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NEWSLETTER #125
Country, Bluegrass & Old Timey
Wilma Lee & Stoney Cooper -> Doc Watson & David Holt
| WILMA LEE & STONEY COOPER | Varese 66323 | The Very Best Of | ● CD $13.98 |
| 19 tracks, 46 mins, essential Fabulous collection of sides recorded for Roy Acuff's Hickory label between 1956 and 1963 bythis superb duo accompanied by their group The Clinch Mountain Clan. Wilma Lee is one of the greatest of all female country singers with a wonderful emotion laden and expressive voice that is spellbinding - her singing raises the hair on the back of my neck. Stoney is also a good singer and together they produce some fine harmonies. Their sound neatly straddles the line between bluegrass and honky tonk country using fiddle and banjo alongside electric and steel guitars and drums. The material is a mixture of sacred and secular and among my favorites are the spine chilling Walking My Lord Up Calvary Hill, their great reworking of Leadbelly's Midnight Special which became one of their biggest hits, Wilma Lee's own composition My Heart Keeps Crying but it's all great. Sound quality is superb and there are informative notes by Colin Escott and some great vintage photos. My only complaint is that it is too short - they should have put on half a dozen more tracks or, better yet, made it a double CD! (FS) WILMA LEE & STONEY COOPER: Big Midnight Special/ Cheated Too/ Come Walk With Me/ He Taught Them How/ Home Sweet Home (inst)/ I Tell My Heart/ I Want To Be Loved (but Only By You)/ Johnny, My Love (grandma‘s Diary)/ My Heart Keeps Crying/ Philadelphia Lawyer/ Singing Waterfall/ Six More Miles/ The Tramp On The Street/ The Wreck On The Highway/ There‘s A Big Wheel/ There‘s A Higher Power/ This Ole House/ This Thing Called Man/ Walking My Lord Up Calvary Hill |
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| THE COUNTRY GENTLEMEN | Vanguard 79714 | The Complete Vanguard Recordings | ● CD $15.98 |
| Reissue of two LPs from the early 70s by this outstanding
and influential bluegrass group. Includes Traveling Kind/ Don Quixote/
Casey's Last Ride/ Paradise/ Catfish John/ Bringing Mary Home/ The City Of
New Orleans/ Rememberance Of You/ Billy McGhee and more. 24 tracks in
all - most making their first appearance on CD. |
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| THE FLATLANDERS | New West 6040 | Now Again | ● CD $17.98 |
| Back in 1972 Jimmie Dale Gilmore, Butch Hancock & Joe Ely
were an acoustic country/ folk band called The Flatlanders. They recorded
one album which has been reissued a number of times and went their separate
ways. Now they are back together, at least briefly, for this new album of
mostly new original songs. |
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| "HARMONICA" FRANK FLOYD | Memphis International 0201 | The Missing Link | ● CD $16.98 |
| Previously unissued recordings from 1979 by this wonderful
and idiosyncratic performer - some tracks recorded live. Thought not as
impressive as his early recordings which, hopefully, will some day be
reissued there are some remarkable and unique performances here. Frank
redoes some of his 50s songs (Rocking Chair Daddy/ Swamp Root/ Howlin'
Tomcat, etc), does some country and blues standards (Deep Ellum
Blues/ It Ain't Gonna Rain No More/ You Don't Know My Mind, etc) and a
bunch of unique originals (Shoop-a-boop-a-doodler/ What Are You Squawkin'
About?/ From Memphis To New Orleans, etc.) Features notes by Nick
Tosches which includes copies of some of the letters from Frank to producer
David Less. |
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| TOMPALL GLASER & THE GLASER BROTHERS | Collector's Choice CCM 248 | The Best Of Tompall Glaser & The Glaser Brothers | ● CD $16.98 |
| First U.S. reissue of this fine and popular group who were
among the founders of the "outlaw" movement. It features 24 tracks recorded
between 1966 and 1981 including recordings by the group as well as solo
sides by Tompall. Includes many country hit - Gone, On The Other Hand/
One Of These Days/ All That Keeps Ya Goin'/ Rings/ Ain't It Worth Living
For/ Bad, Bad, Bad Cowboy/ Put Another Log On The Fire/ Lovin' Her Was
Easier (Than Anything I'll Ever Do Again) and others. Compiled and
annotated by Colin Escott. |
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| LULU BELLE & SCOTTY | Cattle 264 | Blue Ridge Mountain Favorites | ● CD $18.98 |
| 26 tracks by this fine traditional country duo drawn from
radio transcriptions made for radio station WLS. LULU BELLE & SCOTTY: A Petal From A Faded Rose/ Carolina Mountain Home/ Cindy/ Clouds Gonna Roll Away/ Darby's Ram/ De Ladies' Man/ Have You Seen Rover/ Home Coming Time In Happy Valley/ How Many Biscuits Can You Eat/ I'll Remember You Love In My Prayers/ I'm Goin' Back To Whur I Come From/ John Henry/ Love Me Now/ Mocking Bird Valley/ My Heart Is Where The Mohawk Flows Tonight/ No Dontcha/ On Top Of Old Smoky/ One Step More/ Please Think Of Me/ Remember Me/ Somebody's Tall And Handsome/ Tapping On The Garden Gate/ There's Somebody Waiting For Me/ Twilight Is Stealing/ Whistling Mother-in-law/ You Gotta Quit Kicking My Dog Around |
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| MARTY ROBBINS | Collectables 7451 | Just A Little Sentimental/ Turn The Lights Down Low | ● CD $13.98 |
| Two of Marty's Columbia LPs from 1961 & '65 respectively
featuring songs like A Little Sentimental/ To Each His Own/ Answer Me My
Love/ Half As Much/ Are You Sincere/ To Think You've Chosen Me/ Turn The
Lights Down Low/ You're Not The Only One/ But Only In My Dreams and
more. 24 tracks in all. |
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| RUSTY & DOUG | Varese Vintage 66347 | Greatest Hits | ● CD $13.98 |
| 20 tunes, 44 min, recommended Used to be in the early 70s you couldn't turn on a TV variety show without seeing the tall, long haired “Ragin' Cajun” Doug Kershaw maniacally sawing away on his fiddle such tunes as Diggy Liggy Lo & the autobiographical Louisiana Man, bringing Cajun & country to the mass public. This set has his fine Hickory sides 1955-62 done with brother Rusty as “Rusty & Doug”. Some Cajun, some straight country, all with that wonderful brother rough harmony, a more ragged Everly Brothers (a couple tunes here are by the Everly's main songwriters Felice & Boudleaux Bryant who wrote a couple tunes for the Kershaws - Doug remembers turning down Bye Bye Love!) Here are the original recordings of Louisiana Man, which was actually re-released as a single in '71 to cash in on Doug's rediscovery & Diggy Liggy Lo, their other big hit Cajun Joe (Bully Of The Bayou), a fine rockabilly Hey Mae (“we'll drink a soda pop/go to the record hop where we can do the bop 'til we're about to flop”) & even a cover of Hank's Why Don't You Love Me Like You Used To Do. (GM) |
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| SONS OF THE PIONEERS | Texas Moon 1003 | Blue Prairie | ● CD $15.98 |
| 14 tracks (just 30 minutes) from mid/late 50s radio shows
made for the U.S. Treasury Department. The group featured Lloyd Perryman,
Tommy Doss, Pat Brady, Dale Warren & Roy Lanham. Includes Tumbling
Tumbleweeds/ Listen To The Mockingbird/ If You Would Only Be Mine/ Saddle
Up/ You Ain't Heard Nothing 'Til You Hear Him Roar/ Yippy Yi Your Troubles
Away, etc. |
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| JAMES TALLEY | Cimaron 1011 | Touchstones | ● CD $15.98 |
| Brilliant singer and songwriter from Oklahoma with new
recordings of 16 of his songs that he first recorded for Capitol in the 70s.
He is accompanied by a fine band including Tommy Detamore/ electric and
steel guitars, Ponty Bone/ accordion, Bobby Flores/ fiddle, mandolin &
acoutic guitar and others. Also features Joe Ely doing a guest vocal on
W. Lee O'Daniel & The Light Crust Doughboays. Among the songs are
Trying Like The Devil/ Calico Gypsy/ Not Even When It's Over/ Deep Country
Blues/ Richland, Washington/ Up From Georgia/ What Will There Be For The
Children?/ Give My Love To Marie and others. |
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| T. TEXAS TYLER | Cattle 262 | Unadulterated Country Songs | ● CD $18.98 |
| First of two CDs (20 tracks each) featuring recordings made
between 1946 and 1950 by this popular and distinctive performer. The title
refers to the fact that these original Four Star recordings were later
issued by King with added echo and overdubbed instruments and these are the
raw originals. T. TEXAS TYLER: A Colored Child's Funeral (= A Negro Funeral)/ Baby I Can't Sleep/ Blue Kimono Blues/ Didn't They Crucify My Lord/ Divorce Me C.o.d./ Get Out Of My Life/ God Put A Rainbow In The Cloud/ Goodnight Waltz/ Guitar Boogie Woogie/ Half Past Three/ Hideaway/ I Dreamed I Searched Heaven (for You)/ I Hung My Head And Cried/ I Love You Because/ I'll Have A New Life/ If I Could My Mother Pray Again/ If You Had A Heart (to Match Your Pretty Face)/ Irma (is The Name Of My Baby)/ It's A Pity/ Mona Lisa |
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| T. TEXAS TYLER | Cattle 263 | More Unadulterated Country Songs | ● CD $18.98 |
| Second collection of Tyler's early recordings T. TEXAS TYLER: I'm Worth A Million Dollars In A Clinch/ New Baby Doll/ Praise The Lord, Salvation Has Been Brought Down/ Rag Monkey Song/ Should You Go First (beyond The Sunset)/ Show Me The Way Back To Your Heart/ So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed/ Sweet Thing/ That Beautiful Picture/ The Auction Sale Back Home/ The Old Hymns (that Mother Used To Sing)/ The Touch Of The Master's Hand/ There's A Little Pine Log Cabin/ To Prove My Love Is True/ Trouble Then Satisfaction/ Who's To Blame/ Will You Think Of Me/ You Turned A Good Man Down/ You Were Only Teasing Me/ You've Got To Live Your Religion Every Day |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Ace CDCHD 854 | King Hillbilly Bop & Boogie | ● CD $18.98 |
| Hot uptempo hillbilly and country boogie from the vaults of
King recorded between the mid 40s and mid 50s including Grandpa Jones, Bill
Carlisle, Jimmy Widener, Cowboy Copas, Tommy Scott, Clyde Moody, Shorty
Long, Moon Mullican. Luke McDaniel and many others. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | RCA Heritage 43600 | Bona Fide Bluegrass & Mountain Music | ● CD $13.98 |
| One of the many releases in the wake of the success of "O
Brother Where Art Thou" this is nicely compiled collection of material from
the RCA vaults including original versions of several songs used in the
movie. In addition to the well known artists like Jimmy Rodgers, The Carter
Family & Bill Monroe there are also fine lesser known artists like The
Prairie Ramblers, Byron Barker & His Mountaineers, The Morris Brothers and
the wonderful and idiosyncratic Jimmy Murphy. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Shanachie DVD 604 | High Lonesome - The Story of Bluegrass Music | ● CD $21.98 |
| Color, 95 minutes, essential. Now on
DVD. This is as
comprehensive a cinematic overview of bluegrass as we are likely to get, the
perfect response to the question "What is bluegrass music anyway?" Director
Rachel Liebling has skillfully interwoven still photographs, archival
performance footage, newly shot concert footage, and interviews with the
music's luminaries to create an informative and entertaining film which is
at times very evocative and moving. She does a very nice job of placing the
music in historical and sociological context without becoming pedantic or
preachy. Bluegrass patriarch Bill Monroe is prominently featured throughout,
as befits his enormous importance in the history of the music. There is
performance footage of Bill and his band in the 80s as well as enticing bits
of archival footage of his various bands from the 50s, 60s and 70s. Also
included are interviews with Ralph Stanley, Jimmy Martin, The Osborne
Brothers and others along with vintage concert footage of Flatt & Scruggs,
The Stanley Brothers, The Osborne Brothers and others as well as more recent
footage of the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Alison Krauss & Union Station and
others. The whole thing is tied together nicely by a voiceover narration
written by Liebling and delivered by Mac Wiseman. The footage of the aging
Monroe visiting his old home place and musing about the past is particularly
affecting and evocative. One minor quibble : little attention is given to
the second generation of stars of the music, those who were, in my view,
very important in bringing bluegrass music to the attention of the larger
world of music - artists such as Tony Rice, Riocky Skaggs, Clarence White,
David Grisman, Byron Berlin, and others. Still, this movie is quite an
achievement, particularly in view of the fact that Liebling was a recent
convert to the music when she began the project. Also available on VHS
($17.98) (RP) |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Shanachie DVD 1404 | That High Lonesome Sound | ● CD $21.98 |
| DVD. 70 minute video featuring three films from the 60s shot by
John Cohen including profiles of Roscoe Holcomb, Dillard Chandler and Sara
and Maybelle Carter. |
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS | Shiloh 4093 | The Best Of Shiloh And More, Vol. 1 | ● CD $9.98 |
| We've turned up copies of this long out of print compilation
featuring tracks drawn from various Shiloh albums and other sources.
Includes two tracks by The Flying Burrito Brothers recorded live in Japan in
1978 and three live tracks from 1976 from an unspecified location. There are
three instrumental tracks from guitarist/ banjo player Greg Harris, three
tracks from steel guitarist Sneaky Pete Kleinow, two tracks from Gram
Parsons legendary International Submarine Band album and three by Gib
Gilbeau with Gene Parsons, Clarence White, Red Rhodes and other luminaries. |
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| DOC WATSON & DAVID HOLT | High Windy 1258 | Legacy | ● CD $23.98 |
| Three CD set, highly recommended This three CD set is a
terrific tribute to this great and influential American traditional
musician. The first two CDs feature a lengthy interview with Doc by his long
time friend and musical associate David Holt. Doc talks about his life and
music copiously illustrated with musical examples - he talks about his early
years growing up blind in the mountains of North Carolina, his early musical
influences, the impact of his family getting a Victrola, how he came to the
attention an audience oustide of his immediate family and friends and his
ascendency to becoming a multi Grammy-Award winner - all without
compromising his music. The warmth and love so evident in his music comes
over in his conversation which is sprinkled with charming and humorous
anecdotes. The third CD features a live concert by Doc & David in Asheville,
N.C. with both in fine form. The set comes with a 72 page booklet with lots
of historic photos as well as interviews and commentary from Doc's family,
friends and fellow musicians. (FS) |
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