|
COUNTRY,
BLUEGRASS & OLD-TIMEY
The Skillet
Lickers
-> The Sons Of The Pioneers
| THE SKILLET LICKERS |
Document DOCD 8058 |
Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 3 : 1928-1929 |
● CD $15.98 |
Includes 20 more tunes plus the two part sketch A Day At
The County Fair which includes some very brief but intriguing clarinet
playing. There are six tracks by The Georgia Organ Grinders which is
essentially the Skillet Lickers without Gid Tanner plus a couple of other
musicians and Lowe Stokes plays very effective organ on three of the
tracks. Includes Liberty/ Old Dan Tucker/ Pretty Little Widow/
Mississippi Sawyer/ Going On Down Town/ Never Seen The like Since Getting
Upstairs/ Cotton Baggin'/ Back Up And Push/ Four Thousand Years Ago/ Skip
To My Lou My Darling, etc.
|
| BOB SKYLES &
HIS SKYROCKETS |
Krazy Kat 29 |
1937-1940 |
● CD $16.98 |
27 tracks, 75 mins, highly recommended
Delightful collection of sides by this excellent band. They could loosely
be described as a Western Swing - they were from Texas and their music has a
country swing to it but there is also a dance band flavor to their music and
a high proportion of their material could be considered novelty music. At
times they have a similarity to The Hoosier Hot Shots though as they clearly
point out in one of their songs We're Not The Hoosier Hot Shots!
Skyles was a name given to them by A&R man Eli Oberstein - they were
primarily a family band originating in the medicine shows prevalent in the
20s and 30s. They were led by Bob Kendrick (who did most of the lead vocals)
and featured brothers Sanford and Clifford and, on the earlier sides, their
father "Doc" on guitar. All of them were multi instrumentalists and
instrumentation on these sides includes fiddle, clarinet, drums, washboard,
guitar, trumpet, trombone, slide whistle, electric guitar, accordion, tuba
and more. Songs are mostly originals and includes She's Built Like A
Great Big Fiddle/ The Lavender Cowboy/ Turn Loose & go to town/ Too Many
Times/ rubber Dolly/ I Ain't Got No Gal/ Drinking Blues/ Jive & Smile/
That's Right I Betcha and others. Sound quality is excellent and the 24
page booklet includes high quality notes form Kevin Coffey based on
interviews with band members plus photos and discographical information.
(FS)
|
| ARTHUR
"GUITAR BOOGIE" SMITH |
Cattle CCD 236 |
The Golden Age Of Arthur "Guitar
Boogie" Smith |
● CD $18.98 |
25 tracks, recommended Fine selection of sides from this
talented and versatile musician recorded for the Super Disc in the 40s and
mostly acquired by MGM in 1948. The set is pretty evenly divided between
instrumentals and vocals. Their are several boogies featured inn the wake
of Arthur's phenomenal success with Guitar Boogie
Cracker Boogie/ Guitar & Piano Boogie and More Guitar Boogie
as well as 12the Rag/ Mountain Be Bop/ Boomerang/ Guitar Artistry
and others. On a couple of the instrumentals Arthur plays banjo in a style
very much like his guitar playing. The vocals, usually by Arthur a mix of
old timey, 40s style hillblly, sentimental songs and some very goofy
novelties like The Corset Song and Foolish Questions. Sound
quality is excellent and their are brief notes on Arthur's career in the 4
page booklet. (FS)
|
| ARTHUR
"GUITAR BOOGIE" SMITH |
Jasmine 3502 |
Here Comes The Boogie Man |
● CD $11.98 |
22 tracks, 54 mins, recommended Fine collection of acoustic
guitar instrumentals by this brilliant guitarist recorded in the late 40s
including his biggest hit and most famous song Guitar Boogie.
Accompanied by a second guitarist he performs a mix of originals (Stuff
And Such/ Rock & Rye Polka/ Riffin/ Boomerang [also a hit]/ More
Guitar Guitar Boogie, etc) and jazz & pop standards (Darktown
Strutters Ball/ Drifting & Dreaming/ Shiek Of Araby, etc).
Although thought of as a country guitarist Smith was very strongly
influenced by jazz and his debt to the great Django Reinhardt is very
evident on many of the cuts. The music throughout is nothing less than
brilliant though the sound quality takes it down a notch - some of the
cuts are from fairly noisy 78s and the engineers overuse of CEDAR results
in an annoying background noise. (FS)
|
| CARL SMITH |
Bear Family BCD 15849 |
Satisfaction Guaranteed |
● CD $129.98 |
5 discs, 143 tracks, essential
Today he's known mainly as
Carlene Carter's dad. In his prime, Carl Smith was hotter than any of the
one-hit no-talents dominating the charts these days. Furthermore, he had
an opportunity to do something none of today's tight-jean bozos will ever
get: to quit performing by choice. For years, he and wife Goldie Hill,
another star of the 50's, have concentrated on breeding horses, and his
career has passed into the mists of history. This comprehensive set covers
Smith's career from 1950 through 1959 beginning with his earliest material
from 1950, when he got the contract as an adjunct to joining the Opry. The
early fifties were his biggest years, starting with his 1951 hit Let's
Live A Little and, that same year, the biggest record of his career: Let
Old Mother Nature Have Her Way. He did well through the early part of the
decade with When You Feel Like You're In Love/ Don't Just Stand There/ Hey
Joe, Loose Talk and so on up through his 1959 saga song Ten Thousand
Drums. In the fifties, Smith also had one of the finest backup bands in
Nashville: the Tunesmiths, featuring hot lead guitar from former Hank
Williams lead guitarist Sammy Pruett, heavy-bowing fiddler Dale Potter (a
regular on many 1950's Nashville sessions by others as well) steel
guitarist Johnny Sibert. Drummer Buddy Harman did his first country music
work with Smith before becoming a Nashville studio legend. Included here
are Smith's 1952 gospel recordings with the Carter Family that originally
appeared on the rare 10-inch "Softly and Tenderly" LP and the 1957
Sunday Down South gospel LP. Everything on his
Carl Smith and
Smith's The Name 10-inch LP, the 12-inch
Let's "Live A Little" LPs, etc. also appear. Charles Wolfe interviewed Smith
for his notes which, regrettably, aren't longer. Sony Legacy's
The Essential Carl Smith CD will sate the appetites of casual Smith fans.
This one is, like most Bear Family box sets, for the hardcore who want it
all. (RK)
|
| CARL SMITH |
Columbia CK 47996 |
The Essential Carl Smith, 1950-56 |
● CD $11.98 |
Carlene Carter's mother is June Carter Cash; her father is
legendary 1950's honkytonk singer Carl Smith, who was among the biggest
record sellers of the decade. Though a Smith collection previously
appeared on LP under their Columbia Historic Edition banner, it was less
hit-oriented than this 20 song Columbia Country Classics collection.
"I Overlooked An Orchid" "Let Old Mother Nature Have Her
Way," "Don't Just Stand There," Freddie Hart's "Loose
Talk," "Let's Live A Little" as well as "Are You
Teasing Me," the roaring honkytonker "Hey Joe!" and the
rocking "Go, Boy, Go" are also here. So are other best sellers
like "It's A Lovely, Lovely World," "If Teardrops Were
Pennies," "Just Wait Till I Get You Alone," Leon Payne's
"You Are The One," "Back Up Buddy" "This Orchid
Means Goodbye" and "Trademark," the latter co- written by
Porter Wagoner. Little of this material, has ever been available on CD.
Since Smith, long married to country singer Goldie Hill (who also
retired), no longer performs regularly, he's been forgotten by many. This
collection is ample justification to delve into a singer who never had the
mystique of Hank and Lefty, but plenty of vocal power and talent. (RK)
|
| CARL SMITH |
Deluxe 7832 |
The Legendary Carl Smith |
● CD $9.98 |
|
| CARL SMITH |
Tee-Vee TVCD 6026 |
The Legendary Carl Smith |
● CD $11.98 |
20 track collection featuring remakes (possibly the late
70s) of some of his many Columbia hits of the 50s. Carl was still in fine
voice and the arrangements are straight ahead - Let Old Mother Nature
Have Her Way/ Mr. Moon/ Back Up Buddy/ Hey Joe/ If Teardrops Were Pennies/
You Are The One/ Satisfaction Guaranteed/ Our Honemoon/ Let's Live A
Little/ I Overlooked An Orchid, etc.
|
| CONNIE SMITH |
Bear Family BCD 16368 |
Born To Sing |
● CD $99.98 |
Four CD set devoted to recordings of one of country's finest
female country singers. This set features all of Connie's recordings cut
for RCA between 1964 and 1967.
|
| CONNIE SMITH |
RCA 66824 |
The Essential Connie Smith |
● CD $15.98 |
20 tracks, essential Hard country singer Connie Smith's old
RCA LP's are high-priced nowadays, and if anyone deserves a box set, she
does, though Bear Family doesn't seem so inclined at the moment. This one
hits the right ones, Once A Day, and heads on through all the high
points, Then and Only Then, I Can't Remember, If I Talk
to Him, Ain't Had no Lovin', The Hurtin's All Over, I
Never Once Stopped Loving You, You and Your Sweet Love, I'll
Come Running, Burning A Hole in My Mind, Just One Time,
and so on. This material holds up incredibly well, with the kind of
traditional feel head and shoulders above Trisha Yearwood's music for
soccer moms, Kathy Mattea's hippie spirituality or Shania Twain's hacked
together arena-rock. This isn't the package Connie deserves, but it's
certainly a start. (RK)
|
| EMMA SMITH |
Old Homestead 90166 |
Don't Neglect The Rose ( with Larry Sparks) |
● CD $15.98 |
|
| HOBART SMITH |
Rounder 1799 |
Portraits - Blue Ridge Legacy |
● CD $15.98 |
31 tracks, 70 mins, highly recommended. I've been looking
forward to this release in the Lomax series on Rounder as Hobart Smith
from Virginia is one of my favorite old time musicians. He was a wonderful
singer with an emotion charged style and a virtuoso instrumentalist who
was adept on banjo, fiddle, guitar and piano - his playing of old time
tunes like Sourwood Mountain and Cindy on the piano is truly
remarkable. The material was recorded over a period of more than 20 years
- from 1942 through 1963 and encompasses a broad range of traditional
music - ballads, blues and a wide range of instrumental pieces. Sound
quality on some of the earlier sides is not the greatest but Smith's
talent shines through - his 1942 version of The Cuckoo Bird is
truly mind boggling with it's powerful vocals and astonishing banjo
playing. The enclosed 40 page booklet has extensive notes and some great
photos of Hobart in many different setting. (FS)
|
| JON SMITH |
Bronco Buster 9046 |
Classics Of The Purple Sage |
● CD $19.98 |
20 Western songs recorded in the late 60s and 70s.
|
| SAMMI SMITH |
Varese Vintage VSD 5574 |
The Best Of Sammi Smith |
● CD $11.98 |
16 songs, recommended
After her 1970 hit version of Kris
Kristofferson's Help Me Make It Through The Night earned her a Gold
Record and numerous awards, everybody expected great things from Sammi
Smith that never came to pass. Trying all kinds of material, remaining
close to the Outlaw fringe of country, she never quite lived up to her
potential, and had her final Top Ten in 1975 with Merle Haggard's Today
I Started Loving You Again in 1975. Those songs from Mega are included
as are 12 more including her first Mega hit, He's Everywhere, the
Top Ten followup, to Help Me Make It, Then You Walk In, her
own composition Kentucky. I've Got To Have You and so on.
From Cyclone come the A-sides of her 1979 singles What A Lie and
her cover of the Box Tops' pop hit The Letter. (RK)
SAMMI SMITH: City Of New Orleans/ Cover Me/ For The Kids/ He's Everywhere/
Help Me Make It Through The Night/ I Miss You Most When/ I've Got To Have
You/ Kentucky/ Long Black Veil/ My Window Faces South/ The Letter/ The
Rainbow In Daddy's Eyes/ The Toast Of '45/ The You Walk In/ Today I
Started Loving You Again/ What A Lie/ You're Right Here
|
| WARREN SMITH |
Bear Family BCD 15495 |
Call Of The Wild |
● CD $21.98 |
Now that everybody's gotten just about everything that
matters from Warren Smith's distinguished Sun records rockabilly career
(several times over in most cases), Bear Family has moved on to the first
phases of his post-Sun country music career (1960-1967) with Liberty and
Skill labels. This CD sums up those years, which yielded 31 songs (all but
one included here--the other is missing). From 1960 until his death in
1980, Smith had his ups and downs musically (as well as personally, as
explained by Hank Davis's excellent liner notes), yet there were some fine
moments that show Warren as powerful a honkytonk vocalist as he was a
rocker. Cave In, the first song he cut for Liberty, deserved to be
a success. If you've collected the Sun rockers, this brings the chronicles
of Smith's career full circle. The usual fantastic Bear Family sound makes
it all the more enticing.
(RK)
|
| EMMA SMITH &
DAVE EVANS |
Old Homestead 3001 |
Don't Let Me Cross Over |
● CD $15.98 |
10 tracks, 31 mins, recommended Emma Smith is a terrific
singer from Kentucky and a very good songwriter whose work has mostly been
confined to the gospel field. On this album (originally issued on LP about
ten years ago) she is joined by one of the most striking bluegrass singers
in the business, Dave Evans. The material is a mix of originals and old
country and bluegrass favorites - her versions of Carl Butler's Don't
Let Me Cross Me Over and Merle Travis's Dark As A Dungeon and
her honky tonk original Night Life are particularly nice. I think
Emma's talents are confined by bluegrass feel of most of the arrangements
and with the right honky tonk accompaniments and better production could
probably do a really stunning album. Still, this is well worth a listen.
(FS)
|
| PAUL SMITH &
FRIENDS |
Rounder 0409 |
Devil Eat The Groundhog |
● CD $15.98 |
Traditional musician from Kentucky performs 34 tunes on
fiddle, banjo or guitar with various musicians aiding and abetting.
|
| CHESTER SMITH
& MERLE HAGGARD |
Hag 005 |
California Blend |
● CD $15.98 |
Delightful album featuring the first recordings in nearly 40
years by veteran Oklahoma born singer Chester Smith joined by his old
friend and protégé Merle Haggard. At the beginning of Merle's career he
landed a spot performing on Chester's TV show in Modesto in 1963 and
Chester was so impressed that he took him under his wing. The two ran into
each other recently and decided to collaborate on what became this album.
The material is mostly old songs (often religious) from the 40s and 50s
along with a few more recent ones written by Merle. The two work together
beautifully accompanied by a small, totally sympathetic, group of
musicians.
|
| HANK SNOW |
Bear Family BCD 15426 |
The Singing Ranger - Movin' On |
● CD $85.98 |
This four CD set covers four critical; years and 105 RCA
recordings in the career of Hank Snow: the years 1949 through 1953 when
after success in Canada and previous failures to break through in the U.S.
market he finally made it here. Appropriately enough it begins with his
first tepid success Marriage Vow, then kicks into high gear with
the classic I'm Movin' On (1950) that sent Hank's reputation into
high gear and made him a legend as well as later hits like Bluebird
Island/ Music Makin' Mama/ Golden Rocket, the original (Now And
Then Ther's) A Fool Such As I, various gospel and Christmas songs and
outstanding versions of several Jimmie Rodgers classics. There was little
that RCA didn't issue on Hank, but the five songs that were left in the
can are here. Much of the music of Hank's era was sentimental, so you get
a few teeth-grinding recitations and the camp classic The Blind Man's
Dog, a world war II ballad about a kid who gives his seeing-eye dog to
Uncle Sam. Fido, of course, makes the Ultimate Sacrifice, but we never do
find out how (distemper? a jeep ? mistook a pillbox for a fireplug?
sentenced to death for biting an officer?). Except for a few songs
recorded onto worn acetates -- and even those sound good - the clear
remasterd digital sound typical of Bear Family gives these recordings a
sparkle and depth they never had before while preserving their warmth. An
elaborate booklet, loaded with full-color photos including vintage album
jackets and other memorabilia, includes outstanding notes by Charles Wolfe
that summarize Snow's career and explains the creation of the distinctive,
driving and precise Snow sound. (RK)
|
| HANK SNOW |
Bear Family BCD 15476 |
The Singing Ranger, Edition 2 |
● CD $85.98 |
This four CD set covering the period of December, 1953 to
April, 1958 compiles 105 RCA sides, 23 never before released. More than
the first set, this collection shows variety and experimentation on a
level befitting one of Snow's status. He tried everything: Hawaiian music,
Caribbean numbers before anyone ever heard of Calypso. Always a hot
acoustic guitarist, he and Chet Atkins did some excellent instrumentals
like "Silver Bell," a 1955 hit duet with Chet Atkins. Naturally,
you get all the other hits of this period: "Mainliner,"
"Cryin' Prayin' Waitin' Hopin'," "Born to Be Happy,"
"I'm Glad I Got to See You Once Again," "Tangled
Mind," "My Arms Are A House," "Hula Rock" and
"Conscience I'm Guilty." Some of the best performances are
surprises, like his version of the pop song "Lazy Bones" and a
terrific cover of Ivory Joe Hunter's "I Almost Lost My Mind. 16
numbers are acetate recordings (most previously released on LP) as well as
a number of unreleased solo guitar instrumentals including a version of
Glenn Miller's "Sunrise Serenade." also took a number of stabs
at those horrible recitations that every country singer of that era had in
their repertoires. "Old Doc Brown's" punchline of which is
"Doc Brown has moved upstairs" (get it? He went to heaven ...).
My lunch almost "moved upstairs" hearing things like "What
Is Father?" and "The Horse's Prayer" but in a good humor,
these can leave you in stitches. Besides, they make up only a small part
of the entire package. Snow shunned interviews for years, but his
enthusiasm for the Bear Family packages led him to talk to annotator
Charles Wolfe and provide the most detailed information he's ever provided
on his career and these songs. And unlike most academics, whose writing is
either incoherent or pompous, Wolfe makes it come alive. The selection of
photos, memorabilia and old ads, many in color, is stunning. (RK)
|
| HANK SNOW |
Bear Family BCD 15488 |
The Thesaurus Transcriptions |
● CD $99.98 |
5 CD box set - with 36 page LP sized book with notes by
Charles Wolfe, discography and rare photos.
|
| HANK SNOW |
Bear Family BCD 15502 |
The Singing Ranger, Vol. 3 |
● CD $279.98 |
Volume 3, one of Bear's biggest box sets ever, is a 327
song, 12 CD box compiling everything Snow recorded from 1958 through 1968
with a few later numbers thrown in to round out the thematic nature of
certain discs, such as gospel from his 1975 live LP done with his son
Jimmy Rodgers Snow and a couple Hawaiian and Christmas numbers. The few
unissued Snow tracks that exist from this period (nearly everything he did
was released by RCA). Among the better known Snow hits of the era were The
Last Ride, Miller's Cave, Beggar to A King, I've Been
Everywhere, The Man Who Robbed The Bank At Santa Fe, Ninety
Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street) and The Wishing Well and
Breakfast With the Blues. The LPs ranged from conventional Snow
albums to a Christmas LP, guitar duets with his producer Chet Atkins, his
Jimmie Rodgers tribute, the surprisingly good "Snow In Hawaii"
and a 1962 followup duet LP with Anita Carter (and Mother Maybelle, Helen
and June Carter singing on the chorus). Classic Snow LPs like "Songs
of Tragedy", "Guitar Stylings of Hank Snow",
"Christmas with Hank Snow", "Gloryland March",
"Souvenirs", "Songs I Hadn't Recorded Till Now", and
"Heartbreak Trail (A Tribute to the Sons of the Pioneers) were all
done during this period. The booklet is the full color", loaded with
photos. The notes by Charles Wolfe, as before, are based on new interviews
with Hank discussing the various material on the set and a complete RCA
sessionography. Nor is this the end. Bear's next Snow CD will focus on his
complete 1936-1947 recordings for Canadian RCA, where he was a star before
catching on in the Lower 48. (RK)
|
| HANK SNOW |
Bear Family BCD 15587 |
The Yodelling Ranger |
● CD $129.98 |
101 tracks, 5 hours, 34 min. essential Hank Snow was a star
in his native Canada before anyone in the Lower 48 knew about him.
Beginning with his first recording in 1936, this five CD, 101 song (four
never issued) boxed set covers those first eleven years of his career,
when billed as "Hank, the Yodelling Ranger," he became Canada's
premiere singer. His early music was deeply influenced by Jimmie Rodgers
(even rewriting some Rodgers numbers and adding his own lyrics). The
Rodgers flavor remained even when he added bass and steel guitar, until The
Blue Velvet Band brought him fame in 1938 and even beyond. Most of
these recordings are Snow originals, custom tailored for his voice and
phrasing. He sang depressing ballads of the era like There's A Pony
That's Lonely Tonight (what's the pony lonely for? you guessed it--A
dead kid!). Snow also covered a few established hits like Wiley and Gene's
When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again. His 1944 recording of Blue
Ranger remained a favorite for many years. Some of this material was
issued in the states on two RCA budget LPs but most were only ever on 78s,
along with alternate takes and four songs unissued until now. The booklet
includes lyrics for 74 numbers and ample information about the early days
based on Charles Wolfe's recent interviews with Snow. The 101 songs are on
four discs. Disc Five is a reissue of the 1966 This Is My Story double LP
of Hank telling his life story, plus 1950's demos of Marriage Vow
and I Don't Hurt Anymore. (RK)
|
| HANK SNOW |
Bear Family BCD 15787 |
The Singing Ranger, Vol. 4 |
● CD $215.98 |
9 CD box set with book.
|
| HANK SNOW |
Jasmine 3522 |
Blues For My Blue Eyes |
● CD $11.98 |
23 superb sides - You Nearly Lose Your Mind/ Trouble In
Mind/ Never No Mo' Blues/ Too Many Tears/ I Almost Lost My Mind/ Blue Rose
Of The Rio/ Wabash Blues/ My Blue Eyed jane/ Those Blue Eyes Don't Sparkle
Any More/ Blue Christmas/ Blue Dreams/ Bye Bye Blues and more.
|
| HANK SNOW |
Jasmine 3531 |
Down At The Rainbow's End |
● CD $11.98 |
22 track collection of sides from the 50s.
|
| HANK SNOW |
RCA 66931 |
The Essential Hank Snow |
● CD $15.98 |
20 tracks - Rhumba Boogie/ I'm Movin' On/ The Golden
Rocket/ Music Makin' Mama From Memphis/ I Don't Hurt Anymore/ The Gal Who
Invented Kissin'/ Would You Mind/ Yellow Roses/ Beggar To A King/ Ninety
Miles An Hour/ Let Me Go Lover/ Hello Love, etc.
|
| THE SONS OF THE
PIONEERS |
Bear Family BCD 15640 |
Wagons West |
● CD $99.98 |
4 CDs, 114 tracks 5 hr. 15 min. essential Some years ago
Bear Family issued seven LPs worth of Pioneers material from RCA from
1945-1952 including all their RCA duets with various artists. Those LPs
are still available, but Bear has redone the collection on Compact Disc
with some reconfiguration. All but one of the duets were omitted, but the
Pioneers' complete 1954 Coral recordings and some rediscovered unissued
RCA tracks are here including Down Where the Rio Flows). The
version of Cool Water is a remake, (their best-known version was on
Decca) but the RCA version's arguably the better one from a musical
standpoint. Otherwise, it encompasses all the Pioneers' RCA material, save
a few lost masters. The biggest hits, Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima,
No One to Cry To, Baby Doll Tear Drops in My Heart, Tumbling
Tumbleweeds, My Best to You and Room Full of Roses are
all included along with a booklet featuring a discography, rare photos and
a fine history of the group's activities during these years penned by
Western music historian Laurence Zwisohn. (RK)
|
| THE SONS OF THE
PIONEERS |
Bear Family BCD 15710 |
Songs Of The Prairie - Standard
Transcriptions, Part 1 |
● CD $129.98 |
5 CD box set with book featuring 151 tracks recorded for
Standard Radio in Los Angeles starting in 1934 and featuring the first
line-up of Roy Rogers, Bob Nolan, Tim Spencer and Hugh Farr. In addition
to the 133 vocals cuts featuring their distinctive harmonies there are
also 18 instrumental cuts featuring the jazzy fiddle and guitar of Hugh
& Karl Farr with support from Roy Rogers.
|
| THE SONS OF THE
PIONEERS |
Bear Family BCD 16104 |
Memories Of The Range - Standard
Transcriptions Vol. 2 |
● CD $99.98 |
4 CD set with 121 more of the Standard Transcriptions.
|
| THE SONS OF THE
PIONEERS |
Columbia CK 37439 |
Columbia Historical Edition |
● CD $9.98 |
Compact disc issue of splendid album featuring 11 sides from
1937 - 6 previously unissued. At that time the group featured Roy Rogers,
Bob Nolan, Hugh & Karl Farr & Lloyd Perryman - the classic line up
for the group. Includes Song Of The Bandit/ Hold That Critter Down/
Cajon Stomp/ The Devil's Great Grandson/ Send Him Home To Me, etc.
|
| THE SONS OF THE
PIONEERS |
MCA MCAD 10090 |
The Country Music Hall Of Fame |
● CD $10.98 |
The original, classic Pioneers recordings were made for
Decca beginning in 1934 (they remained with Decca until 1943) with the
original, classic group: Hugh and Karl Farr, Roy Rogers, Tim Spencer and
Bob Nolan. Both of Nolan's most enduring composition, "Tumbling
Tumbleweeds" and "Away Out There" (both recorded at their
first Decca session) are both included, and you can see why to this day
they remain the definitive versions. The Farr Brothers' importance to the
group as instrumentalist (Hugh on fiddle, Karl on guitar) is obvious as
their complex, jazz- based accompaniments provided an interesting contrast
to the tight harmonies. Also selected for this set were the equally
awesome 1941 original version of Nolan's "Cool Water" along with
"The Hills of Old Wyomin'," "Echoes from The Hills,"
Nolan's "One More Ride" and Tim Spencer's "When The Moon
Comes Over The Valley." Novelties like "Private Buckaroo"
crept in during the War, as did their version of the Gene Autry-Fred
Rose-Ray Whitley ballad "I Hang My Head and Cry." Three
unreleased numbers, "Rye Whiskey," Ken Carson's "Let Me
Keep My Memories" and the mediocre pop-gospel tune "Somebody
Bigger than You And I" from their 1954 Coral recordings round the
package out, though the latter number is really a waste of time. Again,
Charlie Seemann, the CMF's resident expert on singing cowboys, does fine
annotations. (RK)
|
| THE SONS OF THE
PIONEERS |
MCA Special Products 22091 |
Tumbling Tumbleweeds |
● CD $7.98 |
10 tracks, 29 min., recommended In spite of the somewhat
misleading cover art here, drawn from a 1940s Roy Rogers movie, these are
actually 1930s Decca tracks by the original Sons ensemble, which, of
course, featured Roy in his pre-cowboy days. There is significant overlap
with the 1980 MCA Sons lp (#1563 - out of print), but within the digital
world, this disc makes a nice companion to the longer MCA reissue of Decca
Pioneers tracks (MCA 10090). Highlights here include the originals Tumbling
Tumbleweeds and Cool Water, plus Blue Prairie, One
More Ride/ Blue Bonnet Girl, and Over the Santa Fe Trail. Other
than the mildly inappropriate cover art, the sound quality is fine and
there are no notes at all. So what, buy it for the great music. (DH)
|
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