COUNTRY,
BLUEGRASS & OLD-TIMEY
Emmylou
Harris -> Johnny Hicks
| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Reprise 2284 |
Pieces Of The Sky |
● CD $11.98 |
Includes Too Far Gone/Bottle Let Me Down/Queen Of The
Silver Dollar and 7 more.
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Reprise 25776 |
Bluebird |
● CD $11.98 |
Another genteel folk/country album by this endearing, wispy
voiced songbird. Drawing on the writing talents of composers as diverse as
Carl Belew, Johnny Cash, and Butch Hancock, Emmylou won't lose any fans
with this one, and may win some, mainly because of intelligent song
choices and tasteful (if calculated) production by Richard Bennett. More
earthy than Emmylou usually gets, especially on John Hiatt's Icy
Blue Heart, the old Kitty Wells hit Lonely Street, and
Cash's I Still Miss Someone, a country weeper that lends
itself readily to folkie sensibilities. (RP)
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Reprise 25791 |
Duets |
● CD $11.98 |
12 song collection compiled from past and present pairings
with The Desert Rose Band, Gram Parsons, Roy Orbison, Neil Young, George
Jones, Ricky Skaggs, Willie Nelson, The Band and more.
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Reprise 26309 |
Brand New Dance |
● CD $11.98 |
Combine a worn-out Emmylou with a great producer (Richard
Bennett) and a schlockmeister (Allen Reynolds, Crystal Gayle's old
producer) and you've got the makings of a disaster. Reynolds calls the
shots here and by and large they're shots in the dark. When the best songs
are a Bruce Springsteen tune and a remake of Rick Nelson's Never Be
Anyone Else But You, that's not saying
much. Perhaps the worst of all are In His World and Rollin' And Ramblin' (The Death of Hank
Williams), a lame-o
folkie number by Robin and Linda Williams that sounds like some Woody
Guthrie fanatic's view of ole Hank. Emmylou must want her stuff to get
played on VH-1 (the yuppie's MTV), but I suspect even they have better
taste than this. (RK)
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Warner Bros. 3141 |
Quarter Moon In A Ten Cent Town |
● CD $11.98 |
1978 album
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Warner Bros. 3318 |
Blue Kentucky Girl |
● CD $11.98 |
1979 album with Sharon Hicks, Don Everly, Dolly Parton,
Linda Ronstadt, Tanya Tucker, etc. Brilliant collection of material with
some of her finest singing.
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Warner Bros. 3422 |
Roses In The Snow |
● CD $11.98 |
Bluegrass oriented with hot pickers - Ricky Skaggs, Jerry
Douglas, Tony Rice, etc. This album brought Ricky Skaggs to the attention
of a wider audience outside bluegrass and helped make the entire bluegrass
idiom accessible to a greater and wider group of people. Her performances
are first-rate and if you can only afford a couple Emmylou albums that is
one to get. Ricky Skaggs, for his part, feels his musicianship on Darkest
Hour is some of the best stuff he's ever done. (RK)
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Warner Bros. 3484 |
Light Of The Stable |
● CD $11.98 |
With appearances by Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Linda
Ronstadt, etc
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Warner Bros. 25161 |
Profile II - The Best Of |
● CD $11.98 |
Greatest hits again
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| EMMYLOU HARRIS |
Warner Bros. 25585 |
Angel Band |
● CD $13.98 |
Emmylou's 14th album finds a return to the country gospel
stylings of "Roses In The Snow" & the more recent
Trio material. The traditional material is given a fairly straight reading
by Harris and her cohorts, tenor vocalist Vince Gill, baritone Carl
Jackson and bass vocalist Emory Gordy. Unfortunately the tempos of each
song are very similar but the quartet of voices sing sweetly enough. So
unless you are a big fan of gospel music, supported by bluegrass musicians
(Mike Auldridge, Jerry Douglas & Mark O'Connor) this may not be your
cup of tea. Songs include When He Calls/ Where Could I Go But To The
Lord/ We Shall Rise and 9 others. (SG)
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| ROY HARVEY |
Document DOCD 8050 |
Complete Recordings In Chronological Order,
Vol. 1 |
● CD $15.98 |
24 tracks recorded between September 1926 and October 1927 -
usually in the company of The North Carolina Ramblers (Posey Rorer and Bob
Hoke) with Charlie Poole himself joining on a couple - The Brave
Engineer/ Willie, Poor Boy/ Daisies Won't Tell/ Please Papa Come Home/
Write A Letter To My Mother/ We Will OUtshine The Sun/ I Cannot Call Her
Mother/ Pearl Bryant/ Willie My Darling, etc.
|
| ROY HARVEY |
Document DOCD 8051 |
Complete Recordings In Chronological Order,
Vol. 2 |
● CD $15.98 |
24 tracks recorded between February 1928 and October 1929.
It includes ten more tracks with the North Carolina Ramblers including a
terrific version of the old ballad George Collins. There are ten
tracks with Earl Shirkey which are essentially solo performances by Harvey
with Shirkey adding yodeling and spoken comments and doing two of the
vocals. There are also four excellent guitar instrumentals with Harvey
joined by guitarist Leonard Copeland.
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| ROY HARVEY |
Document DOCD 8052 |
Complete Recordings In Chronological Order,
Vol. 3 |
● CD $15.98 |
24 sides recorded between May 1929 and December 1930.
Includes more sides with earl Shirkey, guitar duets with Leonard Copeland
and more.
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| ROY HARVEY |
Document DOCD 8053 |
Complete Recordings, Vol. 4 - 1931 |
● CD $15.98 |
22 tracks from 1931 featuring vocalist/guitarist Harvey
including tracks as a member of The West Virginia Ramblers and
accompaniments to Branch and Coleman.
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| HAWKSHAW HAWKINS |
Bronco Buster 9058 |
Radio Memories Of The Late Hawkshaw Hawkins |
● CD $18.98 |
Radio transcriptions from the 50s by this fine country
artist including three complete radio shows. Accompaniments include Jerry
Byrd, Bud Isaacs, Tommy Jackson and others.
HAWKSHAW HAWKINS: A Heap Of Lovin'./ Act Like A Married Man/ All Alone In
This World Without You/ Bad News Travels Fast (in Our Town)/ Blessed Jesus,
Hold My Hand/ Borrowing/ Come A Little Closer/ Darkness On The Face Of The
Earth/ Guilty Of Dreaming/ I'll Take A Chance With You, Love/ If It Ain't On
The Menu/ Lonely Broken Heart/ Rebound/ Silver Threads And Golden Needles/
Steelin' The Blues/ The Long Way/ Unwanted/ Why Didn't I Hear It From You/
Why Don't You Leave This Town
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| JIMMIE
HEAP & THE MELODY MASTERS |
Bear Family BCD 15617 |
Release Me |
● CD $21.98 |
Texas honkytonk singer/ composer/ bandleader Jimmy Heap,
leader of the Melody Masters, recorded the original version of The Wild
Side of Life for Imperial, It became a massive hit for Hank Thompson
when he covered it in 1952. The second number, Release Me, which
Melody Masters recorded for Capitol, was originally a national hit for
Heap in 1954 (his only one) and is now an American standard. 30 of Heap's
33 Capitol recordings from 1951 through 1955 (four of them unissued) make
up this disc. Heap's band was built around vocalist/fiddler Perk Williams
who specialized Texas honkytonk in the style of the early Lefty Frizzell.
The band played well and Williams was a competent if unexciting vocalist.
Though only Release Me ever became a national hit, a few other
numbers stand out including Then I'll Be Happy, a 1920's pop number
co-written by Lovesick Blues co-author Cliff Friend. The problem
with the Melody Masters was their emphasis on medium tempo vocal ballads
that, good as they may be, become monotonous when assembled in one place.
The instrumentals from their final session are a welcome respite from
that. Butternut sounds like a Texas honkytonk version of Martin
Denny (complete with bird noises!) and the pleasant swing instrumentals Mingling/
Heap Of Boogie and Long John are great dance numbers. Jon
Emery's liner notes reflect fine writing and solid research. Sound is
remarkable, typical for Bear Family. (RK)
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| JIMMIE HEAP |
Cattle 328 |
The Wild Side Of Life, 1949-1951 |
● CD $18.98 |
22 tracks from the early years of this fine honky tonk
bandleader recorded for Imperial between 1949 and 1951. Jimmie led a fine
band which featured fiddler Houston "Perk" Williams who did most of the
vocals, steel guitarist Cecil R. "Butterball Harris, pianist Arlie A.
Carter and others while Heap himself was featured on lead guitar. Heap was
the first artist to record The Wild Side Of Life though Hank
Thompson' cover was the big heat. Curiously the version included here has
overdubbed instrumentation - it would have been nice to have the original.
JIMMIE HEAP: A Coffin Built For Two/ A Million Tears/
Butter Ball Bounce
/ Carbon Copy/ Don't Steal My Dreams/ Drop In The Bucket/ Easy Way
Out/ Honk Your Horn/ I Hope You're Satisfied/ If Mama Was Here/ If
Tomorrow Could Be Yesterday/ It's One Thing To Forgive Another To Forget/
More Than Friends/ Morning, Noon And Night/ Somebody's Blue/ Sunset Sends
Sorrow/ That's That/ There's A Broken Pane In The Window Of My Heart/ Till
Death Do You Part/ When They Operated On Papa They Opened Mama's Male/
Wild Side Of Life/ You Were Meant To Ruin My Dreams
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| BOBBY HELMS |
Bear Family BCD 15594 |
Fraulein - His Decca Recordings |
● CD $41.98 |
Surprisingly good stuff. I would not have thought that the
man known primarily for the pop hits My Special Angel and Jingle
Bell Rock would have recorded enough good material to justify a 62 cut
double CD reissue, but, thanks to his solid country roots, he does. In
fact, much of his output compares favorably with other Decca country
artists from the same era. And the folks at Bear Family have wisely put
his most country-flavored numbers on the first disc and his most
pop-sounding cuts on the other. The country disc even includes his
little-known first two records, made for the tiny Speed record label of
Bloomington, Indiana in 1955. Helms' hits are here, of course, as well as Tennessee
Rock 'n Roll, Far Away Heart, Sad-Eyed Baby, two
versions of Just A Little Lonesome, one in a country vein and one
in a pop vein, and others. The first disc is, not surprisingly, the
stronger of the two, but even the second disc has its good moments. And
everything else about this package is up to Bear Family's normal high
standards. Excellent sound and notes. (DH)
|
| BOBBY HICKS |
County 2706 |
Texas Crapshooter |
● CD $15.98 |
12 tracks, 32 min; recommended Reissue of County album from
1978, when North Carolinian Bobby, an influential member of Bill Monroe's
Bluegrass Boys as a youngster and also an accomplished country fiddler was
between band engagements. One side of the original album featured six
western swing numbers, with a band that included Buddy Emmons, Buck White,
Bruce Nemerov, and others, in addition to Hicks. Tunes include Panhandle
Rag/ Goodbye Liza Jane/ Maiden's Prayer+3. The bluegrass
"side" includes three Monroe compositions Scotland/ Big Mon,
and Cheyenne, numbers on which Bobby was featured during his tenure
with Monroe. The bluegrass selections feature a topnotch band including
Sam Bush, Alan Munde Roland White, Roy Huskey, Jr., and on Paddy On The
Turnpike, the twin fiddle of Vassar Clements. (RP)
|
| JOHNNY HICKS |
B.A.C.M. 059 |
Gotta Gitta Gittar |
● CD $14.98 |
22 tracks from the early 50s by Texas vocalist who was more
of a pop than country singer. There's a substantial amount of forgettable
novelty material here along with gospel, country weepers, western swing and
country boogies. Some of the accompaniments are by members of the Light
Crust Dougboys.
JOHNNY HICKS: A Good Man Is Hard To Find/ All My Life My Love Goes With You/
Crossroads/ Curb Service/ Get Your Kicks From The Country Hicks/ Gotta Gitta
Gittar/ Hamburger Hop/ Heart After Heart/ Ho De Ree Dee Ah/ I Can‘t Get
Enough Of That Ah Ha/ I Swear/ I Thought I Was Home To Stay/ Man On The
Corner/ Mended One Broken Heart/ My Next Gal/ No Wild Side Of Life/ Pick-up
Blues/ Rainy Night Blues/ So Long It‘s Been Good To Know Yuh/ Sweetheart‘s
Waltz/ Take My Hand/ Too Late To
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