ballads. His
version of Jimmie Rodgers Muleskinner Blues is an energetic
performance that has a lot in common with the Fendermen's hit version from
1960. There are also two fine duets with female vocalist Cass dailey. (FS)
BUZ BUTLER: A Little Scrap Of Paper/ A Year Of City
Livin'/ Bloodshot Eyes/ Bonaparte's Retreat/ Chew Tobacco Rag/ Coyote Blues/
Friend In The Tennessee Waltz/ Gambling Fool/ Get Goin' Engineer/ I Framed
The Wrong Picture/ It Only Cost Three Cents To Break My Heart/ Make Believe
Kisses/ Medicine Show/ Money Ain't Everything/ Mule Train/ Muleskinner
Blues/ Poison Ivy/ Rubber Ball Bounce/ Smokey Mountain Waltz/ Strike A
Match/ Ten Thousand Miles/ Tennessee Rosebud/ The One That I Want Won't Have
Me/ We Get Along So Good Together
|
| CARL BUTLER |
Bear Family BCD 16118 |
A Blue Million Tears |
● CD $21.98 |
28 tracks, recommended A fine collection of sides recorded
for Capitol and OKeh between 1950 and 1953 by this fine artist who,
surprisingly, did not have any hits of his own until the 60s. He was a
prolific songwriter and a number of his songs were hits for other artists,
most notably his good friend Carl Smith. The songs here a mix of bluegrass
and honky tonk country including many originals. Sidemen on these sessions
include Dobroists George "Speedy" Krise and Harold "Shot" Jackson, fiddler
Clarence "tater" Tate, Art Wooten, Tommy Jackson and others. Includes 28
booklet with notes by Ronnie Pugh and full discographical information. All
the songs here are making their first appearance on CD. (FS)
CARL BUTLER: Alone Without You/ Blue Million Tears/ Country Mile/ Crowded
Out/ Everything Will Be The Same/ For Fooling Around/ Heartbreak Express/
I Just Said Goodbye To My Dreams/ I Live My Life Alone/ I Need You So/
It's Wrong To Be Jealous/ Linda Lou/ My Heart Tells Me (you'll Come Back
To Stay)/ No Guarantee On My Heart/ No Trespassing/ Our Last Rendezvous/
Penny For Your Thoughts (a Nickel For A Hug)/ Plastic Heart/ River Of
Love/ Shake, Rattle & Roll/ So Close/ Stepping On My Heart/ String Of
Empties/ Vicious Lies/ Victim Of Lies/ White Rose/ You Can't Insure A
House Of Dreams/ You Plus Me
|
| CARL & PEARL BUTLER |
Bear Family BCD 15739 |
Crying My Heart Out For You |
● CD $21.98 |
12 tracks, 33 mins, recommended In 1974 and in 1976, just a
few years before Pearl Butler's death, Carl and Pearl went back into the
studio. Their hitmaking days long past, David McCormick, manager of the
Ernest Tubb Record Shops, produced 12 excellent songs released as Country
We Love an LP on the little-known Pedaca label. Bear Family has
justifiably reissued this set, which showed Carl and Pearl still in fine
voice. The backing stayed traditional, with some little known studio
musicians and the better known Opry guitarist Joe Edwards, rhythm guitar
master Ray Edenton, Willie Ackerman and D.J. Fontana on drums and Joe
Zinkan on bass. The numbers mix Carl and Pearl favorites like Don't Let
Me Cross Over and Carl's composition If Teardrops Were Pennies
(a hit for Carl Smith) along with other fine traditional material.
Someday, Bear should tackle the Butlers' Columbia classics. Until then,
this will do just fine. Fine notes by Charles Wolfe put the album into the
right perspective. (RK)
|
| THE BYRDS |
Columbia 65150 |
Sweetheart of the Rodeo |
● CD $11.98 |
One of the most important milestones of the late 60s
"Country Rock" era, this album turned many people towards the
sounds that eventually became the mainstay of the Flying Burrito Brothers,
Emmylou Harris, and beyond. Includes Clarence White on lead guitar and
some truly impressive work by Gram Parsons, the avatar of the entire
genre. Newly remastered in 1997 with eight bonus tracks
- three previously unissued songs and five rehearsal and alternate takes.
(RK)
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