NEWSLETTER #133
Country, Bluegrass & Old Timey
Jimmy Martin ->
Mac Wiseman
| LEON MCAULIFFE |
Cattle 295 |
A Musical Souvenir |
● CD $18.98 |
24 tracks recorded by this great steel guitarist in the
late 40s to mid 50s after leaving Bob Wills' Texas Playboys. Includes
instrumentals as well as tracks with vocals by McAuliffe himself, Jimmy
Hall, Duane Bass and others.
LEON MCAULIFFE: Birmingham Bounce/ Bitter Tears/ Blacksmith Blues/ Blue
Guitar Stomp/ Careless Hands/ Chattanooga Shoe Shine Boy/ Eating Right Out
Of Your Hand/ Hear Me Now/ Heart Attacks/ I Didn't Know How Much I Loved
You/ I'm Going Back To Birmingham/ No One For Me/ Panhandle Waltz/ Redskin
Rag/ Somebody Else Is A-beatin' My Time/ Stolen Love/ Sugar And Salt/ Take
It Away, Leon/ The Three Bears/ There's A Right Way, A Wrong Way/ This
Side Of Town/ Twin Fiddle Rag/ What, Where And When/ Who Took My Ring From
Your Finger
|
| SKEETS MCDONALD |
B.A.C.M. 072 |
Wheel Of Fortune |
● CD $13.98 |
24 tracks, 62 mins, highly recommended A superb collection
of sides recorded between 1951 by this outstanding honky tonk singer whose
comparitive lack of success is puzzling - he was superb singer, excellent
songwriter and was accompanied by top West Coast musicians like Joe
Maphis, Jimmy Bryant, Speedy West and others. His only hit in the 50s was
his great cover of Slim Willet's Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes
which is featured here along with lots of other great songs, often with a
bluesy flavor, including Scoot Git And Begone/ The Love That Hurts Me
So/ Please Come Back/ Curtain Of Tears/ Ridin' Wit The Blues/ Be My Life's
Companion/ Let Me Know/ I've Got To Win Your Love Again/ Lookin' At The
Moon And Wishing On A Star/ Baby I'm Countin' and others - most of
them originals. This set also includes one side of his debut recording for
Fortune of Detroit in the 1951 - the great Tattooed Lady which was
considered a bit risque for its time. Excellent sound and brief notes from
Brian Golbey. (FS)
SKEETS MCDONALD: Baby I‘m Countin‘/ Baby I‘m Lost Without You/ Be My
Life‘s Companion/ Big Family Trouble/ Bless Your Little Old Heart You‘re
Mine/ Curtain Of Tears/ Don‘t Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes/ Hi Diddle
Diddle (my My)/ I Can‘t Last Long/ I Need Your Love/ It‘s Your Life/ I‘m
Hurtin‘/ I‘m Sorry To Say I‘m Sorry/ I‘ve Got To Win Your Love Again/ Let
Me Know/ Lookin‘ At The Moon And Wishing On A Star/ Please Come Back/
Ridin‘ With The Blues/ Scoot Git And Begone/ Tattooed Lady/ The Love That
Hurts Me So/ Today I‘m Movin‘ Out/ Wheel Of Fortune/ Worried Mind
|
| JIMMIE SKINNER |
Bear Family BCD 16613 |
Doin' My Time |
● CD $169.98 |
6 CD box set,168 tracks, highly recommended Like Jimmy
Murphy and Onie Wheeler, Jimmie Skinner was one of the great "outsider"
artists of postwar country music. Operating far from the Nashville
mainstream, Skinner produced minimalist, bluesy records that recall Johnny
Cash's spare, early Sun singles - but predated them by more than seven
years. But unlike Murphy and Wheeler, Skinner became a successful
recording artist. His dry, reedy baritone seemed perfectly tuned to the
era's booming jukeboxes. As a songwriter, Skinner had few peers. He fit
melancholy and sometimes angry lyrics onto catchy tunes, and many became
standards: Doin' My Time/ Will You Be Satisfied That Way/ Don't Give
Your Heart to a Rambler/ You Don't Know My Mind, and Let's Say
Goodbye (Like We Said Hello), among others. Mandolinist Ray Lunsford
helped shape Skinner's trademark style, maintaining a simple melody line
that stayed in synch with the singer's frequent disregard for meter - a
trait Skinner shared with the country bluesmen he loved. This welcome Bear
Family anthology documents this Cincinnati-based singer's first fifteen
years on record. Five CDs collect his rare Red Barn discs from 1947-48,
his influential Radio Artists 78s (including seven unissued masters), his
Capitol and Decca sides, and his successful 1956-62 Mercury period that
produced such hits as Dark Hollow and I Found My Girl in the
U.S.A. and the album "Jimmie Skinner Sings Jimmie Rodgers". It
includes early demo acetates and an obscure bluegrass session that was
produced for and sold by the Cincinnati music store/mail-order record
business that bore his name. A sixth disc features Skinner reading from an
uncompleted autobiography - compelling, unforgettable tales of Depression
life, his attempts to get on record, and frank reflections on why he
didn't pursue loftier goals in show business. The set includes a 92-page,
profusely illustrated hardcover book. Dave Samuelson pieced together
Skinner's life and career from family members, musicians, and associates,
contemporary trade publications and oral histories Skinner gave before his
1979 death at age 70. Kudos to Bear Family's Richard Weize and
collector/researcher Dave Sax for restoring and reissuing the work of this
often-overlooked performer. (AK)
|
| THE SONS OF THE
PIONEERS |
B.A.C.M. 078 |
Western Harmony & Hot Swing, Vol. 1 |
● CD $13.98 |
First of two albums presenting some of the 200 radio
transcriptions made for the NBC Thesaurus Orthacoustic company in the
early 40s. At this time the group included instrumentalists Hugh Farr/
fiddle and Karl farr/ guitar so in addition to the expected harmonies we
also get some hot jazzy instrumental work. This volume has 32 tracks
including Rise And Shine/ Riding The Rocky Range/ Cottage In The
Clouds/ Sunset On The Trail/ Come And Get It/ Ridin' The Range With You,
etc.
THE SONS OF THE PIONEERS: A Cowboy's Prayer/ Blue Mountain Sweetheart/
Boggy Road To Texas (Instr.)/ Bon Ton Schottische (Instr.)/ Cielito Lindo/
Cody Of The Pony Express/ Come And Get It/ Cottage In The Clouds/ Curly
Joe From Idaho/ Get Along Pinto Pony/ Great Big Taters In The Sandy Land (Instr.)/
I Belong To The Range/ Lone Buckaroo/ Moonlight On The Trail/ No Good Son
Of A Gun/ On The Rhythm Range/ Ridin' On The Sunshine Trail/ Ridin' The
Range With You/ Riding The Rocky Range/ Rise And Shine/ Rocky Road In The
Rockies/ Sally Goodin' (Instr.)/ She's The Lily Of Hillbilly Valley/
Sunset On The Trail/ The Quilting Party/ We Sat Beneath The Maple On The
Hill/ What Wonderful Joy/ What You Gonna Say To Peter/ When A Cowboy
Starts To Courtin'/ When The Prairie Sun Says Good Morning/ Where The Rio
Rolls Along/ Wonder Valley
|
| THE SONS OF THE
PIONEERS |
B.A.C.M. 079 |
Western Harmony & Hot Swing, Vol. 2 |
● CD $13.98 |
32 more Orthacoustic transcriptions.
THE SONS OF THE PIONEERS: Blue Eyed Little Nell of Narraganset Bay/ Blue
For You/ Climbing Up The Golden Stairs/ Close To Heaven/ Comin' Through
The Korn (Instr.)/ Crawdad Hole/ Don't You Wish You Had Someone (Instr.)/
Dreamy Reverie (Instr.)/ Farr Into The Night/ Frankie And Johnnie (Instr.)/
Hill Country/ Hoppin' High (Instr.)/ I Ain't A-Worryin'/ I Love The
Prairie Country/ Jim Jam Jiggin' (Instr.)/ Li'l Liza Jane/ Moonlight
Melody/ More Fried Chicken, Uncle Joe? (Instr.)/ Shadows Of The Wildwood/
Silver Threads Among The Gold/ Someone Like You (Instr.)/ Sweet And Low/
The Capital Ship/ The Gypsy's Warning/ They Drew My Number/ Tom And Jerry
(Instr.)/ Under The Willow She's Sleeping/ When They Ring Those Golden
Bells/ When We Get Old And Grey/ Where Is My Wandering Boy Tonight/
Whistle And Wait For Katy/ You Don't Love Me But I'll Always Care
|
| RED SOVINE |
Cattle 292 |
Country Ballads & Western SWing |
● CD $18.98 |
Red's complete 1949-1952 studio recordings with Jerry
Byrd, Chet Atkins, Tommy Jackson and others. 28 tracks including honky
tonk ballads, western swing and country boogies - A Hard Road To
Travel/ A Quarter's Worth Of Heartaches/ Billy Goat Boogie/ Dear Mr Santa
Claus/ Fourflusher/ I Wanted You For A Lifetime/ I'll Worry You Out Of My
Mind, etc. Includes a fine version of the Hank Williams song If
You'll Be A Baby To Me which Hank never recorded commercially.
RED SOVINE: A Hard Road To Travel/ A Loveless Marriage/ A Quarter's Worth
Of Heartaches/ Big Dipper/ Billy Goat Boogie/ Christmas Alone/ Dear Mister
Santa Claus/ Don't Worry/ Farewell, So Long, Goodbye/ Fourflusher/ Groovy
Boy/ I Wanted You For A Lifetime/ I'll Worry You Out Of My Mind/ I'm Gonna
Lock My Heart (and Throw Away The Key)/ I'm Only A Shoulder To Cry On/ If
You'll Be A Baby To Me/ It'd Surprise You/ Lifetime To Regret/ Okey Dokey/
Please Don't Let Me Love You/ Sundown Sue/ The Intoxicated Rat (my Little
Rat)/ Till Today/ When I Get Rich/ Who's Lonely Now/ Why Pretend/ You
Taught Me How/ You're Barking Up The Wrong Tree Now
|
| LARRY SPARKS |
Rebel 1588 |
John Deere Tractor |
● CD $15.98 |
CD issue of 1980 album.
|
| THE STANLEY BROTHERS |
Columbia 86747 |
An Evening Long Ago |
● CD $11.98 |
20 tracks, 47 mins, essential A stunning and moving set of
informal performances by the greatest of all bluegrass groups. These
priceless sides were recorded in 1956 at an off air radio station in
Bristol, Virginia in March, 1956 with Ralph and Carter joined by fiddler
Ralph Mayo and mandolinist Curly Lambert. Although they were at the peak
of their success with Mercury at the time, the material here reache back
into the past with a selection of traditional songs and tunes as well as
versions of some of their earliest recordings. Songs include Handsome
Molly/ The Story Of The Lawson Family/ Come All You Tenderhearted/ Darling
Do You Know Who Loves You/ Bound To Ride/ My Long Skinny Lanky Sarah Jane/
Train 45/ Little Birdie/ Orange Blossom Special/ Feast Here Tonight
and others. This session has a warm, intimate quality so you fell that the
Stanley's are singing just for you - truly sublime music. (FS)
|
|
OCIE
STOCKARD & THE WANDERERS |
Origin Jazz Library 1002 |
Western Swing Chronicles, Vol. 3 |
● CD $13.98 |
The complete recordings, made between 1937 and 1946, of
this popular Fort Worth based western swing band led by fiddler and banjo
player Stockard - a former member of Milton Brown's musical Brownie's. It
includes a September 11th, 1937 session featuring jazz trumpeter Harry
Palmer - his only recordings.
|
| THE TARBOX RAMBLERS |
Rounder 9061 |
A Fix Back East |
● CD $15.98 |
11 tracks, 42 min, recommended
Second CD by this excellent
Boston band, combining Americana, swamp, gospel & hillbilly to great effeect. Led by guitarist/singer Michael Tarbos (who sounds a bit like
John Kay) most of the tunes are originals, along with covers of Dock
Bogg's Country Blues & the gospel standard Last Month Of The
Year. I especially like the final track here, Ashes To Ashes,
but all in all, everything here is excellent! (GM)
|
|
TUT TAYLOR &
CLARENCE WHITE |
Tut-Lee 1003 |
Flatpicking |
● CD $15.98 |
A collection of 24 instrumental duets featuring Dobro
master Tut Taylor and legendary guitarist Clarence White. These were
recorded informally by Tut in 1965 and appear her for the first time. A
collection of traditional tunes, old pop songs and some originals.
Includes Picking Peanuts/ Happy Dobro/ Panhandle Rag/ All Smiles
Tonight/ Playing Around/ Tennessee Dulcimer Works/ Maggie/ Dobro Country,
etc.
|
| FLOYD TILLMAN |
Bear Family BCD 16415 |
I Love You So Much It Hurts - His
Recordings, 1936-62 & |
● CD $195.98 |
A retrospective of this important, versatile and
influential artist. A six CD box set with 173 tracks plus a hard cover
book. Tillman's music embraced western swing, honky tonk and jazz and
several of his songs went on to become pop standards. This set includes
his earliest recordings as vocalist with the Blue Ridge Playboys in 1936,
his recordings for Decca (1939-1944), his most successful period with
Columbia (1948-1955) plus sessions for various small labels, a 1958 RCA
LP, two Liberty sessions in 1960/61, his 1962 Cimarron songs plus a 1981
LP for Gilleys. Includes duets with Ernest Tubb, Merle Haggard, Willie
Nelson and others.
|
| THE VAGABONDS |
B.A.C.M. 071 |
Old Cabin Songs |
● CD $13.98 |
20 songs from 1933 sung in smooth harmony
by this trio of vocalists accompanied by guitar. Although much of their
music is probably closer to pop than country they appeared on the Grand
Ole Opry in the early 30s and attracted quite a following. Includes
sentimental songs, western songs, religious songs, novelty songs and a
traditional ballad.
THE VAGABONDS: An Old Sweet Song For A Dear Old Lady/ At The End Of Sunset
Lane/ Barbara Allen/ Father, Mother, Sister, Brother/ Four Thousand Years
Ago/ How Beautiful Heaven Must Be/ I Will Always Call You Sweetheart/ In
The Sleepy Hills Of Tennessee/ In The Valley Of Yesterday/ In The Vine
Covered Church Back Home/ Little Brick Church/ Little Mother Of The Hills/
Little Shoes/ Moonlight Down In Lovers Lane/ Ninety Nine Years/ Sourwood
Mountain/ That Little Boy Of Mine/ The Death Of Jesse James/ The Old
Rugged Cross/ When The Work‘s All Done This Fall
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Acrobat 4015 |
Hillbilly Honeymoon |
● CD $14.98 |
Subtitled "Manhaters, Misogynists & Marital Mayhem" this
is a fun collection of country songs from the late 20 through the early
50s dealing with the perils and pitfalls of marriage - mostly from the
male perspective. Many of the tracks have been on CD before bt not in this
context includes Beware by Blind Alfred Reed, White Shotguns
by Hank Penny, Faithless Husband by Jimmie Tarlton, I Can't Tame
Wild Women by Bill Boyd's Cowboy Ramblers, Philadelpha Lawyer
by The Maddox Brothers & Rose, Seven Years With The Wrong Woman by
Cliff Carlisle and others. Excellent sound and whimsical notes from Keith
Briggs.
THE BLUE RIDGE MOUNTAIN SINGERS: Christine Leroy/ BILL BOYD'S COWBOY
RAMBLERS: I Can't Tame Wild Women/ CLIFF CARLISLE: Pay Day Fight/ Seven
Years With The Wrong Woman/ Wild Cat Mama & Tom Cat Man/ THE CARTER
FAMILY: Single Girl, Married Girl/ Stern Old Bachelor/ AL DEXTER: Pistol
Packin' Mama/ RED FOLEY: Never Trust A Woman/ UNCLE DAVE MACON: My
Daughter Wished To Marry/ THE MADDOX BROTHERS AND ROSE: Philadelphia
Lawyer/ BILLIE MAXWELL: Cowboy's Wife/ DAVE MCCARN: Everyday Dirt/ BYRON
PARKER: Married Life Blues/ HANK PENNY: White Shotguns/ BLIND ALFRED REED:
Beware/ THE SHELTON BROTHERS: Hang Out The Front Door Key/ EARL SONGER:
Mother-in-law Boogie/ JIMMIE TARLTON: Faithless Husband/ MERLE TRAVIS:
Divorce Me C.o.d./ HANK WILLIAMS: Dear John/ First Year Blues/ You're
Gonna Change (or I'm Gonna Leave)
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
B.A.C.M. 077 |
Classic Country Music On The Decca 5000
Series |
● CD $13.98 |
27 tracks, 79 mins, highly recommended A varied collection
of sides issued on the Decca 5000 series between 1934 and 1941 including
one side by Bill Cox (the great In 1992) originally recorded for
Champion in 1931. Includes sides by Homer Briarhopper, Clayton McMichen's
Georgia Wildcats (a hot western swing flavored version of Bile Them
Cabbage Down), The Carlisle Brothers (the wonderful Broken Heart),
Hug & Shug's Radio Pals, Frank Luther & Buddy Ross, The Rice Brothers
Gang, Cliff Bruner & The Texas Wanderers (hot western swing), The
Louisiana Strollers (fine blues), Dave Edwards & The Alabama Boys, Texas
Ruby, The Carolina Buddies, Curly Fox with Joe Shelton, Leon SCott &
Claude Boone, The Ross Rhythm Rascals and others. A heap of good music
with excellent sound. (FS)
HOMER BRIARHOPPER: I Am Just What I Am/ CLIFF BRUNER & THE TEXAS
WANDERERS: Jessie's Sister/ THE CARLISLE BROTHERS: Broken Heart/ THE
CAROLINA BUDDYS: Mother The Queen Of My Heart/ EDITH & SHERMAN COLLINS:
You're A Flower Blooming In The Wildwood/ BILL COX: In 1992/ RALPH HODGES
THE DIXIE VAGABONDS: His Last Words/ DAVE EDWARDS & ALABAMA BOYS: Oh By
Jingo, Oh By Gee/ THE FOUR ACES WITH LEO SOILEAU: When The Moon Comes Over
The Mountain/ CURLY FOX WITH JOE SHELTON: Listen To The Mocking Bird/
STUART HAMBLEN'S COVERED WAGON JUBILEE: Sunshine Alley/ HUGH & SHUG'S
RADIO PALS: Sugar Babe/ THE KELLY FAMILY (JERRY & RAMON): Out On The
Desert/ LEON'S LONE STAR COWBOYS: Mistreated Blues/ THE LOG CABIN BOYS
(FRANKIE MORE & FREDDIE O: New Crawdad Song/ THE LOUISIANA STROLLERS:
Married Woman Blues/ THE MACK (MCCRAVY) BROTHERS: On The Good Old Santa
Fe/ RED RIVER DAVE MCENERY: Down Del Rio Way/ CLAYTON MCMICHEN'S GEORGIA
WILDCATS: Bile Dem Cabbage Down/ TEX OWENS & TEXAS RANGERS: Prairie Dream
Boat/ RILEY PUCKETT: Take Me Back To My Carolina Home/ THE RICE BROTHERS
GANG: My Carolina Sunshine Girl/ FRANK (LUTHER) & BUDDY ROSS: Pray For Me
Mother/ ROSS RHYTHM RASCALS: Lulu's Back In Town/ LEON SCOTT & CLAUDE
BOONE (ELK MOUNTAIN BOYS): Don't Dig Mother's Grave/ TEXAS RUBY: T. For
Texas/ HAPPY JACK TURNER: Pretty Quadroon
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Collector 2869 |
Boppin' Acetates Coast To Coast |
● CD $16.98 |
Amazing collection of 31 tracks, all but one of them drawn
from previously unissued private acetates made in the late 40s and 50s - a
mix of honky tonk, western swing, hillbilly boogie and more. Mostly by
fairly obscure artists though some had commercial records issued. Includes
Bobby Watkins, Eddie Moore, Carl Petz & The Drifting Cowboys, Jimmy Seaton
& Burton Harris, Ellis Stroud, Sonny Boy Miller, Bill Callahan & His Blue
Mountain Boys and others. The sound quality is generally pretty good
though a few of the acetates are pretty rough. Musical quality is also
pretty good though there are a few duds that could safely have remained
unissued. Includes 16 page booklet with notes, photos and label shots of
many of the acetates.
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Copper Creek 7001 |
Wildwood Flower - Classic Country
Performances |
● CD $9.98 |
12 tracks, highly recommended
Copper Creek is best known
for its contemporary recordings of bluegrass and old timey but they've
started a new budget priced "Roots" series to reissue vintage bluegrass
and country recordings. Their first release features 12 sides recorded for
Columbia in the 40s and early 50s. Most of the tracks will be pretty
familiar to country music fans but there are some fine less common tracks
like Love And Wealth by Carl Story, a Carter Family track from one
of their last sessions, Molly O'Day's great Poor Ellen Smith and
some others along with more familiar sides from Bill Monroe, Lefty
Frizzell, The Stanley Brothers, Carl Smith and more. Music is consistently
fine, sound quality is excellent and there are informative notes by Ralph
Berrier. (FS)
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
King 0542 |
Cabin On A Mountain |
● CD $9.98 |
12 tracks, 28 minutes, essential
This CD is a 'must-have'
for anyone who treasures unvarnished vintage bluegrass. It features the
complete King recordings of Jimmy Martin and Bobby Osborne, Vern and Ray's
complete Starday output, and four dynamic Stardays featuring fiddler
Scotty Stoneman. During their brief 1951 partnership, Martin and Osborne
recorded four sides that recall Martin's first stint with Bill Monroe's
Blue Grass Boys. My Lonely Heart/ She's Just a Cute Thing/ Blue-Eyed
Darling and You'll Never Be the Same are seminal bluegrass and
the least egocentric discs Martin ever cut. The digital transfers were
made from the original session reels and free from the echo that marred
later EP and LP reissues. Anyone hearing Vern Williams and Ray Park's sole
1961 Starday EP would dispute that music like this could come from
southern California. Long treasured by collectors, these three songs and
one instrumental are powerful, edgy performances that reflect Vern and
Ray's Arkansas backgrounds. Their often-anthologized Cabin on a
Mountain became a standard through Del McCoury's cover. If you
remember the Stoneman Family as this pleasant, innocuous ensemble that
could fit into Christopher Guest's 2003 mockumentary "A Mighty Wind", then
you've never heard the unhomogenized, hyperactive bluegrass that Pop
Stoneman's five children effortlessly tossed off forty years ago. For this
anthology, compiler Gary Reid culled Scotty Stoneman's vocal and fiddle
showcases from the family's two Starday albums. Chances are you'd prefer
to never hear Orange Blossom Special and Lee Highway Blues
again, but Stoneman's manic, unpredictable interpretations make these
warhorses compelling listening. The lyrics of Stoneman's two vocals,
Turn Me Loose and That Pal of Mine, are unabashed testaments of
alcohol abuse - a condition that unraveled this brilliant musician and led
to an early death. Gusto/King is marketing this release in its usual
haphazard way, so who knows how long it will be available. Nor should you
be put off by the disc's short running time - there's more great music
here than you'll find on any comparable anthology of contemporary
bluegrass. (DS)
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Proper BOX 29 |
Bluegrass Bonanza |
● CD $26.98 |
Four CD look at the early years of bluegrass.
The first disc is devoted to the string band origins of the music in the
20s and the 30s with tracks from Ernest V. Stoneman, Uncle Dave Macon,
Earl Johnson & His Clodhoppers, Prairie Ramblers, Charlie Poole and
others. Disc two covers the late 30s and early 40s and features The Monroe
Brothers, Charlie Monroe's Boys and the first recordings of Bill Monroe
& His Bluegrass Boys. The other two discs features recordings from the
mid and late 40s by Monroe, Coon Creek Girls, Delmore Brothers, Bailey
Brothers, Stanley Brothers, Armstrong twins, Flatt & Scruggs and
others.
|
| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
RCA 60085 |
East Virginia Blues |
● CD $13.98 |
25 tracks, 74 mins, highly recommended
A great collection
of 25 old time country songs recorded between 1924 and 1940,drawn from the
vaults of RCA & Bluebird - many of which have since become country
standards. Includes performances by The Carter Family, Wade Mainer & Zeke
Morris, Vernon Dalhart, The Hall Brothers (an intriguing early recording
of the highly popular Man Of Constant Sorrow, recorded in 1938 and
previously unissued!) The Blue Sky Boys, The Rouse Brothers (one of the
first versions of Orange Blossom Specials taken at a far more
leisurely pace than the usually frenetic modern versions), G.B. Grayson &
Henry Whitter, J.E. Mainer's Mountaineers, Jimmie Rodgers, Jimmie Davis,
Cliff Carlisle, Gene Autry, The Delmore Brothers, Ernest Tubb and others.
Sound is super abd disc includes 16 page illustrated booklet with notes by
Colin Escott on each track and full discographical information. (FS)
GENE AUTRY: Do Right Daddy Blues/ BUD BILLINGS & CARSON ROBISON:
Birmingham Jail/ THE BLUE SKY BOYS: In the Hills of Roane County/ Mary of
the Wild Moor/ CLIFF CARLISLE: That Nasty Swing/ THE CARTER FAMILY: The
East Virginia Blues/ Wildwood Flower/ VERNON DALHART: The Prisoner's Song/
Wrecl of the Old 97/ JIMMIE DAVIS: She's a Hum Dum Dinger (From
Dingersville), Pt. 2/ THE DELMORE BROTHERS: Brown's Ferry Blues/ THE HALL
BROTHERS: Constant Sorrow/ THE LONE STAR COWBOYS: Just Because/ J.E.
MAINER'S MOUNTAINEERS: The Longest Train/ BILL MONROE AND HIS BLUE GRASS
BOYS: Mule Skinner Blues/ THE MONROE BROTHERS: Will the Circle Be
Unbroken/ ZEKE MORRIS: Down in the Willow/ Short Life and It's Trouble/
RILEY PUCKETT: Nobody's Business/ JIMMIE RODGERS: Frankie and Johnny/ In
the Jailhouse/ THE ROUSE BROTHERS: Orange Blossom Special/ ROY SHAFFER:
The Matchbox Blues/ ERNEST TUBB: The TB Is Whipping Me/ HENRY WHITTER: Tom
Dooley
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| VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Scena 270213 |
Country Crooners |
● CD $12.98 |
15 tracks recorded live on the famed Louisiana Hayride
between 1958 and 1968 and, as you might gather from the title is devoted
to ballads including songs by Jim Reeves, George Morgan, Jim Ed Brown, Nat
Stuckey, George Jones, Slim Whitman, Johnny Horton, Don Gibson and Faron
Young. Sound quality is a bit rough on quite a few of the tracks.
|
| JIMMY WAKELY |
B.A.C.M. 065 |
Red River Rose & Other Classics |
● CD $13.98 |
26 tracks from World Transcriptions recorded between 1941
and 1946 - some with his Trio (with Johnny Bond and Dick Reinhardt) and
others with various studio musicians like Carl Cotner/ fiddle, Paul Sells/
accordion, Merle Travis/ guitar, Jack Rivers/ guitar, Frankie Marvin/
steel guitar and others.
JIMMY WAKELY: Apache Trail/ Blue Montana Skies/ Campfire Lullaby/ Go Your
Way And I‘ll Go Mine/ Goodbye Old Paint/ Head On My Pillow/ Hi-e-hi-o/
Hittin‘ The Trail/ Hittin‘ The Trail For Old Tombstone/ Home In San Antone/
Honest And Truly I Do/ How Could You Have Left Me/ I‘ll Always Be Your
Buddy/ Little Toy Pistol Cowboy/ My Sweet Prairie Rose/ Nobody Else But
You/ Now You Care No More For Me/ One Little Lie Too Many/ Prairie
Campfire/ Red River Rose/ Ridin‘ Down To Santa Fe/ Sing Me A Song Of
Texas/ There‘s A Blue Star Shining Bright (in A Window)/ Wait For The
Light To Shine/ Will You Be True/ You‘re In My Heart To Stay
|
| JIMMY WAKELY |
B.A.C.M. 066 |
Cowboy's Heaven & Other Classics |
● CD $13.98 |
25 tracks drawn from radio transcriptions made in the
early and mid 40s by this popular and appealing Western singer. Various
interesting musicians and vocalists appear on these sides including Merle
Travis, Johnny Bond, Pete Martinez, Carl Cotner, Jimmy Rivers and others.
Songs include A Broken Heart/ Singing Low/ There's A Home In Wyoming/
Meet Me In Loveland/ Where Is My darling/ Where Is My Darlin'/ Sioux City
Sue/ When the Last Train Leaves For Home/ End Of The Trail, etc.
JIMMY WAKELY: A Broken Heart/ Be Honest With Me/ Blue Trail/ Bye And Bye/
Cowboy‘s Heaven/ I Cried All Last Night (over You)/ In That Little
Hillbilly Town/ It Makes No Difference Now/ It‘s Too Late To Say You‘re
Sorry/ I‘ll Forgive If You Forget/ I‘ve Got Those Gone And Left Me Blues/
Meet Me In Loveland/ My Little Buckaroo/ Nothing Matters To Me/ Singing
Low/ Sioux City Sue/ That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine/ The End Of The
Trail/ There‘s A Home In Wyoming/ Wacky ’bout A Gal In Waco/ When It‘s
Roundup Time In Texas/ When The Last Train Leaves For Home/ When Your Hair
Has Turned To Silver/ Where Is My Darlin‘/ You‘re Gone
|
| MARC WILLIAMS |
Jasmine 3534 |
The Forgotten Singing Cowboy |
● CD $12.98 |
21 tracks, 63 mins, recommended Fine collection of 21,
mostly traditional, cowboy songs recorded in the late 20s and early 30s by
this obscure cowboy singer who accompanies himself on guitar. Williams has
a pleasing, if somewhat trained sounding, voice and does songs like
Curly Joe/ The Cowboy's Last Wish/ Sioux Indians/ Sunny San Juan/ When The
Work's All Done This Fall/ The Night Herding Song/ The Little Old Sod
Shanty On My Claim/ The Old Chisholm Trail/ I'm Waiting For Ships That
Never Come In and others. It also includes an unexpected version of
the jazz favorite Willie The Weeper complete with drug references!
Sound is generally excellent though perhaps filleterd a bit too much and
there are informative notes by Paul Hazell. (FS)
|
|
CURLEY WILLIAMS & HIS GEORGIA PEACH PICKERS |
Bear Family BCD 16326 |
Just A-Pickin' And A Singin' |
● CD $21.98 |
25 tracks, 67 minutes, highly recommended Long overdue for
rediscovery, Curley Williams and His Georgia Peach Pickers was a versatile
showband with a style that typifies late '40s country music - something
similar to the California bands in all those 'B' westerns, but without an
accordion. Like Pee Wee King's Golden West Cowboys, they weren't exactly
Western swing, not really honky-tonk and certainly not hillbilly. Like the
established Western swing bands, it drew upon rotating singers, including
Williams, pianist Joe Pope and steel guitarist Boots Harris. Despite
stints on the Grand Ole Opry and the Louisiana Hayride, not to mention
three years in southern California, the Peach Pickers never enjoyed King's
success. In fact, other performers had more chart action with Williams's
material than Williams did: Hank Williams (no relation) and Rosemary
Clooney with Half As Much; Red Foley with Mississippi. Other
musicians even picked up on the band's instrumentals; Jerry Byrd covered
Harris's Georgia Steel Guitar. This Bear Family collection covers
Williams's recording career from February 1945 to December 1947, including
his first eight Columbia releases and eight unissued titles. It also
includes a fragmentary demo of Curley Williams and Hank Williams singing
Time Has Proven I Was Wrong. Although Williams's best-known songs
were still to come, this CD is the stronger of Bear Family's two sets.
Besides Georgia Steel Guitar, highlights include Joe Pope's
Leave Me Alone with the Blues and Blue Melody. It also benefits
from Kevin Coffey's notes, which cover the band's history in fuller detail
than Wayne Daniel's efforts in the second volume. Note that this
collection duplicates eight tracks on Cattle's Williams anthology,
Swing and Boogie Time (CCD 257), but the sound and production quality
here is a quantum leap over that earlier set. (DS)
CURLEY WILLIAMS: At The End Of Each Day/ Because I Believed What You Said/
Blue Melody/ Georgia Anne From Georgia/ Georgia Boogie/ Georgia Polka/
Georgia Steel Guitar/ Georgiana Moon/ Grandma's Turned Over Again/ I Lost
My World (When I Lost You)/ I See A Change In You/ I've Lived, Loved And
Learned/ If I Had It To Do Over Again/ If I Knew Then What I Know Now/
Jealous Lady/ Just A-Pickin' And A-Singin'/ Leave Me Alone With The Blues/
One Sided Affair/ Southern Belle (From Nashville, Tennessee)/ Take It Or
Leave It, Dear/ There Is No Love To Die/ There's A New Blue Eyed Angel (In
Heaven)/ Time Has Proven I Was Wrong (& Hank Williams)/ Woe Is Me/ You
Can't Brush Me Off
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CURLEY WILLIAMS & HIS GEORGIA PEACH PICKERS |
Bear Family BCD 16666 |
Half As Much |
● CD $21.98 |
29 tracks, 75 minutes, recommended This CD covers Curley
Williams' last ten Columbia releases, recorded between 1949 and 1952
during his years on the Louisiana Hayride, WMC in Memphis, and WHMA in
Anniston, Alabama. This set contains some of Williams's best-known songs:
Half as Much/ Mississippi, and three numbers co-written with Hank
Williams: No Not Now/ Honey Do You Love Me - Huh?, and When
You're Tired of Breaking Other Hearts. It also features eight unissued
alternate takes from three of Williams' eleven Columbia sessions, plus
Curley and Hank's demo of No Not Now. The music is generally
catchy, but the band - and Williams' career - are clearly on a downward
curve because of inevitable personnel changes, not to mention its lack of
hits and changing trends in country music. Still, even the Peach Pickers'
last session yielded gems such as Boots Harris's vocal, On the
Okefenokee. Wayne Daniel, who annotated this set, deserves credit for
encouraging Bear Family to rescue Curley Williams' music from undeserved
obscurity. Again, this collection duplicates eight tracks on Cattle's
Williams anthology, "Swing and Boogie Time" (CCD 257), but the sound and
production quality here far surpasses that collection. (DS)
CURLEY WILLIAMS: All You Gotta Do Is Whistle/ All You Gotta Do Is Whistle
(alt.)/ Barbecue Rag/ Between A Rock And A Hard Place/ Between A Rock And
A Hard Place (alt.)/ Blue Melody (alt.)/ Fiddlin' Boogie/ Georgia Boogie
(alt.)/ Good Ol' Alabam/ Good Ol' Alabam (alt.)/ Grandma's Turned Over
Again (alt.)/ Half As Much/ Honey Do You Love Me, Huh?/ Leave Me Alone
With The Blues (alt.)/ Lou'siana Serenade/ No Not Now/ No Not Now (& Hank
Williams)/ On The Okefenokee/ Saturday Night Rag/ Shy Baby – Mississippi/
String Steeling (instrumental)/ Texas Swing/ Time And A Half Time/ We've
Come A Long Way Together/ What's The Matter With My Heart/ When You're
Tired Of Breaking Other Hearts/ Whole Hog Or None/ Woe Is Me (alt.)
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| MAC WISEMAN |
Bear Family BCD 15976 |
'Tis Sweet To Be Remembered |
● CD $169.98 |
6 CD box set, 164 songs, highly recommended This welcome
six-CD release covering Mac Wiseman's 1951-1964 Dot and Capitol output
fills a significant gap in Bear Family's growing catalog of bluegrass
pioneers. With his unmistakable tenor voice, bouncy rhythm and impeccable
choice of material, Wiseman helped establish the music's perimeters two
generations ago. Arguably more 'musical' than his early bluegrass
contemporaries, Wiseman's reputation largely rests on the Dot singles
collected on Discs One and Two. His popular 1951 waxing of 'Tis Sweet
to Be Remembered, a 19th century ballad associated with the WLS duo
Mac and Bob, revealed the singer's mastery at reviving long-dormant songs.
Standards associated with Wiseman include: Little White Church/ I'll
Still Write Your Name in the Sand/ You're the Girl of My Dreams/ I Wonder
How the Old Folks Are at Home/ Shackles and Chains/ I'd Rather Live by the
Side of the Road/ Love Letters in the Sand and Don't Let Your Sweet
Love Die, among others. Tommy Jackson and Dale Potter's twin fiddling
on a 1953 session became a hallmark of Wiseman's style. As bluegrass
music's popularity waned, the singer maintained his commercial viability
by flirting with rock and roll. Though bluegrass purists will wince at
Disc Three's first half, the era spawned gems among the misfires, most
notably Wiseman's R&B covers: One Mint Julep/ Step It Up and Go and
the previously unissued Shame, Shame, Shame - yes, the Smiley Lewis
song. Disc Three ends with his classic "Beneath the Still Waters" album -
a gospel set featuring simple acoustic guitar and bass accompaniment. Disc
Four contains Wiseman's mediocre "Great Folk Ballads" and "12 Great Hits"
albums, while Disc Five finds the singer attempting to reclaim his old
audience. The five-string banjo and twin fiddles return, though the beat
is pure Ray Price shuffle. A 1961 session successfully welds Benny
Williams' bluegrass banjo to a Dixieland band, but the results were
shelved. Wiseman ended his first Dot era with a conventional gospel album,
then jumped to Capitol, resuming the twin-fiddle bluegrass sound he
abandoned six years earlier. Though Wiseman sang as well as ever, his
Capitol material rarely matched the consistency of the early Dots. Most
notable is Wiseman and Williams' edgy take on Floyd Tillman's Two More
Years (And I'll Be Free), which sounds like a lost Bill Monroe-Jimmy
Martin duet. As always, Bear Family's presentation is outstanding.
Produced with the singer's cooperation, the box contains a 76-page,
picture-laden hardcover book with extensive notes by Charles Wolfe and
Eddie Stubbs. (DS)
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