COUNTRY,
BLUEGRASS & OLD-TIMEY
Skeets McDonald -> TheMiller Brothers
SKEETS MCDONALD |
Bear Family BCD 15937 |
Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes |
● CD $114.98 |
5 CD box set with book featuring 143 songs by this fine,
underrated, honky tonk singer. Includes all his recordings for Fortune,
Capitol. Columbia and UNI. Includes some rockabilly cuts with Eddie
Cochran on guitar and his acclaimed 1958 album "Goin' Steady With The
Blues" featuring accompaniments from Joe Maphis & Buck Owens.
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REBA MCENTIRE |
MCA 5979 |
Greatest Hits |
● CD $10.98 |
A collection of 10 of the most popular songs from Reba's
previous MCA albums - Just A Little Love/ How Blue/ Have I Got a deal
For You/ Whoever's In New England/ What Am I Gonna Do About You , etc
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REBA MCENTIRE |
MCA MCAD 31304 |
Whoever's In New England |
● CD $10.98 |
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JOHN MCEUEN |
Vanguard VCD 79468 |
String Wizards II |
● CD $15.98 |
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SAM MCGEE |
Arhoolie 9009 |
Country Guitar |
● CD $9.98 |
CD issue of 1971 LP featuring 17 tracks by this legendary
country guitarist.
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THE MEAT PURVEYERS |
Bloodshot BS 026 |
Sweet In The Pants |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 40 mins, recommended Excellent collection of
acoustic country from group who claims to put the "ass" back in
bluegrass and they do, indeed, put a good deal of energy into their
performances. The foursome features the very fine lead vocals of Jo Watson
with bass, guitar, mandolin & fiddle accompaniment, but no banjo! The
songs are varied and interesting including the intriguing opener Dempsey
Nash, the hard driving Biggest Mistake, a great slow burning
cover of the Elvis hit
, the Merle Haggard classic the Bottle Let Me Down and more. The
instrumental work is not that great but the group is well worth a listen
for the fine vocals and the energy they bring to their performances. (FS)
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BUDDY MILLER |
Hightone HCD 8063 |
Your Love And Other Lies |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 41 mins, essential Hightone does it again. This
is the best debut country album I've heard in a long time. Like Hightone's
other great discovery, Heather Myles, Buddy first appeared on the
"Points West" collection some years ago. His solo album was a long time a comin' but it's
worth the wait. He's an outstanding singer with a hard edged honky tonk
style, he had a hand in writing most of the songs here (some with his wife
Julie), plays lead guitar and produced the album! The songs are
straightforward tales of love lost and found with none of the cuteness
that affects so much contemporary country writing. Buddy is accompanied by
a solid band of musicians with vocal harmonies being provided by Julie
Miller, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Dan Penn and others. The covers
are outstanding versions of Tom T. Hall's That's How I Got To Memphis
and The Louvin Brothers You're Running Wild. At times you'll hear
echoes of Dwight Yoakam, George Jones and Buddy Holly but it all ends up
being pure Buddy Miller. A remarkable talent to keep your eye on. (FS)
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BUDDY MILLER |
Hightone 8084 |
Poison Love |
● CD $15.98 |
13 tracks, 43 mins, essentia.l My favorite country album of
1997. Buddy's second Hightone album is as good as his first. Ten new songs
written by Buddy and/or his wife Julie and 3 outstanding covers including
the title done as a duet with Steve Earle and a spine chilling version of
the great soul ballad That's How Strong My Love Is. The originals
are varied and outstanding including the topical 100 Million Little
Bombs about land mines, the lovely honky-tonk ballad Don't Tell
Me, the uptempo Love Snuck Up and others. Crisp production by
Buddy who also plays guitar and a tight band. Emmylou Harris's band Spyboy
is featured on several cuts and Emmylou adds her distinctive harmonies on
a few cuts. (FS)
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BUDDY MILLER |
Hightone 8111 |
Cruel Moon |
● CD $15.98 |
11 track, 41 mins, highly recommended. Third album from this
incredibly talented singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer is another
winner. Perhaps not quite as strong as his first two it is still among the
very best country albums of 1999. Seven of the 11 songs are by Buddy
and/or his wife Julie with Jim Lauderdale collaborating on a couple of
them. Best of them is the ferocious Does My Ring Burn Your Finger,
the soulful title song and the hard driving Somewhere Trouble Don't Go.
Among the other songs here are an unexpected but beautiful reading of the
old Gene Pitney hit I'm Gonna Be Strong and Steve Earle's I'm
Not Getting Better At Goodbye - both with harmony vocals by Joy Lynn
White. Glorious stuff! (FS)
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BUDDY MILLER |
Hightone 8149 |
Midnight And Lonesome |
● CD $15.98 |
11 tracks, 45 mins, highly recommended
Another winner from
one of our favorite contemporary artists. Buddy's music neatly blends
country, folk and rock and together with his excellent voice, brilliant
guitar playing and memorable songs by himself and/or his wife Julie produces
some unforgettable music. While this album is not as strong as some of his
previous ones it is still an outstanding effort. Of the original songs the
highlights include the title song - one of those mid tempo intense songs
Buddy makes his own, the Cajun flavored Oh Faite Pitie D'Amour and
the sensitive Que Creek - a song about the miners who were rescued
after three days being trapped underground. There are several covers here
including a tough treatment of the Everly Brothers Price Of Love and
my favorite here Jesse Winchester's A Showman's Life - a superb song
about the life of an entertainer that is given am insightful world weary
treatment by Buddy with exquisite vocal harmonies from Emmylou Harris. (FS)
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FRANKIE MILLER |
Bear Family BCD 15909 |
Sugar Coated Baby |
● CD $21.98 |
FRANKIE MILLER: Baby We're Really In Love/ Bare Foot Blues/ Day By Day/
Hey! Where Ya Goin'?/ I Can't Run Away/ I Don't Know/ I Don't Know What To
Tell My Heart/ I Don't Know Why I Love You/ I Dreamed You Were Here Last
Night/ I Won't Forget/ I'd Still Want You/ I'm Gettin' Rid Of You/ I'm
Only Wishin'/ I'm So Blue I Don't Know What To Do/ I'm Still In Love With
You/ It's No Big Thing To Me/ Living Doll/ Love Me Now/ My Wedding Song To
You/ Paid In Full/ Paint, Powder And Perfume/ Sugar Coated Baby/ This
Lonely Heart/ What Have I Ever Done/ What You Do From Now On/ You Don't
Show Me Much/ You Just Had/ You'll Never Be True/ You're Going To Cry On
My Shoulder Again
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NED MILLER |
Bear Family BCD 15496 |
From A Jack To A King |
● CD $21.98 |
In the late fifties to the mid-sixties, Ned Miller had
exactly 11 songs on the Billboard charts, the best known of which are his
1962 # 2 recording "From A Jack to A King" (revived a year or so
ago by Ricky Van Shelton), "Invisible Tears" and the # 7 record
"Do What You Do Do Well." Despite the fact he was always a
better songwriter than a vocalist, Miller had a minor following. His
biggest hits were for the Fabor label, but he actually managed to get a
Capitol recording contract in the mid- sixties when Robison sold Miller's
contract to the larger label. This 31 track CD is a lot of Ned Miller (and
I mean a lot...), but you get most of the chart hits including
"Jack," "Do What You Do," "One Among The
Many" and "Another Fool Like Me" from Fabor. Surprisingly,
his Capitol hits (none of which charted any higher than the thirties),
"Teardrop Lane," "Whistle Walkin'" and "Summer
Roses" aren't hgere. The rest of the compilation is largely made up
of a 1963 LP Miller did for Fabor to follow up on "From A Jack to A
King." It includes a number of selections, including his mildly
interesting version of Jim Reeves' "Mexican Joe" and versions of
"Cry of the Wild Goose" and "Mona Lisa." Nice if you
like this sort of stuff, I guess. (RK)
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ROGER MILLER |
Bear Family BCD 15477 |
King Of The Road |
● CD $21.98 |
Fine mix of Roger's 1960-63 RCA sessions with his biggest
hits for Smash from the mid-to-late sixties. Miller's skills as a
songwriter, part of the same generation that produced Willie Nelson, Hank
Cochran and Bill Anderson, were clear early on. Nonetheless, the RCA sides
were uneven, mixing masterpieces (and hits) like the original version of
"You Don't Want My Love," "When Two Worlds Collide,"
(co-written by Miller and Bill Anderson) and "Lock, Stock and
Teardrops" with lesser-known masterpieces like "I Catch Myself
Crying." The crazy hillbilly persona he prospered with on Smash can
be heard on songs like "Every Which-A-Way," where his
scat-singing was answered by Hank Garland's guitar. "Fair Swiss
Maiden" and "Burma Shave" were throwaways. The nine Smash
sides are the big ones, "King of the Road," "Dang Me,"
"Engine, Engine # 9," "Kansas City Star,"
"England Swings" and "Do Wacka Do." These were the
songs that made Miller a country (and pop) star and some still hold up
well today. RCA discographical data is complete, nonexistent on the Smash
material (though annotator Otto Kitsinger's notes state session details
recalled by Miller are included). Kitsinger's notes, based on interviews
with Miller, adequately describe the origins of the songs, but lack in
sufficient details about the records themselves. Still, this package gives
a better and more rounded portrait of Miller than any other.
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THE MILLER BROTHERS |
Collector 2853 |
Boppin' Hillbilly Series |
● CD $17.98 |
27 tracks recorded between 1953 and '62 for Four Star by
Texas band.
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