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COUNTRY,
BLUEGRASS & OLD-TIMEY
The
Nashville Bluegrass Band -> Scott Nygaard
| THE NASHVILLE
BLUEGRASS BAND |
Rounder 0232 |
Idle Time |
● CD $14.98 |
15 tunes, produced by Bela Fleck. With Brand New Tennessee
Waltz, Prodigal Son, Up Above My Head, The Train Carryin' Jimmie
Rodgers Home .
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| THE NASHVILLE
BLUEGRASS BAND |
Rounder 0242 |
To Be His Child |
● CD $14.98 |
This band has, since its inception shown an affinity for
finding and performing unique gospel songs and they've finally made an all
gospel album. They're especially effective on numbers from the black
gospel idiom such as Goodnight, The Lord's Cominbg/ Every Humble Knee
Must Bow and No Hiding Place. the band's vocals have always had
a bluesy feel, due in large part to guitarist Pat Enright's biting tenor
voice. Banjoist Alan O'Bryant's voice is smoother but no less moving.
Mandolinist Mike Compton sings baritone and Mark Hembree sings and plays
bass. newest band member Stuart Duncan contributes his heavenly violin and
a couple of nice lead vocals. Among the other outstanding cuts on the
album are Hold Fast To The Right/ Gospel Plow/ New Born Soul and a
striking original called A Child Enters Life.
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| THE NASHVILLE
BLUEGRASS BAND |
Sugar Hill 3809 |
Waitin' For The Hard Times To Go |
● CD $15.98 |
11 tracks, 34 min., recommended. This highly acclaimed band
has issued another of their typically eclectic recordings, featuring a mix
of traditional gospel songs with trademark four-part harmonies, a nice
version of the title cut written by Jim Ringer, two train songs, and a
particularly effective version of Richard Thompson's Waltzin's For
Dreamers, sung by guitarist Pat Enright. As always, the band features
the heavenly fiddling of Stuart Duncan, the fine banjo and vocals of Alan
O'Bryant, the stalwart mandolin of Roland White, the impeccable bass of
Gene Libbea, and the guitar and vocals of Pat Enright, one of the finest
lead vocalists in bluegrass. (RP)
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| RICK NELSON |
Ace CDCHD 670 |
Bright Lights & Country Music/ Country
Fever |
● CD $18.98 |
Two albums from 1966 & '67 featuring Rick's fist venture
into country music recorded on the West Coast with great session men like
Glen D. Hardin, Clarence White, Glen Campbell, James Burton and others.
Includes You Just Can't Quit/ Kentucky Means Paradise/ Hellow Walls/
Congratulations/ Funny, How Time Slips Away/ Big Chief Buffalo Nickel/ You
Win Again, etc.
RICK NELSON: (I Heard That) Lonesome Whistle Blow/ Alone/ Big Chief
Buffalo Nickel (desert Blues)/ Bright Lights And Country Music/
Congratulations/ Country Fever/ Funny How Time Slips Away/ Hello Walls/
Here I Am/ I'm A Fool To Care/ Kentucky Means Paradise/ Louisiana Man/
Mystery Train/ Night Train To Memphis/ No Vacancy/ Salty Dog/ Take A City
Bride/ Take These Chains From My Heart/ The Bridge Washed Out/ Things You
Gave Me/ Walkin' Down The Line/ Welcome To My World/ You Just Can't Quit/
You Win Again
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Atlantic 7262 |
Shotgun Willie |
● CD $11.98 |
The 1973 album that brought him to the attention of a wider
audience including a substantial number of rock fans. Recorded in New York
in 1973, this mix of new and old Willie material includes his classic
version of Johnny Bush's Whiskey River, as well as Shotgun
Willie / Sad Songs and Waltzes , and Slow Down Old World .
Musicians include Larry Gatlin, Jimmy Day, Bobbi Nelson, Doug Sahm, David
Bromberg, and Sammi Smith. A classic.
RK
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Atlantic 82192 |
Phases & Stages |
● CD $10.98 |
11 tracks, 34 mins, recommended. Produced by Jerry Wexler in
Muscle Shoals for a grittier rhythmic edge, Phases was a unique
country concept album, telling in song form the breakup of a marriage, one
side of the LP from the woman's viewpoint, the other the husband's, tied
together by instrumental thematic segments. Some of its songs, including Bloody
Mary Morning and It's Not Supposed to Be That Way, have long
been Nelson concert staples.
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Bear Family BCD 15831 |
Nashville Was The Roughest |
● CD $189.99 |
8 CD box set with 72 page hard-cover book featuring all of
Willie's recordings for Monument and RCA between 1964 and 1972 - a period
where his producers experimenting with a wide range of styles.
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 34092 |
The Sound In Your Mind |
● CD $9.98 |
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 34695 |
To Lefty From Willie |
● CD $9.98 |
Great tribute to the legendary Lefty Frizzell, one of the
major influences on Willie's career. Released in 1977, it includes
Willie's versions of songs from throughout Lefty's 25-year career, from I
Love You A Thousand Ways to I Never Go Around Mirrors .
Willie's genuine affection and respect for Lefty and his music comes
through on every cut. (RK)
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia G2K 35642 |
Willie & Family Live |
● CD $22.98 |
Two CD live set. Willie runs through a variety of material,
ably assisted by that band that had been with him, in much the same form,
for nearly 15 years. Choice of tunes runs the gamut, with all the classics
wounding more immediate and vibrant than even the studio versions. Mickey
Raphael's harmonica work is also fine. (RK)
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 36188 |
Sings Kristofferson |
● CD $9.98 |
Excellent 1979 LP of Kristofferson classics. As shopworn as
some of these numbers were even then, Willie's performances are a reminder
of just how good Kristofferson's best songs have been. Most should hold up
well, as they do here. (RK)
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 36189 |
Pretty Paper |
● CD $9.98 |
Includes: title song / Silent Night, Holy Night / Jingle
Bells / White Christmas, etc.
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 36883 |
Somewhere Over The Rainbow |
● CD $9.98 |
Nelson performs pop standards with an acoustic jazz feel,
rooted in Willie's longtime admiration for the music of Django Reinhardt.
Includes outstanding vocal assistance from Freddie Powers, Johnny Gimble's
swinging fiddle, Paul Buskirk's mandolin, Bob Moore on acoustic bass, and
Dean Reynolds on second bass. Material includes Who's Sorry Now / I'm
Gonna Sit Right Down And Write Myself A Letter, and even the Bob Wills
fiddle classic Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. (RK)
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CGK 37542 |
Greatest Hits & Some That Will Be |
● CD $17.98 |
Two CD set with 20 songs - Railroad Lady/ Blue Eyes
Crying in the Rain/ Good Hearted Woman, etc
|
| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 37951 |
Always On My Mind |
● CD $9.98 |
1982 album, another best seller, though one with far less
interesting material than his earlier efforts. Willie had begun to do so
many albums by this point that his energy dissipated. The title track,
however, was a huge hit. Includes Do Right Woman, Do Right Man/ A
Whiter Shade Of Pale/ Staring Each Other Down/ Old Fords And A Natural
Stone/ The Party's Over, etc. (RK)
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 39110 |
Without A Song |
● CD $9.98 |
Another album of standards by Willie - produced and arranged
by Booker T. Jones - Willie ain't no Frank Sinatra! Better title would be
Without A Point!, for
"Stardust" this isn't!! (RK)
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 39145 |
City Of New Orleans |
● CD $9.98 |
Mostly a selection of old songs - title song + Good Time
Charlie's Got the Blues/ She's Out of My Life/ Cry, etc. Typical
Willie LP. Nothing horrid, but nothing totally memorable, either.
|
| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 39990 |
Half Nelson |
● CD $9.98 |
10 duets - with Merle Haggard, Neil Young, Hank Williams
(overdubs on acetate), Ray Charles, Carlos Santana, George Jones, etc.
Half-assed would be the best description. This was all too typical of the
type of gimmick LPs Willie sometimes wasted his time on. (RK)
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia CK 44331 |
What A Wonderful World |
● CD $9.98 |
I fell asleep trying to listen to this album, and I had the
strangest dream: "Hello, friends! This is-a Lawrence Welk! I'd like
to tell you about a wunnerful artist who despite needin' a shave and
haircut sings some fine music. His-a name is Willie Nelson! Remember his
wunnerful
Stardust album eight years ago? Well, it was kinda wild and weird, and ol'
Willie ain't had many hits lately, so this is another set of good
wholesome pop music like-a Spanish Eyes, Moon River, Song
From Moulin Rouge, Twilight Time and Some Enchanted Evening.
It's just like our Champagne music you love so much! You can't tell one
melody from the other and its-a perfect for rest homes and senior citizens
of all ages! Next week on our show Aladdin and Joe Feeney will sing for
you the wunnerful Bullmoose Jackson favorite My Big Ten Inch . I
guess they're talkin' about a foot-long ruler! A vun and a two..." I
woke up in a cold sweat... (RK)
|
| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia 63589 |
Red Headed Stranger |
● CD $11.98 |
Classic concept LP from 1975 - with Blue Eyes Crying In
The Rain - the record that took Willie to the top. For $20,000, Willie
and his new band went into a Texas recording studio and cut this classic
album in three days in February, 1975. CBS thought it so rough-edged they
didn't want to put it out, but it established Willie -- and became a
million-seller as well. Still a classic "concept" album 25 years
later.
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| WILLIE NELSON |
Columbia 65946 |
Stardust |
● CD $11.98 |
Another country classic reissued in Columbia's American
Milestone series. Includes two bonus unissued cuts.
|
| WILLIE NELSON |
DCC Compact Classics 191 |
Me And Paul |
● CD $11.98 |
1985 albums was one of his best in a long while. He had
returned to the straight ahead but distinctive country format that he is
best at. Some good new songs and a couple of old ones. Title song is
dedicated to his long time drummer Paul English and Willie first recorded
it for RCA. Other songs include I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train/ I
Let My Mind Wander/ She's Gone/ I Never Cared for You, etc.
|
| WILLIE NELSON |
Finer Arts 9605 |
How Great Thou Art |
● CD $15.98 |
A collection of gospel songs - mostly standards with a
couple of originals. Spare accompaniments - acoustic guitar, piano and
occasional stand up bass.
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| WILLIE NELSON |
RCA 66590 |
The Essential Willie Nelson |
● CD $15.98 |
20 tracks including Me And Paul/ Bloody Mary Morning/
Healing Hands Of Time/ Funny How Time Slips Away/ My own Peculiar Way/ I
Gotta Get Drunk/ Hello Walls/ Night LIfe/ The Party's Over/ Goin' Home/
Phases, Stages, Circles, Cycles & Scenes, etc
|
| WILLIE NELSON
& LEON RUSSELL |
Columbia CGK 36064 |
One For The Road |
● CD $12.98 |
A pleasant mixture of country, rock and pop with guest
appearances by Maria Muldaur & Bonnie Raitt. All in all, the
"guest appearances" could have been done away with, but this
1979 album works in part because both men understand each other. Russell
was a studio musician on many of Willie's early Liberty sides cut in
Hollywood, and their versions of Gene Autry's Ridin' Down The Canyon
and Elvis's Heartbreak Hotel are so likeable and energetic that the
album succeeds in spite of itself. And their version of One For My Baby
(And One More For The Road) is perfect. (RK)
|
| WILLIE
NELSON & WAYLON JENNINGS |
Columbia CK 38562 |
Take It To The Limit |
● CD $9.98 |
Features 5 great duets by these country superstars and 5
solos by Willie, none of which break any records. (RK)
|
| THE NEW LOST CITY
RAMBLERS |
Flying Fish 70090 |
Twentieth Anniversary Concert |
● CD $14.98 |
Recorded in 1978 at Carnegie Hall, this album features
perhaps the most important old timey revival band in top form, along with
guests pete Seeger (Barbara Allen ), Libba Cotten (Freight Train
) and the Highwoods String Band. The Ramblers featuring Mike Seeger, Tracy
Schawrz and John Cohen, back up Libba on Wreck Of the Old '97 , and
perform songs and tunes from their own repertoire as diverse as Keep On
the Sunny Side/ Old Joe Clark and Lacassine Special . A fun
live album. (RP)
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| THE NEW LOST CITY
RAMBLERS |
Smithsonian Folkways 40036 |
The Early Years 1958-1962 |
● CD $14.98 |
The Ramblers were among the first, and certainly the most
prominent of the old timey revival bands to perform music from the early
days of recording. This outstanding collection includes 26 cuts from
twelve albums by the original band, which included Mike Seeger, John Cohen
and Tom Paley - over seventy minutes of music in all, with wonderfully
informative notes that include the source for each selection. Their
sources were as varied as the Carter Family, the Monroe, Dixon, and
Delmore Brothers, Charlie Poole and others, and as obscure as the Library
of Congress field recordings. Includes Colored Aristocracy/ Hopalong
Peter/ Don't Let Your Deal Go Down/ When First Unto This Country/ How Can
A Poor Man Stand Such Times And Live/ Foggy Mountain Top and many
others. The repertoire is drawn mainly from the white country music
tradition, and the performances are marked by their high spirits and good
time feel. A wonderful introduction to the old timey genre, or a great
replacement for the enthusiast whose original LP's have worn out. (RP)
|
| JIMMY C. NEWMAN |
Bear Family BCD 15469 |
Bop-A-Hula |
● CD $41.98 |
47 songs on two CD's that comprise Newman's entire Dot
Records output from 1954 to 1958 including his first five Top Ten hits
from 1954-56 which included Cry, Cry Darling, his cover version of
Bud Deckleman's Daydreaming, another cover, of George Jones's Seasons
of My Heart, and so on. Newman's big stab at the pop market, A
Fallen Star, (which made it to # 23 on the pop charts in 1957) is also
included, as are a number of attempts at everything from Cajun favorites
like Diggy Liggy Lo to such old favorites as I Can't Go On This
Way. All sessions were done in Nashville with backing from heavy
hitters like Chet Atkins, Biully Byrd and Ray Edenton (gtr), Tommy
Jackson, Jerry Rivers and longtime Newman cohort Rufus Thibodeaux (fdl),
Buddy Emmons, Bob Foster and Sonny Burnette (gtr) and Floyd Cramer or
Anita Kerr (pno). There's probably more Newman here than most people can
take at one or two sittings, so spread this one out.
(RK)
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| JIMMY C. NEWMAN |
Rounder 6039 |
The Alligator Man |
● CD $14.98 |
Mainstream country star and Grand Ole Opry veteran Jimmy C.
has always been proud of his Louisiana French heritage, and his country
hits have always contained more than a hint of the high, keening wail so
endemic to cajun vocals. But Jimmy has recorded very little straight cajun
music; this is only his third album of all cajun material, mostly sung in
French, and it's a dilly. Backed by an oustanding band that includes
Bessyl Duhon on accordion, Rufus Thibodeaux, the most versatile of the
cajun fiddlers, and dobroist Joe Rogers to add the honky tonk feel, Jimmy
sings a mixture of traditional numbers like Chere Tout Toute/ He
Madeline/ La Tit Cord, the bayou hits Jai Fait Une Grosse Erreur
(Big Mistake)/ La Porte D'En Arriere (The Back Door), some swamp pop
and more. Jimmy's vocal style owes as much to Webb Pierce as it does to
his cajun forbears, but hey, Webb was a Louisiana boy too, and cajun music
of the honky tonk era borrowed as much from western swing and country
boogie as it did from Iry Lejeune. A nice return to his roots by a fine
and original talent. (RP)
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| ROY NEWMAN |
Cattle 269 |
Dust Off That Old Piano |
● CD $18.98 |
26 tracks from the 30s and early 40s by
this fine western swing band which included Bob Dunn/ steel guitar, Cecil
Brower/ fiddle & others.
ROY NEWMAN: Back In Your Own Backyard/ Dust Off That Old Piano/ Eleven
Pounds Of Heaven/ Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby/ Everything Is Peaches 'neath
The Old Apple Tree/ Everywhere You Go/ I Can't Dance (i Got Ants In My
Pants)/ I Cried For You/ I Love My Baby (my Baby Loves Me)/ I Ought To Break
Your Neck (for Breakin' My Heart)/ I'm Saving Saturday Night For You/ I'm
Tired Of Everything But You/ I've Got The Walkin' Blues/ If I Ever Get To
Heaven/ Kentucky, Sure As You Born/ Love Burning Love/ Mary Lou/ Rock-a-bye
Moon/ Sadie Green (the Vamp Of New Orleans)/ Shine On, Harvest Moon/ Take Me
Back To My Home In The Mountains/ Tamiami Trail/ Texas Stomp (inst.)/ The
Devil With The Devil./ Where The Morning Glories Grow/ Wonderful One
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| THE NITTY GRITTY
DIRT BAND |
EMI America 46589-2 |
Will The Circle Be Unbroken |
● CD $28.98 |
Classic three album set combined onto two compact discs.
This ground breaking set from 1971 featured bluesgrass/ old timey band The
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band performing bluegrass, country and old timey
standards with guest artists like Mother Maybelle Carter, Earl Scruggs.
Doc Watson, Roy Acuff, Merle Travis, Jimmy Martin, Vassar Clements, Norman
Blake, and others. Includes Grand Ole Opry Song/ Nashville Blues/ The
Precious Jewel/ tennessee Stud/ The Wreck On the Highway/ I Saw The Light/
Nine Poun Hammer/ Honky Tonkin'/ My Walkin' Shoes/ Cannonball Rag/ Flint
Hill Special/ Earl's Breakdown/ Wabash Cannonball/ Way Downtown/ Pins
& Needles (In My Heart)/ Sailin' On To Hawaii/ I Am A Pilgrim/
Soldier's Joy/ Both Sides Now and many more.
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| THE NITTY GRITTY
DIRT BAND |
Warner Bros. 25573 |
Hold On |
● CD $10.98 |
A must for everyone who likes Alabama & The Eagles.
Shimmering guitar, crisp drums, beautiful harmonies with the right amount
of twang, even an occasional mandolin to lend an air of authenticity and
hey, they even do a Bruce Springsteen song! And check out the cosmic cover
- a cosmic cowboy surrounded by flying saucers & an armadillo, and the
band, faceless due to cosmicity, with the guy wearing the shirt with the
album title levitating! Me, I like George Jones. Angelyine/ Keepin' The
Road Hot/ Tennessee/ Baby's Got A Hold On Me , etc.. (GM)
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| NORTHERN LIGHTS |
Red House 94 |
Living In The City |
● CD $14.98 |
12 tracks, 45 minutes, recommended This strong release by
the New England based bluegrass band features energetic and polished
harmonies and a better than average level of musicianship. Purists may be
a little put off by the non traditional arrangements present on some of
these numbers but the quality of the picking and the obvious pleasure
these guys take in playing will strike an immediate chord with most. Over
half of the songs are originals by various members of the band, Taylor
Armerding's Got the Spirit, the lively religious tune that opens
the album is especially nice. Other songs worthy of mention include the
Doc Watson song Valley to Pray and the instrumental tune Ariel's
Hornpipe. Mike Kropp's work on guitar and banjo is a particular stand
out, his fluid and lightening fast finger style guitar brought Clarence
White to mind. Taylor Armerding's mandolin playing is also excellent. One
or two of the songs stray to far in the direction of 70's style
country-rock for my taste but overall this is an exciting and enjoyable
addition to the Red House catalogue. (DP)
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