New Releases: March -> October, 2011
Country, Bluegrass & Old Timey
Various Artists
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
B.A.C.M. 340 |
Old Time Tunes & Songs |
● CD $14.98 |
26 tracks, highly recommended A terrific and varied collection of old time music
recorded when the music was in its heyday - most
of it appearing on CD. Most of the artists are
very obscure and the material includes fiddle
breakdowns, string band dance tunes, traditional
songs, comic pieces, gospel and blues and the
artist come from all over the country including
fiddle player A.J. Boulay who was based in Quebec,
Canada! One of the most well known groups here is
the fabulous Red Fox Chasers featured on a
beautiful, originally unissued, gospel song that's
not included on the recent two CD set of the
group's complete recordings. Other artists include
The Tennessee Ramblers, The Tweedy Brothers, Asa
Martin & James Roberts (the great bluesy
Crawling & Creeping), The Gibson Trio,
Ernest Thompson (two originally unissued songs
that complements his fine CD - B.A.C.M. 031),
AShley's Melody Makers, The Cauley Family, Dad &
Mom Pickard (Sally Goodin played on the jews
harp with piano accompaniment) and more. Sound is
generally fine and there are informative notes by
the ever reliable Tony Russell. (FS)
ASHLEY'S MELODY MAKERS:
Rambling Woman/ Somewhere in Arkansas/ A.J.
BOULAY: Snorer's Reel/ THE CAULEY FAMILY: Darling
Nellie Gray-Little Brown Jug/ Grey Eagle/ THE
GIBSON STRING TRIO: South Solon Quadrille/ GROSS
& CAMPBELL: Waggoner/ THE HAPPY HAYSEEDS:
Cottonwood Reel/ Home Sweet Home/ HARKREADER &
MOORE: Gambler's Dying Words/ Old Joe/ THE
KENTUCKY THOROBREDS: Shady Grove/ ASA MARTIN AND
JAMES ROBERTS: Crawling & Creeping/ NARMOUR &
SMITH: Little Star/ ODUS & WOODROW: Down In
Baltimore/ PARKER & WOOLBRIGHT: Will The Weaver/
DAD & MOM PICKARD: Sally Goodin/ THE RED FOX
CHASERS: When The Redeemed Are Gathering In/
SMITH'S SACRED SINGERS: Life's Railway To Heaven/
THE TENNESSEE RAMBLERS: Cackling Pullet/ Garbage
Can Blues/ ERNEST THOMPSON: Bring Me A Leaf From
the Sea/ Snow Deer Rainbow/ WELBY TOOMEY: Rovin'
Gambler/ THE TWEEDY BROTHERS: Liberty/ Shortnin'
Bread
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
B.A.C.M. 352 |
Country Music On The Apollo Label |
● CD $14.98 |
28 tracks, 77 mins, highly
recommended Though mostly known for its R&B recordings the
Apollo recorded a wide range of American
vernacular music including country and this is a
fine collection of those recordings made in the
mid/ late 1940s. It starts with four sides from
the fine Smiley Wilson & The Crossroads including
the western swing flavored Gotta Get To Oklahoma
City and the honky tonk I'm Satisfied With
Life backed by a fine band with excellent steel
and fiddle. There are half a dozen sides by the
singer/ songwriter/ guitarist Eddie Hill - a
couple are forgettable novelty songs but the rest
are fine honky tonk including his original
recording of Someday You'll Call Me My Name,
later recorded by Hank Williams. Hill is
accompanied by musicians like Paul Buskirk, Johnny
Wright, Jack Anglin and Ira and Charlie Louvin!
Hill worked closely with Johnny and Jack and there
are two fine sides here by "Johnny & Jack" only
this is not Johnny Wright and Jack Anglin. Apollo
was the first label to record Johnny & Jack and
after they were snapped up by RCA Apollo decided
to cash in the duo's sucess by issuing these sides
by Johnny & Jack impersonators! Other artists
include the fine honky tonk singer Tommy Sosebee,
Curley Perrin & His Boys, Dolly Dimples and
others. Generally fine sound and informative notes
by Al Turner. (FS) DOLLY
DIMPLES: Keep A Twinkle In Your Eye/ Trouble In
Mind/ Willie Roy The Cripple Boy/ HIRAM HIGSBY:
Daisy Put On The Coffee Pot/ I'm Goin' Back To
Where I Come From/ SMILIN' EDDIE HILL: (Shake That
Little Foot) Sally Ann/ I Never See My Baby Alone/
Someday You'll Call My Name/ The Hem Lines Are
Getting Longer/ The Little Shirt My Mommy Made For
Me/ JOHNNY & JACK: That's Why I'm Crying Over
You/ Unloved And Unclaimed/ TENNESSEE 'SLIM' KING:
Just An Old Forgotten Letter/ Tomorrow Maybe Too
Late/ What Do I Care/ You Call Everyone Darling/
PAUL KIRK: Raggin' On (Ragtime Anne)/ CURLEY
PERRIN: Little Rag Doll/ My Cross-Eyed Gal/ TOMMY
SOSEBEE: Change Your Way Of Livin'/ Cryin' In
Vain/ I Didn't Have Time/ That Gospel Train Is
Comin'/ RAY WHITLEY: I Wish That I'd Been
Satisfied With Mary/ SMILEY WILSON: Gotta Get To
Oklahoma City/ I'm Satisfied With Life/ My Rancho
In California/ Red Silk Stockings And Green
Perfume
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
B.A.C.M. 357 |
4 Star Roundup, Volume 2 |
● CD $14.98 |
25 tracks, highly recommended Complementing B.A.C.M. 110 this is another fine
collection of tracks recorded in the 40s and 50s
for Bill McCall's 4 Star label - an important West
Coast independent that launched the careers of
such well known country artists as Ferlin Husky,
Webb Pierce, Patsy Cline others. Most of the
artists here are pretty obscure but McCall
obviously had an ear for talent as many of the
artists here are excellent performers. Artists
include Don Whitney, Paul Westmoreland, Jimmy
Short (Ernest Tubb's guitarist with a terrific
rendition of Rex Griffin's Everybody's Trying
To Be My Baby that probably provided the
template for Carl Perkins' rockabilly version),
Hal Hart, Alan Moore (splendid honky tonk singer),
Merl Lindsay (lighweight but fine western swing),
William Moore (fine hillbilly gospel), Paul Steen
(a terrific rendition of Karl & Harty's Don't
Monkey Around With My Widder with some hot and
almost rockabilly styled guitar), Paul Thibodeaux
(a fine Cajun French rendition of the country
standard Just Because), Jack Tucker, Stuart
Hamblen (probably the best known artist here),
Morris MIlls and others. Sound is generally
excellent and their are brief notes on most of the
artists by Dave Penny. (FS) THE 4 STAR COUNTRY BOYS: Drive Slowly
Baby/ DOC DENNING & THE 4 STAR RANGERS: I Should
Have Known/ GLENELL & JONELL (THE MCQUAIG TWINS):
No Time/ CLAUDE HAM: Moonlight Over Blue Water/
STUART HAMBLEN & HIS LUCKY STARS: Bluebonnets For
Her Golden Hair/ HAL HART: Than Suffer Jealousy/
R. D. HENDON & THE WESTERN JAMBOREE COWBOYS: I
Can't Run Away/ WADE HOLMES & HIS BAND: You're Too
Tired For Me/ BILLY HUGHES: Echoes Of The Trail/
COUSIN FORD LEWIS: I'll Paint Your Picture In My
Memory/ MERL LINDSAY & OKLAHOMA NIGHT RIDERS:
Gotta Little Red Wagon/ MORRIS MILLS & THE
RITHUMAKERS: Don't Walk Upon My Broken Heart/
WILLIAM MOORE & THE COUNTRY COUSINS: Bugle Call
From Heaven/ ALAN MOORE & THE MOUNTAINEERS: It's A
Blue Monday/ JIMMY SHORT & SILVER SADDLE RANCH
BOYS: Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby/ PAUL STEEN
& THE CAROLINA DRIFTERS: Don't Monkey Around With
My Widder/ BILL TAYLOR & LUCKY WHITE & THE BAND:
Yo Yo Heart/ PAL THIBDODEAUX: Just Because/ FRED
THORNTON & SONS OF THE GOLDEN WEST: I Know You're
Trying To Hide A Boken Heart/ JACK TUCKER & THE
OKLAHOMA PLAYBOYS: To Blue To Cry/ AL VAUGHAN: You
Are The One/ HUB WAGONER & RHYTHM RANCH BOYS:
Things Are Different Now/ PAUL WESTMORELAND: Howl
And Prowl/ DON WHITNEY: Riverside Rag/ SLIM
WILLIAMS: Dying Before My Time
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
B.A.C.M. 360 |
Classic Country Music On The Dot Label |
● CD $14.98 |
26 tracks, highly recommended Excellent selection of sides recorded for the Dot
label between 1950 and 1961. There's no
duplication with the "Dot Hillbilly" CD on Cactus
and very few of the tracks here have been reissued
before, It opens with some great bluegrass from
Don Reno & Red Smiley on Howdy, Neighbor,
Howdy and there's ore bluegrass from Mac
Wiseman, Jimmie John and Lonzo & Oscar. Most of
the rest is fine honky tonk - occasionally with a
pop flavor including Jimmy C. Newman, Whitley
Knight, Jimmy Work (the great Diggin' My Own
Grave), Leon McAuliffe (a rare and tasty vocal
performance), Jimmy Ringo (the wonderful I Like
This Kind Of Music), Burl Lynn, Jam Up And
Honey, Gabe Tucker, Glenn Douglas & Ray Duke
(great Hank Williams' influenced honky tonk), Wade
Ray and others. Sound quality is excellent and
there are informative notes by Martin Hawkins.
(FS)
WALTER BRENNAN: Dutchman's
Gold/ GLENN DOUGLAS & RAY DUKE: Standing At The
End Of The World/ DINK EMBRY: Please Stay Out Of
My Dreams/ JAM UP & HONEY: Slew Foot Mama/ BOB
JENNINGS: Darling My Darling/ JIMMIE JOHN: Roses
Gone Again/ WHITEY KNIGHT: The Blues Walked In/
BOB LAMM: That's When A Heartache Begins/ SHORTY
LONG: Crying Steel Guitar Waltz/ LONZO & OSCAR:
Got It On My Mind/ BONNIE LOU: Johnny Vagabond/
BURL LYNN: Tear Drops Fell Like Rain Drops/ LEON
MCAULIFFE: What's The Use/ JIMMY C. NEWMAN: Honky
Tonk Tears/ WADE RAY: Burning Desire/ DON RENO &
RED SMILEY: Howdy Neighbour Howdy/ ALVINO REY:
Steel Guitar Rag/ JIMMY RINGO: I Like This Kind Of
Music/ DON ROBERTSON LOU DINNING: Longing To Hold
You Again/ THE TENNESSEE DRIFTERS: Honest Heart/
GEORGE TOON: Old Mellow Moon/ GABE TUCKER:
Streamlined Country Girl/ ANDY WILSON: Faded Love/
JIM WILSON: Big Fat Mama/ MAC WISEMAN: Kentuckian
Song/ JIMMY WORK: Diggin' My Own Grave
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16094 |
The Bristol Sessions |
● CD $144.98 |
One of the best and
most important reissue of old time country music
in many years. In July and August, 1927 RCA Victor
held a series of sessions Bristol, Tennessee on
the Tennessee/ Virginia border under the
supervision of Victor talent scout Ralph Peer.
These sessions featured the debut of two of the
most important artists in early country music -
Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family - artists
whose music still resonates today. He returned in
February 1928 to make more recordings. This series
of sessions is often referred to as the "big bang
of country music." Although the recordings of the
Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers are the most well
known, more than a hundred other recordings were
made at the Bristol sessions of 1927 and '28.
There were ballad singers, street evangelists,
string bands, gospel quartets, harmonica
virtuosos, Holiness preachers, blues guitarists
and rural storytellers. A snapshot of rural
American music was caught in an era of rapid
change: pictures of a past almost beyond recall,
but preserved for ever in these magnificent
recordings. -- The five CDs in this set gather
every surviving recording from these sessions,
including alternative takes. The accompanying
120-page, LP-sized hardcover book contains newly
researched essays on the background to the
sessions and on the individual artists, with many
rare and unpublished photographs. Also included
are complete song lyrics and a detailed
discography, illustrated with reproductions of the
original recording sheets.
Among the many other artists featured were Ernest Stoneman (who had first recorded in 1925), Ernest
Phipps & His Holiness Quartet (their complete
recordings of superb gospel group), The Johnson
Brothers, Blind Alfred Reed (the first recordings
of this incredibly creative artist), El Watson
(African-American harmonica player), Alfred G.
Karnes (the complete recordings of this incredible
gospel singer accompanying himself on the rare
harp-guitar), Henry Whitter, The Shelor Family,
The Tenneva Ramblers (a string band that Jimmie
Rodgers had previously been a member of), Uncle
Eck Dunford, Stamps Quartet, Tarter and Gay and many others.
THE ALCOA QUARTET: I'm
Redeemed/ Remember Me, O Mighty One/ MR. & MRS.
J.W. BAKER: On The Banks Of The Sunny Tennessee/
The Newmarket Wreck/ THE BLUE RIDGE CORN SHUCKERS:
Old Time Corn Shuckin', Part 1/ Old Time Corn
Shuckin', Part 2/ THE BULL MOUNTAIN MOONSHINERS:
Johnny Goodwin/ THE CAROLINA TWINS: I Sat Upon The
River Bank/ Mr. Brown, Here I Come/ New Orleans Is
The Town I Like Best/ She Tells Me That I Am
Sweet/ When You Go A'Courtin'/ Where Is My Mamma?/
THE CARTER FAMILY: Bury Me Under The Weeping
Willow/ Little Log Cabin By The Sea/ Single Girl,
Married Girl/ The Poor Orphan Child/ The Storms
Are On The Ocean/ The Wandering Boy/ UNCLE ECK
DUNFORD: Angeline, The Baker/ Old Shoes And
Leggin's/ Skip To Ma Lou, My Darling/ The
Whip-poor-will's Song/ Barney McCoy/ What Will I
Do, For My Money's All Gone/ CLARENCE GREENE:
Good-night Darling/ Little Bunch Of Roses/ HOWARD
& PEAK (THE BLIND MUSICIANS): I Cannot Be Your
Sweetheart/ Three Black Sheep/ THE JOHNSON
BROTHERS: A Passing Policeman/ I Want To See My
Mother (Ten Thousand Miles Away)/ Just A Message
From Carolina/ The Jealous Sweetheart (take 1)/
The Jealous Sweetheart (take 2)/ The Soldier's
Poor Little Boy/ Two Brothers Are We/ ALFRED G.
KARNES: Called To The Foreign Field/ Do Not Wait
'Till I'm Laid 'Neath The Clay/ I Am Bound For The
Promised Land/ The Days Of My Childhood Plays/ To
The Work/ We Shall All Be Reunited/ When They Ring
The Golden Bells/ Where We'll Never Grow Old/ J.P.
NESTER: Black-Eyed Susie/ Train On The Island/ THE
PALMER SISTERS: He'll Be With Me/ Help Me To Find
The Way/ Singing The Story Of Grace/ We'll Sing On
That Shore/ ERNEST PHIPPS AND HIS HOLINESS
SINGERS: A Little Talk With Jesus/ Bright
Tomorrow/ ERNEST PHIPPS AND HIS HOLINESS QUARTET:
Do, Lord, Remember Me/ Don't Grieve After Me/
Happy In Prison/ ERNEST PHIPPS AND HIS HOLINESS
SINGERS: I Know That Jesus Set Me Free/ ERNEST
PHIPPS AND HIS HOLINESS QUARTET: I Want To Go
Where Jesus Is/ ERNEST PHIPPS AND HIS HOLINESS
SINGERS: If The Light Has Gone Out In Your Soul/
ERNEST PHIPPS AND HIS HOLINESS QUARTET: Jesus
Getting Us Ready For That Great Day/ Old Ship Of
Zion/ ERNEST PHIPPS AND HIS HOLINESS SINGERS:
Shine On Me/ Went Up In The Clouds Of Heaven/
BLIND ALFRED REED: I Mean To Live For Jesus/ The
Wreck Of The Virginian (take 1)/ The Wreck Of The
Virginian (take 2)/ Walking In The Way With Jesus
(take 1)/ Walking In The Way With Jesus (take 2)/
You Must Unload/ SHORTBUCKLE ROARK & FAMILY: I
Truly Understand, You Love Another Man/ My
Mother's Hands/ JIMMIE RODGERS: Sleep Baby Sleep/
The Soldier's Sweetheart/ THE SHELOR FAMILY: Big
Bend Gal/ Billy Grimes, The Rover/ Sandy River
Belle (take 1)/ Sandy River Belle (take 2)/
Suzanna Gal/ B.F. SHELTON: Cold Penitentiary
Blues/ Darling Cora/ Oh Molly Dear/ Pretty Polly/
THE SMITH BROTHERS: My Mother Is Waiting For Me In
Heaven Above/ She Has Climbed The Golden Stair/
THE SMYTH COUNTY RAMBLERS: My Name Is Ticklish
Reuben/ Way Down In Alabama/ THE STAMPS QUARTET:
Because I Love Him/ Come To The Savior/ Do Your
Best, Then Wear A Smile/ I'll Be Happy/ Like The
Rainbow/ We Shall Reach Home/ ERNEST V. STONEMAN &
E. KAHLE BREWER: Tell Mother I Will Meet Her/ The
Dying Girl's Farewell/ ERNEST V. STONEMAN & HIS
DIXIE MOUNTAINEERS: Are You Washed In The Blood?/
I Am Resolved (take 1)/ I Am Resolved (take 2)/ I
Know My Name Is There/ No More Good-Byes/ Sweeping
Through The Gates/ The Resurrection (take 1)/ The
Resurrection (take 2)/ ERNEST V. STONEMAN & MISS
IRMA FROST: Midnight On The Stormy Deep/ The
Mountaineer's Courtship/ THE STONEMAN FAMILY:
Going Up The Mountain After Liquor, Part 1/ Going
Up The Mountain After Liquor, Part 2/ The
Broken-Hearted Lover/ The Spanish Merchant's
Daughter/ Too Late/ We Parted By The Riverside/
ERNEST STONEMAN'S DIXIE MOUNTAINEERS: Down To
Jordan And Be Saved/ There's A Light Lit Up In
Galilee/ TARTER & GAY: Brownie Blues/ Unknown
Blues/ THE TENNESSEE MOUNTAINEERS: At The River/
Standing On The Promises/ THE TENNEVA RAMBLERS:
Miss 'Liza, Poor Gal/ Sweet Heaven When I Die/ The
Longest Train I Ever Saw/ EL WATSON: Narrow Gauge
Blues/ Pot Licker Blues/ THE WEST VIRGINIA COON
HUNTERS: Greasy String/ Your Blue Eyes Run Me
Crazy/ HENRY WHITTER: Henry Whitter's Fox Chase/
Rain Crow Bill
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16397 |
Odd Couples - What Were They Thinking? |
● CD $21.98 |
20 tracks, 57 mins, recommended This collection is on par with the great
"Celebrities At Their Worst" compilations that
came out about 20 years ago. In other words, this
is full of talented artists doing material that is
out of their wheelhouse in a lot of cases with the
artists matched up in the oddest of combinations.
So, you get such odd and entertaining recordings
like Eddy Arnold & Esquivel doing Someone To
Watch Over Me, Perry Como & The Sons of The
Pioneers doing Tumbling Tumbleweeds, and Red
Foley & Cecil Gant doing Paging Mister
Jackson. Red Foley is also paired with Roberta
Lee and Evelyn Knight, Eddy Arnold is also paired
off with Hugo Winterhalter, and then The Sons of
The Pioneers also get paired with Ezio Penza and
The Fontaine Sisters. This is all pretty heady
stuff. Tennessee Ernie Ford is paired up with a
few different artists, as are Los Indios
Tabajaras! My favorites in the batch have to be
Lotte Lenya & Louis Armstrong teaming up on
Mack The Knife (two versions, one complete,
one with studio starts and stops,) and then Sister
Rosetta Tharpe & Red Foley on Have A Little
Talk With Jesus. Bear Family include all the
recording info as well as the stories behind these
sessions, and what stories they are! (JM)
EDDY ARNOLD & ESQUIVEL:
Someone To Watch Over Me/ EDDY ARNOLD & HUGO
WINTERHALTER: Cattle Call/ ROSEMARY CLOONEY &
GEORGE MORGAN: You're The Only One For Me/ PERRY
COMO & THE SONS OF THE PIONEERS: Tumbling
Tumbleweeds/ RED FOLEY & CECIL GANT: Paging Mister
Jackson/ RED FOLEY & EVELYN KNIGHT: Idle Rumors/
RED FOLEY & ROBERTA LEE: Night Train To Memphis/
THE FONTANE SISTERS & THE SONS OF THE PIONEE: The
Handsome Stranger/ TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD & DINNING
SISTERS: Rock City Boogie/ TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD &
ELLA MAE MORSE: I'm Hog-Tied Over You/ TENNESSEE
ERNIE FORD & HELEN O'CONNELL: Hey Good Lookin'/
TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD & KAY STARR: Oceans Of Tears/
TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD & MOLLY BEE: Don't Start
Courtin' In A Hot Rod/ DON GIBSON & LOS INDIOS
TABAJARAS: I Can't Tell My Heart That/ My Adobe
Hacienda/ LOTTE LENYA & LOUIS ARMSTRONG: Mack The
Knife/ Mack The Knife (session)/ EZIO PINZA & THE
SONS OF THE PIONEERS: The Little Ol' State Of
Texas/ DINAH SHORE & GEORGE MORGAN: The Shoe Is On
The Other Foot Tonight/ SISTER ROSETTA THARPE &
RED FOLEY: Have A Little Talk With
Jesus
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16532 |
You Oughtta See My Fanny Dance |
● CD $24.98 |
1-CD Digipac with
52-page booklet, 31 tracks. Playing time approx.
84 minutes. Incredibly, after all these years,
there's still some prime unissued Western Swing to
be heard... this collection proves it! Spanning
1935-42, this exciting collection brings together
thirty-one previously unissued recordings by the
giants of Western Swing's golden age: Bob Wills,
Adolph Hofner, Roy Newman, and others! Some of
these titles were probably withheld because they
were too risqué! These days, they sound like the
most fun ever had on record! Sidemen include
country legends like Leon McAuliffe and Moon
Mullican! AL DEXTER: She
Can't Be Satisfied/ SLIM HARBERT: Around The
Corner At Smokey Joe's/ Don't Check Out On Me/
Fruit Wagon Gal/ Honey This Time I'm Gone/ I've
Got Enough Of Your Foolin'/ Look Who's Squawkin'/
Who Comes In At My Back Door/ THE HI FLYERS: I'm
Doing It Too/ ADOLPH HOFNER: For The One I Love Is
You/ Let's Count The Stars/ Rose Of The Alamo/ ROY
NEWMAN: Nagasaki/ Out Of Place/ THE NITE OWLS: You
Ought To See My Fanny Dance/ DICK REINHART: Hash
House Hattie/ LEON SELPH: If You Should Go Away/
In My Dreams/ Now That You Have Gone/ She's Gone
Away/ Some Day/ Tell Me If You Love Me/ When You
Smile/ OCIE STOCKARD: Gee/ Hold Me Daddy/ I Don't
Know Nothin' About Lovin'/ I'll Forget You Bye And
Bye/ Lovin' Baby Blues/ You Turned Me Down/ BOB
WILLS: La Paloma/ Sittin' On Top Of The
World
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16638 |
Stickbuddy Jamboree |
● CD $21.98 |
30 tracks, recommended First of two discs documenting the recordings at
the Delta Recording studio in Jackson, Mississippi
under the guidance of studio engineer and music
promoter Jimmie Ammons who set up his studio in a
converted garage next to a cow pasture! This disc
features 30 tracks of hillbilly, country boogie,
rockabilly and mainstream country recorded between
1953 and the late '60s. Contains 14 incredibly
rare 78 rpm discs from the '50s and two rare 45s
from the '60s issued as custom pressings. Most of
the performers are local obscure country bands
from the Jackson area including the Mississippi
Melody Boys, the Country Cowboys, the Home
Towners, Kay Kellum's Dixie Ramblers, and Rick
Richardson. There are some good performances here
but much of the music is fairly pedestrian. The
two most well known artists here are Warner Mack
on his first (unissued) side - a fine rockabilly
rendition of Baby Let's House based on the
Elvis version and the last recording (also
unissued - with good reason) by Jimmy Swan. There
are four rather nondescript tracks by
unidentified artists! The 52-page booklet by
Martin Hawkins contains the first ever
retrospective of the career of studio engineer and
music promoter Jimmie Ammons, and the artists he
issued on his Delta label and other labels. The
booklet also contains many previously-unseen
photographs. It's a shame that most of the music
isn't up to the standard of production here.
(FS)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16892 |
Gonna Shake This Shack Tonight - From The Vaults Of Sage
& Sand |
● CD $21.98 |
1-CD Digipac with
52-page booklet, 34 tracks. Playing time approx.
74 minutes. Long overdue retrospective of a
forgotten West Coast label Sage & Sand Records.
The label operated from an upstairs office on
Hollywood Boulevard near Capitol Records, but only
scored one hit in the fifteen years it was in
existence. It recorded an eclectic mix of
hillbilly, western, and rockabilly, and the best
of the uptempo country recordings are featured
here (the best of the rockabilly recordings are on
the companion volume, 'That'll Flat Git It', Sage
& Sand, BCD 16838 - $21.98). It includes
alternative country stars like Whitey Pullen,
Jenks Tex Carman, the Georgia Crackers, Lonnie
Barron, and many more! Plus the guitar wizardry of
Roy Lanham! Booklet has detailed notes and artist
biographies by Colin Escott along with many
previously unseen photos!
HI-WAYNE & HAL (THE
FRONTIERSMEN) : Hi-Pardner/ WALLY & DON : Just
Play The Jukebox/ TEX ATCHISON: Mailman/ LONNIE
BARRON: Go On- It's OK/ STERLING BLYTHE: Everybody
Knows/ It's Too Late For Crying/ Nothing But The
Night/ BOBBY BOBO: Doggone Longgone Blues (sic)/
JENKS TEX CARMAN: Lonesome Train/ The Wild And
Woolly West/ EDDIE DEAN: Impatient Blues/ Rock &
Roll Cowboy/ GOLDIE FIELDS: Mr. Sun/ No Time For
Love/ What Do You Do With A Memory/ THE GEORGIA
CRACKERS: Hangover Boogie/ Sunday Down In
Tennessee/ OSCAR HART WITH THE HART-TONES: Fender
Bender/ ROME JOHNSON: Truck Driver Blues/ Wild
Desire/ OKIE JONES: Could You-Would You/ WHITEY
KNIGHT: Big Glass Of Wine/ BOBBY LILE: Don't You
Believe It/ Too Many Secrets/ RED MARTIN: Keep A
Movin'/ JACK MORRIS: Glad I'm Looking Back On You/
Stop Teasin' Me/ AL MUNIZ: Seven Come Eleven/ DOYE
O'DELL: Everybody Likes A Little Lovin'/ WHITEY
PULLEN: Crazy In Love/ I'm Beggin' Your Pardon/
BUD TITUS: Hocus Pocus/ CHARLIE WILLIAMS: House On
A Hill/ LES YORK: I'll Cry Again
Tomorrow
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16966 |
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music, 1961 |
● CD $24.98 |
The fourth set of releases in this great series from Bear Family
featuring some of country music's greatest recordings on a year by year basis
starting with 1945 and ending in 1970. These five new volumes covering 1951
through 1955. Each volume has 31 or 32 tracks tracks - mostly chart hits but in
a few cases the compilers have chosen the original version of a country favorite
which may have become a hit for someone else or had a big influence. Being Bear
Family the sound quality is as good as it gets - remastered from original tapes
or masters wherever possible. Each CD is presented in a small hardbound book
with 72 pages of biographical and discographical info, rare photos and label
shots. Picking up the story in 1961 this volume includes original versions of
classic hits and also includes neglected classics and shoulda been hits like
Claude Gray's I'll Just Have A Cup Of Coffee (covered by Bob Marley in
1962!), Wynn Stewart's Big Big Love (now a TV commercial song), Billy
Walker's original recording of Wilie Nelson's 'Funny (How Time Slips Away)
plus Marty Robbins' great Don't Worry which, due to amplifier problems,
featured the first fuzz tone guitar solo on record and more from Bill Anderson,
Buck Owens, Jim Reeves, CLaude King, Moon Mullican, Webb Pierce, Rusty & Doug
Kershaw and many more. As a bonus it includes Gloria Lambert's Each Time I
Hear which was sequel to Marty's Don't Worry. BILL ANDERSON: Po' Folks/ JOHNNY CASH: Tennessee Flat Top Box/ PATSY
CLINE: Crazy/ I Fall to Pieces/ JIMMY DEAN: Big Bad John/ BOBBY EDWARDS: You're
the Reason/ DON GIBSON: Sea of Heartbreak/ CLAUDE GRAY: I'll Just Have a Cup of
Coffee (Then I'll Go)/ My Ears Should Burn (When Fools Are Talked About)/ WANDA
JACKSON: Right or Wrong/ GEORGE JONES: Tender Years/ RUSTY & DOUG KERSHAW: Diggy
Liggy Lo/ Louisiana Man/ CLAUDE KING: Big River, Big Man/ GLORIA LAMBERT: Each
Time I Hear (Don't Worry)/ ROGER MILLER: When Two Worlds Collide/ MOON MULLICAN:
Ragged but Right/ BUCK OWENS: Foolin' Around/ Under the Influence of Love/ WEBB
PIERCE: Sweet Lips/ RAY PRICE: Heart Over Mind/ JIM REEVES: Losing Your Love/
TEX RITTER: I Dreamed of a Hill/ MARTY ROBBINS: Don't Worry/ It's Your World/
WYNN STEWART: Big, Big Love/ LEROY VAN DYKE: Walk On By/ PORTER WAGONER: Your
Old Love Letters/ BILLY WALKER: Funny (How Time Slips Away)/ KITTY WELLS:
Heartbreak USA/ FARON YOUNG: Hello Walls
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16967 |
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music, 1962 |
● CD $24.98 |
This volume kicks off with Hank Snow's tongue twisting hit
I've Been Everywhere and ends the original Australian version of the songs
(with Australian place names by Lucky Starr) and along the way we hear George
Jones with She Thinks I Still Care,
Lonesome Number One by Don Gibson, Mama Sang A Song by Bill
Anderson, Anita Carter's original recordings of Ring Of Fire plus gems
from James O'Gwynn, Ray Price, Bill Walker, Ned Miller, Buck Owens, Marty
Robbins and more. It also includes Loretta Lynn's chart hit
Success which was covered in 1992 by Sinead O'Connor.
REX ALLEN: Don't Go Near The Indians/ BILL ANDERSON: Mama Sang a Song/ CARL
BUTLER: Don't Let Me Cross Over/ ANITA CARTER: (Love's) Ring of Fire/ PATSY
CLINE: She's Got You/ So Wrong/ HANK COCHRAN: Sally Was a Good Old Girl/ JIMMY
DEAN: PT 109/ FLATT & SCRUGGS: The Ballad of Jed Clampett/ DON GIBSON: Lonesome
Number One/ STONEWALL JACKSON: A Wound Time Can't Erase/ GEORGE JONES: A Girl I
Used to Know/ She Thinks I Still Care/ CLAUDE KING: Wolverton Mountain/ LORETTA
LYNN: Success/ NED MILLER: From a Jack to a King/ WILLIE NELSON: Touch Me/ JAMES
O'GWYNN: My Name Is Mud/ BUCK OWENS: Kickin' Our Hearts Around/ LITTLE ESTHER
PHILLIPS: Release Me/ WEBB PIERCE: Crazy Wild Desire/ RAY PRICE: Pride/ JIM
REEVES: Adios Amigo/ MARTY ROBBINS: Devil Woman/ Ruby Ann/ HANK SNOW: I've Been
Everywhere/ LUCKY STARR: I've Been Everywhere (original Australian version)/
WYNN STEWART: Another Day, Another Dollar/ PORTER WAGONER: Misery Loves Company/
BILLY WALKER: Charlie's Shoes/ SHEB WOOLEY: That's My Pa
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16968 |
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music, 1963 |
● CD $24.98 |
32 more country gems - this time from 1963 opening with Bobby
Bare's Detroit City and closing with Billy Grammer's original recording
of the song as I Wanna Go Home. There's also Leavin' On Your Mind
by Patsy Cline, Talk Back Trembling Lips by Ernie AshworthAct
Naturally by Buck Owens, the full length LP version of Ray Price's rendition
of Night Life plus Johnny & Jonie Moseby, Loretta Lynn, Marty Robbins,
Skeets McDonald, Johnny Cash and many more delights. BILL ANDERSON: 8x10/ Still/ ERNEST ASHWORTH: Talk Back Trembling Lips/
BOBBY BARE: Detroit City/ Five Hundred Miles Away From Home/ JOE CARSON: I Gotta
Get Drunk (And I Shore Do Dread It)/ JOHNNY CASH: Busted/ Ring Of Fire/ PATSY
CLINE: Leavin' On Your Mind/ Sweet Dreams (Of You)/ SKEETER DAVIS: The End of
the World/ DAVE DUDLEY: Six Days on the Road/ BILLY GRAMMER: I Wanna Go Home/
GEORGE HAMILTON IV: Abilene/ DAVID HOUSTON: Mountain Of Love/ STONEWALL JACKSON:
B.J. The D.J./ GEORGE JONES: Not What I Had In Mind/ GRANDPA JONES: T For Texas/
GEORGE JONES & MELBA MONTGOMERY: Let's Invite Them Over/ We Must Have Been Out
of Our Minds/ LORETTA LYNN: Before I'm Over You/ SKEETS MCDONALD: Call Me Mr.
Brown/ JOHNNY & JONIE MOSBY: Don't Call Me from a Honky Tonk/ BUCK OWENS: Act
Naturally/ Love's Gonna Live Here/ RAY PRICE: Night Life/ Walk Me to the Door/
MARTY ROBBINS: Begging To You/ HANK SNOW: Ninety Miles an Hour (Down A Dead End
Street)/ ERNEST TUBB: Thanks a Lot/ FARON YOUNG: The Yellow Bandana
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16969 |
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music, 1964 |
● CD $24.98 |
1964 brings us two versions of the powerful song about the
treatment of Native Americans - The Ballad Of Ira Hayes - the original by
Native American songwriter Peter LaFarge and Johnny Cash's #3 country hit of the
song. There's also Saginaw, Michigan by Lefty Frizzell, My Heart Skips
A Beat by Buck Owens, Sorrow On The Rocks by Porter Wagoner plus
sides from JIm Reeves, Jimmy Martin (a rare bluegrass hit), Norma Jean, Billy
Walker, Connie Smith and more. BOBBY BARE: Four Strong
Winds/ JOHNNY CASH: Ballad of Ira Hayes/ It Ain't Me Babe/ Understand Your Man/
PATSY CLINE: He Called Me Baby/ JIM EEVES: I Guess I'm Crazy/ LEFTY FRIZZELL:
Saginaw, Michigan/ MERLE HAGGARD: Sing a Sad Song/ STONEWALL JACKSON: Don't Be
Angry/ NORMA JEAN: Go Cat, Go/ GEORGE JONES: The Race Is On/ PETER LAFARGE: The
Ballad of Ira Hayes/ LORETTA LYNN: Wine, Women and Song/ WARNER MACK: Sittin' in
an All Night Cafe/ JIMMY MARTIN: Widow Maker/ ROGER MILLER: Chug-A-Lug/ Dang Me/
BUCK OWENS: I Don't Care (Just As Long As You Love Me)/ My Heart Skips a Beat/
Together Again/ WEBB PIERCE: Memory #1/ RAY PRICE: Burning Memories/ JIM REEVES:
Welcome to My World/ CONNIE SMITH: Once a Day/ PORTER WAGONER: I'll Go Down
Swinging/ Sorrow on the Rocks/ BILLY WALKER: Cross the Brazos at Waco/ CHARLIE
WALKER: Close All the Honky Tonks/ DOTTIE WEST: Here Comes My Baby/ BILLY EDD
WHEELER: Ode to the Little Brown Shack Out Back/ HANK WILLIAMS, JR: Long Gone
Lonesome Blues
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Bear Family BCD 16970 |
Dim Lights, Thick Smoke And Hillbilly Music, 1965 |
● CD $24.98 |
This volume brings us to 1965 and includes the original
recording of Things Have Gone To Pieces by Leon Payne along with George
Jones's hit version. Jim Reeves is present with one of his many posthumous hits
Is It Really Over and Johnny Wright topped the charts with his flag-waving
Hello Vietnam written by Tom T. Hall. ROger Miller is here with King Of
The Road, Porter Wagoner with Green, Green Grass Of Home, Marty
Robbins with Ribbon Of Darkness plus Buck Owens, Lefty Frizzell, Johnny
Bonds, The Statler Brothers, Merle Haggard, Dave Dudley and more.
EDDY ARNOLD: Make the World Go Away/ CHET ATKINS: Yakety
Axe/ BOBBY BARE: It's Alright/ CARL BELEW: Crystal Chandelier/ JOHNNY BOND: Ten
Little Bottles/ DICK CURLESS: A Tombstone Every Mile/ JIMMY DICKENS: May the
Bird of Paradise Fly Up Your Nose/ ROY DRUSKY & PRISCILLA MITCHELL: Yes Mr.
Peters/ DAVE DUDLEY: Truck Drivin' Son of a Gun/ LEFTY FRIZZELL: She's Gone,
Gone, Gone/ MERLE HAGGARD: (My Friends Are Gonna Be) Strangers/ STONEWALL
JACKSON: I Washed My Hands in Muddy Water/ NORMA JEAN: I Wouldn't Buy a Used Car
from Him/ GEORGE JONES: Love Bug/ Things Have Gone to Pieces/ LORETTA LYNN: Blue
Kentucky Girl/ WARNER MACK: the Bridge Washed Out/ ROGER MILLER: Kansas City
Star/ King of the Road/ BUCK OWENS: Before You Go/ I've Got a Tiger by the Tail/
JOHNNY PAYCHECK: A-11/ LEON PAYNE: Things Have Gone to Pieces/ COUNTRY CHARLEY
PRIDE: Snakes Crawl At Night/ DEL REEVES: Girl on the Billboard/ JIM REEVES: Is
It Really Over/ MARTY ROBBINS: Ribbon of Darkness/ THE STATLER BROTHERS: Flowers
on the Wall/ ERNEST TUBB: Waltz Across Texas/ PORTER WAGONER: Green, Green Grass
of Home/ JOHNNY WRIGHT: Hello Vietnam
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Cactus CAFS 1 |
Fire On The Strings - Blazing Hot Hillbilly Instros 1 |
● CD $15.98 |
25 tracks, 59 mins, highly
recommended If you like hot country electric guitar picking
and soaring steel guitar then I have just the disc
for you. The first in a new series from Cactus
devoted to country instrumentals this volume
features artists who recorded for major labels and
features performers recording for major labels.
There are great solo performers like Joe Maphis
(three tracks including a duet with Larry
Collins), Merle Travis, Arthur Smith, Jimmy
Bryant, Hank Garland, etc; bands that are best
known as backup bands for vocalists - The Country
Boys (Jimmy Dickens), The Tunesmiths (Carl Smith)
and The Drifting Cowboys (Hank Williams) and
groups like Jerry Byrd & The String Dusters, The
Country All Stars (an all star studio group
featuring Chet Atkins, Jerry Byrd and Homer &
Jethro!), Cecil Campbell's Tennessee Ramblers and
others. Most of the tracks focus on electric and
steel guitar but one track by Jimmie Skinner's
band features some great electric mandolin work
from Ray Lunsford. A great collection with superb
sound and no notes. (FS)
JIMMY BRYANT: The Night
Rider/ JERRY BYRD: Texas Play Boy Rag/ CECIL
CAMPBELL: Carolina Steel Guitar/ Steel Guitar
Jamboree/ SANDY COKER: Gitfiddle Rag/ SPADE
COOLEY: Oklahoma Stomp/ THE COUNTRY ALL STARS:
Sweet Georgia Brown/ Tennessee Rag/ THE COUNTRY
BOYS: Buddy's Boogie/ Raisin' The Dickens/ THE
DRIFTING COWBOYS: Mud Hut/ Swing Shift/ Swing
Shift Boogie/ HANK GARLAND: Seventh & Union/ BUD
ISAACS: Steelin' Away/ PEE WEE KING: Dragnet/ JOE
MAPHIS: Fire On The Strings/ Flying Fingers/
Rockin' Gypsy/ LES PAUL: Guitar Boogie/ HERB
REMINGTON: Julida Polka/ JIMMIE SKINNER FEAT RAY
LUNSFORD: Carroll County Blues/ ARTHUR SMITH:
Buzz-Saw/ THE TUNESMITHS: Outlaw/
Snowdeer
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Cactus MERCD 4 |
Mercury Hillbilly, Volume 4 |
● CD $15.98 |
32 tracks, 76 mins, highly
recommended Another splendid collection of uptempo honky tonk
recorded in the early and mid 50s for Mercury. It
starts off in fine form with Louie Innis and his
fine I've Got A Red Hot Love and ending with
the hot guitar instrumental Curley's Boogie
from Curley Allen. Along the way we hear from Bill
Wimberly, Benny Barnes (fine and underrated Texas
honky tonk singer), Jimmy Dean (the great
Nothing Can Stop My Love), Jim Eanes, Lulu
Belle & Scotty (the great old time flavored
Tied Down), Benny Martin, The Carlisles (a
couple of novelty numbers), Eddie Hill (two fine
sides with hot guitar), Jimmy Minor (the
intriguing Satan's Chauffeur), Chuck Reed
and others. A good 'un. (FS)
CURLY ALLEN: Curly's Boogie/
BETTY AMOS: (My Baby Don't Love Me) No More/ I
Will For You/ BENNY BARNES: Mine All Mine/ GARY
BRYANT: My Kind Of Girl/ THE CARLISLES: It's
Bedtime Bill/ Nine Have Tried/ JIMMY DEAN: Nothin'
Can Stop My Lovin' You/ JIM EANES: Settle Down/
TIBBY EDWARDS: Long Time Gone/ GEORGE & EARL:
Goin' Steady With The Blues/ Take A Look At My
Darlin'/ EDDIE HILL: Educated Fool/ Fire- Ball
Eight/ TINY HILL: Pick Up Truck/ JOHNNY HORTON:
Hey, Sweet, Sweet Thing/ LOUIE INNIS: I Grabbed
For The Engine (& Caught The Caboose)/ I've Got A
Red Hot Love/ GEORGE JONES: Too Much Water/ ERNIE
LEE: Don't Think It Ain't Been Fun, Dear ‘Cause It
Ain't/ LULU BELLE & SCOTTY: Tied Down/ BENNY
MARTIN: Who Put Those Tears In Your Eyes/ DUDE
MARTIN: I've Turned A Gadabout/ JIMMY MINOR:
Satan's Chauffeur/ EDDIE NOACK: Shotgun House/
PAUL & ROY: Wicked Love/ CHUCK REED: Ba-a-by/ I'm
Gonna Get Some Sleep Tonight/ JIMMIE SKINNER: No
Fault Of Mine/ Where My Sweet Baby Goes/ BILL
WIMBERLY: At The Old Town Hall/ Ole Mister
Cottontail
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Cactus KINCD 5 |
King Hillbilly, Vol. 5 |
● CD $15.98 |
30 tracks, highly recommended Another great collection of uptempo hillbilly,
bluegrass and country gospel drawn from the vast
output of the King label. Except for a few dumb
novelty numbers the standard is very high. The set
opens up with Lattie Moore's terrific Latin
flavored Under A Mexico Moon and ends with
the hard driving instrumental Hot Strings by
The Country Cats featuring the steel guitar of
Jerry Byrd. Along the way we hear Ann Jones (the
great Hi-Ballin' Daddy), Mac Odell (two fine
songs including the terrific country gospel number
Be On Time), Don Reno & Red Smiley, Wayne
Raney (two superb performances), Moon Mullican
(the original version of the classic Cherokee
Boogie), Ramblin' Tommy Scottt, Grandpa Jones
(two songs including a terrific version of the old
minstrel song Chicken Don't Roost Too HIgh),
Joe Wheeler (obscure but excellent honky tonk
singer), Bill Franklin (the fascinating gospel
song The Moon's No Stopping Place For Me)
and more. (FS)
JACK CARDWELL: Diddle Diddle
Dumpling/ CHICK & HIS HOT RODS: Jimmy Caught The
Dickens/ COWBOY COPAS: Look What I Got/ THE
COUNTRY CATS: Hot Strings/ THE DELMORE BROTHERS:
That Old Train/ BILL FRANKLIN: That Moon's No
Stopping Place For Me/ CHARLIE GORE: It's A Long
Walk Back To Town/ LOUIE INNIS: She Rurn't It/ ANN
JONES: Hi-Ballin' Daddy/ GRANDPA JONES: Chicken
Don't Roost Too High/ Happy Little Home In
Arkansas/ LUKE MCDANIEL: One More Heart/ LATTIE
MOORE: Under A Mexico Moon/ MOON MULLICAN:
Cherokee Boogie/ MAC ODELL: Be On Time/
Penicillin/ JIMMIE OSBORNE: Mama Don't Agree/ RED
PERKINS: One At A Time/ WAYNE RANEY: Fallin'/ We
Love To Live/ DON RENO & RED SMILEY: Barefoot
Nellie/ RAMBLIN' TOMMY SCOTT: Come On Gimmie Some
Lovin'/ What Do You Know, I Love Her/ THE SWANEE
RIVER BOYS: Gloryland Boogie/ JIMMY THOMASON: I
Oughta Bust Out & Love You/ ZEB TURNER: Jersey
Rock/ WANDA WAYNE: Catch Your Lover/ Turn Your
Fire Down/ JOE WHEELER: Out Of The Skillet & Into
The Fire/ LES YORK: You Get Mad
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Cactus KINCD 6 |
King Hillbilly, Vol. 6 |
● CD $15.98 |
30 tracks, 75 mins, highly
recommended 30 more gems from the King catalog recorded in the
late 40s and early 50s. King's owner Syd Nathan
was a great believer in recycling songs having his
country artists do some of the more popular songs
of its R&B artists and vice versa and there are a
couple here - Charlie Gore's fine rendition of
Champion Jack Dupree's Stumbling Block and a
rather anaemic rendition of The Dominoes Sixty
Minute Man. Gore's other track here All My
Love Up And Died is a honky tonk gem. Other
artists here include Wayne Raney, Red Perkins,
Moon Mullican (two songs including a version of
Memphis Minnie's What's The Matter With The
Mill which was also recorded by Bob Wills), Mac
Odell (a gorgeous uptempo rendition of Wildwood
Flower), Ramblin' Tommy Scott, The Delmore
Brothers, Ann Jones (an excellent Too Old To
Cut The Mustard), Bob Newman and others. Great
stuff! (FS)
BILLY BARTON: Do You Love
Me, Do You Love Me/ JACK CARDWELL: I Can't Make Up
My Mind/ I'm Gonna Write A Song About You/ THE
DELMORE BROTHERS: Good Time Saturday Night/ Got No
Way Of Knowing/ CHARLIE GORE: All My Love Up &
Died/ Stumbling Block/ LOUIE INNIS: Sing Your Song
Baby/ ANN JONES: Too Old To Cut The Mustard/
SHORTY LONG: Just Like Two Drops Of Water/ MOON
MULLICAN: Rheumatism Boogie/ What's The Matter
With The Mill/ BOB NEWMAN: Hangover Boogie/ Turtle
Dovin'/ MAC ODELL: Wildwood Flower/ HANK PENNY:
Save It For A Rainy Day/ RED PERKINS: A
Long-Necked Bottle/ Hoe-Down Boogie/ WAYNE RANEY:
Lost John Boogie (Overdubbed Version)/ Pardon My
Whiskers/ DON RENO & RED SMILEY: Freight Train
Boogie/ RAMBLIN' TOMMY SCOTT: Ain't Love Grand/
Free Again/ ZEB TURNER: You're My Cutie Pie/ JIMMY
VERNON: Still Afraid Of Losing You/ WANDA WAYNE &
BILLY BARTON: The Song You Just Played/ SKEETER
WEBB: Your Secret's Not A Secret Anymore/ JOE
WHEELER: Ain't That Just Like A Woman/ THE YORK
BROTHERS: It Ain't No Good/ Sixty Minute
Man
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Cactus RCACD 7 |
RCA Hillbilly, Vol. 7 |
● CD $15.98 |
32 up tempo hillbilly tracks from
the RCA label. Like the later Capitol volumes this
includes heavy dose of novelty numbers like
Catch 'Em Young, Treat 'Em Rough, Tell 'Em
Nothin' from feminist Hank Penny,
Caffeine &
Nicotine by Curtis Gordon, I Pulled A Boo
Boo by Jimmy Martin and more. Other artists
featured include JOhnny Lee Wills, Eddy Arnold,
Hawkshaw Hawkins, Hank Snow, Homer & Jethro, Jimmy
Murphy, Merv Shiner, Anita Carter, Eddie
Marshall, Billy McGhee, etc. EDDY ARNOLD: A Full Time Job/ CHARLINE
ARTHUR: Soft Hearted Gal/ BILL BOYD: Come & Get
It/ Mean Mean Mean/ ANITA CARTER: Right Way, Wrong
Way/ THE COUNTRY PARDNERS: Ever-Ready Kisses/ THE
DAVIS SISTERS: Gotta Git A-Goin'/ CURTIS GORDON:
Caffeine & Nicotine/ HAWKSHAW HAWKINS: Car Hoppin'
Mama/ EDDIE HILL: Slender Tender & Sweet/
Whittlin' On A Piece Of Wood/ HOMER & JETHRO:
Alabama Jubilee/ JOHNNIE & JACK: So Lovely Baby/
GRANDPA JONES: Old Rattler's Son/ PEE WEE KING:
Texas Toni Lee/ LONE PINE with BETTY CODY:
Tom-Tom Yodel/ EDDIE MARSHALL: The Tom Cat Blues/
JIMMY MARTIN: I Pulled A Boo Boo/ KEN MARVIN: I
Ain't Gonna Do Nothin'/ JIMMY MURPHY: Educated
Fool/ BILLY McGHEE: Gamble Your Kisses With
Somebody New/ HANK PENNY: Catch 'Em Young, Treat
'Em Rough, Tell 'Em Nothin'/ No Muss-No Fuss/ HAL
"LONE" PINE: Don't Stop, I Like It/ From Paree To
Tennessee/ MERV SHINER: Mister Sandman/ HANK SNOW:
Ladies Man/ JIMMIE RODGERS SNOW: How Do You Think
I Feel/ The Flame Of Love/ JACK TURNER: Gambler's
Guitar/ BOBBY WILLIAMSON: My Gal Come From Heaven/
JOHNNIE LEE WILLS: Blackberry Boogie
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Cactus CAPCD 8 |
Capitol Hillbilly, Vol. 8 |
● CD $15.98 |
32 tracks, 79 mins, recommended 32 more fine uptempo sides from the Capitol
catalog. This one doesn't have as many novelty
songs as the past couple of volumes. It opens with
the classic Oakie Boogie by Jack Guthrie
plus more fine country boogie from Aubrey Gass,
Tennessee Ernie Ford and Deuce Spriggins. Other
artiusts include Rod Morris, Hylo Brown, Roy
Hogsed, Skeets McDonald (the fine Baby, I'm
Hurtin'), Joe Allison, Jimmie Dolan, Ferlin
Huskey (two songs including Hank's Song - a
song composed of Hank Williams song titles!),
Jimmy Skinner (the splendid I Got A Lot Of Love
Baby), Chester Smith (the great handclapping
gospel song Bend Down), Tommy Collins, Jimmy
Bryant & Speedy West (the dazzling Frettin'
Fingers) and others. ROY
ACUFF: Night Train To Memphis/ Sunshine Special/
JOE ALLISON: A Brand New Broom/ What Happened To
Our Summer Love/ FRED BAKER: I'll Make Up/ BOOTS
& IDAHO: That's My Heart Talkin'/ HYLO BROWN: John
Henry/ JIMMY BRYANT & SPEEDY WEST: Frettin'
Fingers/ MARTHA CARSON: Singin' On The Other Side/
LEON CHAPPELL: I'm A Do-Rite Daddy/ TOMMY COLLINS:
I'll Be Gone/ JIMMIE DOLAN: I Ain't Gonna Bring My
Bacon Home To You/ Wine, Women & Pink Elephants/
TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD: Catfish Boogie/ AUBREY GASS:
Dear John/ K. C. Boogie/ JACK GUTHRIE: Oakie
Boogie/ ROY HOGSED: Put Some Sugar In Your Shoes/
JACK HUNT: They Tell Me It's Wrong/ FERLIN HUSKEY:
Hank's Song/ I Wouldn't Treat A Dog Like You're
Treatin' Me/ THE LOUVIN BROTHERS: Childish Love/
SKEETS MCDONALD: Baby I'm Hurtin'/ ROD MORRIS: I'm
Comin' Over Tonight/ OLE RASMUSSEN: Straighten Out
Your Troubles (With The Lord)/ JERRY REED: Honey
Chile/ JIMMIE SKINNER: I Got A Lot Of Love Baby/
CHESTER SMITH: Bend Down/ THE SMITH BROTHERS: I'm
Gonna Shout/ DEUCE SPRIGGENS: Empty Hands, Empty
Heart, Empty Pockets/ The Player Piano Boogie/
JESS WILLARD: Gonna Take That Fast
Train
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Cactus RCACD 8 |
RCA Hillbilly, Vol. 8 |
● CD $15.98 |
32 tracks, 77 mins, highly
recommended This volume has a lot of great cuts starting off
the set with Jack Turner's great country cover of
Big Mama Thornton's Hound Dog with hot
accompaniment from Chet Atkins, Homer & Jethro and
Jerry Byrd and the backing group appears as The
Country All Stars on the fine Do Something.
Porter Wagoner is here with two cuts including a
great version of Hank's Settin' The Woods On
Fire, Hank Snow's 1951 One More Ride was
not a hit but should have been - a great songs
with fine vocals, strong fiddle by Tommy Waden and
some of Hank's acoustic guitar licks. Pee Wee King
is here with two hard driving cuts with hot guitar
and we have a couple of outstanding bluegrass cuts
from The Lonesome Pine Fiddlers and Jimmy Martin
(his classic Chalk Up Another One). Other
artists include Bobby Williamson, Hank Penny,
Tommy Sands (fine uptempo honky tonk from future
teen idol), Carson Robison (the fine Rotation
Blues - a topical song about Korea), Jimmy
Murphy (always excellent), Homer & Jethro, Grandpa
Jones (two great sides), Johnny Lee Wills, Myrna
Lorrie and others. Definitely one of the better
ones in the series. (FS)
EDDY ARNOLD: I'm Gonna Lock
My Heart/ ELTON BRITT: Rotation Blues/ COUNTRY
ALL-STARS: Do Something/ CURTIS GORDON: Rocky Road
Of Love/ HOMER & JETHRO: Child Psychology/ The
West Virginny Hills/ GRANDPA JONES: T.V. Blues/
The Closer To The Bone/ PEE WEE KING: Going Back
To A.L.A./ The Ghost & Honest Joe/ THE LONESOME
PINE FIDDLERS: Honky Tonk Blues/ MYRNA LORRIE:
That's What Sweethearts Do/ JIMMY MARTIN: Chalk Up
Another One/ JOYCE MOORE: You Can't Kiss Me Too
Soon/ JIMMY MURPHY: Ramblin' Heart/ NITA, RITA &
RUBY: But I Love You Just The Same/ MINNIE PEARL:
Me/ HANK PENNY: Taxes Taxes/ Fan It/ DAVE RICH:
Ain't It Fine/ I'm Glad/ TEXAS JIM ROBERTSON: Jaw,
Jaw, Yap, Yap, Yap!/ TOMMY SANDS: A Dime & A
Dollar/ Love Pains/ HANK SNOW: One More Ride/ JACK
TURNER: Hound Dog/ PORTER WAGONER: Hey Maw!/
Settin' The Woods On Fire/ TEX WILLIAMS: Sinful/
BOBBY WILLIAMSON: Steady Diet/ JOHNNIE LEE WILLS:
Oo Oooh Daddy/ FLOYD WILSON: Baby, Baby
Baby
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Cactus RCACD 9 |
RCA Hillbilly, Vol. 9 |
● CD $15.98 |
32 more uptempo honky tonkers from
the RCA catalog with a heavy emphasis on novelty
items including sides by Curtis Gordon, Jimmy
Smith, Hawkshaw Hawkins, Pee Wee King, Anita
Carter, Johnnie & Jack, The Sons Of The Pioneers,
Hal "Lone" Pine, Jack Turner, Grandpa Jones, The
Davis Sisters and others.
JIM BOYD: Truck Driver's
Boogie/ THE BUCHANAN BROTHERS: Atomic Power/ ANITA
CARTER: Freight Train Blues/ WILF CARTER: Wha
Hoppen?/ BETTY CODY: Pale Moon/ THE DAVIS SISTERS:
Baby Be Mine/ Rock-A-Bye Boogie/ THE GEORGIA
CRACKERS: That's The Way It's Gotta Be/ CURTIS
GORDON: Rompin' & Stompin'/ Tell 'Em No/ HAWKSHAW
HAWKINS: It Would Be A Doggone Lie/ When You Say
Yes/ HOMER & JETHRO: Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers
Off Of Me/ JOHNNIE & JACK: You're Just What The
Doctor Ordered/ GRANDPA JONES: The Trader/ PEE WEE
KING: Quit Honkin' That Horn/ KEN MARVIN: Uh, Huh
Honey/ DON MEEHAN: That Long, Long Road Of Love/
Triflin' Gal/ NITA, RITA & RUBY: At The Old Town
Hall/ MINNIE PEARL: Jealous Hearted Me/ HANK
PENNY: White Shotguns/ HAL 'LONE' PINE: Pretty As
A Queen/ WADE RAY: Excuse Me/ I Need A Good Girl
Bad/ JIMMY SMITH: Curb Service/ First Choice/ HANK
SNOW: Honeymoon On A Rocket Ship/ Just Keep
A-Movin'/ THE SONS OF THE PIONEERS: Old Man Atom/
SUNSHINE RUBY: Datin'/ JACK TURNER: I'm Not
Jealous (I'm Just Careful)
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Columbia 9010 |
The Lost Notebooks Of Hank Williams |
● CD $13.98 |
12 tracks, 37 mins, recommended When Hank Williams died, he left behind a brown
leather briefcase which he used to carry, among
other things, bound notebooks. In these notebooks,
he wrote down song ideas and lyrics; some were
fully finished, some just started. From these four
notebooks, an assortment of hand-picked
artists-from the worlds of country, pop, and
rock-selected lyrics to finish, put music to, and
record. For anyone thinking that rock artists like
Jack White, Jakob Dylan, and Sheryl Crow aren't
capable of cutting country oriented material,
well, I've got news for you: all the performers
here toe the country line in the Hank tradition.
Without any knowledge of what Williams had in mind
for these songs, we only have what is put in front
of us and the results range from Lucinda Williams'
plaintive I'm So Happy I Found You to Bob
Dylan's grizzly The Love That Faded. No song
here is less than good, but only a few could be
called great: the Vince Gill/Rodney Crowell duet,
I Hope You Shed a Million Tears (so good
that I could easily imagine Hank singing this
himself); Levon Helm wrapping his still-golden
voice around You'll Never Again Be Mine; and
Merle Haggard at his gravelly best on The
Sermon on the Mount - all three of these songs
have the spirit of Hank running through every
vocal inflection and every chord change. They are
the real deal. Anyone who has purchased the Time
Life Hank Williams box sets will very likely find
this CD worth a listen. (GMC)
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Dust-To-Digital 19 |
Never A Pal Like Mother |
● CD $41.98 |
A tribute to mothers everywhere!
96-page hardback book featuring 65 antique
photographs from such noted collectors as Sarah
Bryan and Jim Linderman along with two CDs
containing 40 vintage recordings from 1927-1956 -
mostly country, blues and gospel along with a
couple of ethnic recordings all on the subject of
mothers. Artists include The Louvin Brothers,
William McCoy, Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon', Wade
Mainer, Robert Wilkins, The Carter Family, The
Wright Brothers Quartet, Leo Soileau, Shortbuckle
Roark & Family, Milton Brown & His Musical
Brownies, The Virginia Possum Tamers, The Pilgrim
Travelers, The McNulty Family and many
more. THE BLUE SKY BOYS:
Mother Went Her Holiness Way/ MILTON BROWN & HIS
MUSICAL BROWNIES: I've Got the Blues for Mammy/
LEON BUKASA: Masanga/ THE CAROLINA TWINS: Where Is
My Momma?/ THE CARTER FAMILY: Hold Fast to the
Right/ MIGHTY DESTROYER: Mother's Love/ THE
DIAMOND FOUR: Sleep On, Mother/ THE DIXIELAND JUG
BLOWERS: Only Mother Cares for Me/ REV. J. M.
GATES: You Mother Heart Breakers/ THE GEORGIA
YELLOW HAMMERS: The Picture on the Wall/ THE
GOLDEN EAGLE GOSPEL SINGERS: Shake Mother's Hand
for Me/ THE GOLDEN GATE JUBILEE QUARTET: Stand in
the Test in Judgment/ MR. & MRS. HARMON E.
HELMICK: Little Moses/ DOC HOPKINS: The Pal That s
Always True/ FRANKIE HALF-PINT JAXON: Mama Don't
Allow It/ REV. ANDERSON JOHNSON: If I Could Hear
My Mother Pray Again/ L. V. JONES & HIS VA SINGING
CLASS: Will My Mother Know Me There?/ THE LOUVIN
BROTHERS: God Bless Her, She's My Mother/ THE
MADDOX BROTHERS & ROSE: Mama Says It's Naughty/
WADE MAINER: Mother Came to Get Her Boy from Jail/
LIL MCCLINTOCK: Mother Called Her Child to Her
Dying Bed/ WILLIAM MCCOY: Mama Blues/ EARL
MCDONALD'S ORIGINAL LOUISVILLE JUG BAND: Mama's
Little Sunny Boy/ LONNIE MCINTORSH: Sleep On
Mother, Sleep On/ THE MCNULTY FAMILY: Over the
Hills and Far Away/ WASHINGTON PHILLIPS: A Mothers
Last Word to Her Daughter/ Mother s Last Word to
Her Son/ THE PILGRIM TRAVELERS: Mother Bowed/
SHORTBUCKLE ROARK & FAMILY: My Mother's Hands/ J.
P. RYAN: Mother's Gone/ KID SMITH AND FAMILY:
Whisper Softly, Mother's Dying/ LEO SOILEAU: Mama,
Where You At?/ CECIL SURRATT & HIS W. VA RAMBLERS:
The Bright Crystal Sea/ TAYLOR'S KENTUCKY BOYS:
The Dixie Cowboy/ ELVIE THOMAS: Motherless Child
Blues/ THE VIRGINIA POSSUM TAMERS: Tell Mother
I'll Meet Her/ ROBERT WILKINS: That s No Way to
Get Along/ BOB WILLS: Tie Me to Your Apron Strings
Again/ THE WRIGHT BROTHERS QUARTET: Mother is with
the Angels/ JAN WYSOWSKI: Kujawiak
Babki-Grandmother's Dance
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Dust-To-Digital 20 |
Listen To The Wind That Obliterates My Traces |
● CD $45.98 |
Two CDs with 51 tracks with 184
page hardbound book., recommended This gorgeous package brings together a collection
of early photographs related to music, a group of
78rpm recordings, and short excerpts from various
literary sources that are contemporary with the
sound and images. The hard cover book is 184 pages
with 150 great sepia toned photos of musicians and
musical instruments. The two CDs are a mixed bag
displaying a variety of recordings, including
one-off amateur recordings, regular commercial
releases, and early sound effects records. The
commercial recordings are a mix of blues, old time
country, spirituals and pop - some familiar and
some making their first appearance on CD and range
from fabulous (Alfred G. Karnes, Sylvester Weaver)
to pretty mediocre ( John Jacob Niles, Roland
Hayes). Other artists include Ernest Thompson, Nick Lucas, Bradley Kincaid, Ex-Governer Alf
Taylor's Old Limber Quartet (very nice!), Kelly
Harrell, Gabriel Brown, Frank Luther, Chubby
Parker, Sol Hoopii's Novelty Trio, Gid Tanner &
His Skillet Lickers and others. The anonymous home
recordings are mostly mediocre and the sound
effects are brief but not really relevant. The
book also contains an essay by Steve Roden who
culled his collection of photographs and recordings
for this set. (FS)
Disc 1: 1. Wind - HMV
WEATHER EFFECTS/ John Henry - JOHN JACOB NILES/
Untitled - ANONYMOUS/ Then We'll Need That True
Religion - REVEREND EDWARD CLAYBORN/ In The
Baggage Coach Ahead - ERNEST THOMPSON/ Blue Blazes
Blues - EMERY GLEN/ Walking On Ice - GENNETT SOUND
EFFECTS/ Kind Lovin' Blues - Clara Smith/ If You
Hadn't Gone Away - NICK LUCAS/ Beautiful Mansion
Of Gold - ANONYMOUS/ I See My Pretty Papa Standing
On A Hill - EVA PARKER/ The Rosary - PALE K LUA/
Mocking Bird - GENNETT SOUND EFFECT/ Froggie Went
A-Courting - BRADLEY KINKAID/ Damfino Stump -
SYLVESTER WEAVER/ Montana Call - SEGER ELLIS/ When
They Ring The Golden Bells - ALFRED G KARNES/
Mandolin Instrumental - ANONYMOUS/ The Stranger -
ANONYMOUS/ Brother Noah Built An Ark - EX-GOVERNOR
ALF TAYLOR'S OLD LIMBER QUARTET/ A Little Love A
Little Kiss - ED LANG/ Canadian Geese - STANDARD
RADIO SOUNDS EFFECT/ Reaching For The Moon - ROY
SMECK'S TRIO/ I Want To Go Home - ROLAND HAYES/
The Old Grey Horse - OBED PICKARD OF STATION WSM,
NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE Disc 2: Walking In Snow And
Thin Underbrush - GENNETT SOUND EFFECT/ Rovin'
Gambler - KELLY HARRELL/ I've Got To Go And Leave
My Daddy Behind - SARAH MARTIN & SYLVESTER WEAVER/
Pinin' Hawaii For You - FRANK FERERA'S HAWAIIANS/
Going My Way - GABRIEL BROWN AND HIS GUITAR/
Rainfall And Thunder - GENNETT SOUND EFFECT/ It
Don't Do Nothing But Rain - LEW CHILDRE/ Graveyard
Love - BERTHA IDAHO/ Pretty Polly - FRANK LUTHER/
Canary Birds: Several Hundred - GENNETT SOUND
EFFECT/ Xango - ROLAND HAYES/ The Girl I Left
Behind Me - DICK REINHERT/ Yes I Know - REV
CALBERT & SISTER BILLIE HOLSTEIN/ Bib-A-Lollie-Boo
- CHUBBIE PARKER/ Winnebago Love Song (Duet) -
THURLOW LIEURANCE & CLEMENT BARONE/ My Good For
Nuthin' Man - CLARA SMITH/ Stack O' Lee Blues -
SOL HOOPII'S NOVELTY TRIO/ Losin' You - UKELELE
IKE (CLIFF EDWARDS)/ William & Mary - MARC
WILLIAMS/ Way Down Home - ANONYMOUS/ Night Noises
- GENNETT SOUND EFFECT/ Ya Gotta Quit Kickin' My
Dog Aroun' - GID TANNER & HIS SKILLET LICKERS WITH
RILEY PUCKETT/ Cripple Creek & Sourwood Mountain -
STOVEPIPE NO.1 (SAM JONES)/ Cowboy's Prayer -
GOEBEL REEVES/ Precious Memorys (Sic) - BILL
KEARNEY & EARL BUSH/ O Bury Me Not On The Lone
Prairie - CARL T SPRAGUE
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Early Country 26018 |
Early Country, Vol. 3 |
● CD $8.98 |
22 tracks, 60 mins, highly
recommended On this collection you get some real old-timey
Country, from back when there were fewer
differences between Country music and the popular
Jazz tunes of the time. Features early tracks by
big names like Bob Wills -- Oozlin' Daddy
Blues/ San Antonio Rose/ Time Changes
Everything, and New San Antonio Rose -
and Gene Autry -- South Of The Border/ You Are
My Sunshine, and Deep In The Heart Of
Texas. Then, many influential tracks by artists
that aren't exactly household names, but most
people certainly know their songs: Born To
Lose by Ted Daffan, Milk Cow Blues by
Johnny Lee Wills, and Pistol Packin Mama by
Al Dexter. Then there are just some good old
obscure tunes and artists, like Modern
Mountaineers with Everybody's Truckin', Bill
Nettles with Sugar Baby Blues, and The Texas
Wanderers with Pipeliner Blues, All in all,
a fine collection, chock full of tunes that are
hard to find elsewhere. (JM)
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Fantastic Voyage 096 |
Western Swingin' |
● CD $21.98 |
3 CDs, 85 tracks, 236 mins, highly
recommended This is one mother of a Western Swing collection,
three CDs that are just packed with all the
legends of the genre and many more who's names
aren't as well known, but who still laid down some
fantastic tracks. Bob Wills dominates the
collection as he dominated the scene, with
classics like Take Me Back To Tulsa/ Roly Poly/
New San Antonio Rose/ Stay A Little Longer,
plus a dozen more. Spade, Pee Wee, Milton, are all
here with their best, as are Al Dexter with
Pistol Packin Mama, Hank Penny with Steel
Guitar Stomp, The Light Crust Doughboys with
Pussy, Pussy, Pussy (I'm certain that it is
about a cat,) Hank Penny with Let Me Play With
Your Poodle (not so sure that one is about a
dog though.) Moon Mullican, Leon McAuliffe, Merle
Travis, Ole Rasmussen, Bill Boyd, and so many more
fine acts. This set is easily one of the best
"Best Of" Western Swing collections that I have
come across, three CDs just packed with nothing
but great tunes. I consider this an essential
purchase for those of you starting out listening
to the genre, but highly recommended as well for
those seasoned fans, for even though you will
already have a lot of this, there are enough
lesser compiled gems throughout that are sure to
please. (JM)
LES 'CARROT TOP' ANDERSON &
REDD HARPER: And I Shook/ JESSE ASHLOCK: My Bank
Account Is Gone/ BILL BOYD & HIS COWBOY RAMBLERS:
Mama Don't Like No Music/ MILTON BROWN & HIS
BROWNIES: Down By The O-H-I-O/ Get Along, Cindy/
Some Of These Days/ St Louis Blues/ Taking Off/
The Hesitation Blues/ BROWN'S MUSICAL BROWNIES:
Louise, Louise Blues/ CLIFF BRUNER'S TEXAS
WANDERERS: Kangaroo Blues/ One Sweet Letter From
You/ Sugar/ CECIL CAMPBELL & HIS TENNESSEE
RAMBLERS: Rock And Roll Fever/ SPADE COOLEY & HIS
ORCHESTRA: Crazy ‘Cause I Love You/ Detour/ Shame
On You/ AL DEXTER & HIS TROOPERS: Pistol-Packin'
Mama/ TOMMY DUNCAN & HIS WESTERN ALL STARS: Never
No Mo' Blues/ TOMMY DUNCAN & THE MILLER BROTHERS:
Hound Dog/ BOB DUNN & HIS VAGABONDS: Stompin' At
The Honky Tonk/ BOB DUNN'S VAGABONDS: Mean
Mistreater Blues/ HARTMAN'S HEART BREAKERS: Feels
Good/ THE HI-FLYERS: Watcha Gonna Do?/ ADOLPH
HOFNER & HIS TEXANS: Joe Turner Blues/ ROY HOGSED
& HIS RAINBOW RIDERS: Cocaine Blues/ BUDDY JONES:
She's A Hum-Dum Dinger/ ANN JONES & HER WESTERN
SWEETHEARTS: Knockin' Blues/ THE JUBILEERS: The
Right String But The Wrong Yo-Yo/ PEE WEE KING &
HIS GOLDEN WEST COWBOYS: Rootie Tootie/ Slow Poke/
Tennessee Waltz/ BENNIE LEADERS: Hey, Miss Fannie/
THE LIGHT CRUST DOUGH BOYS: Pussy, Pussy, Pussy/
LEON MCAULIFFE: Take It Away, Leon/ Panhandle Rag/
MODERN MOUNTAINEERS: Everybody's Truckin'/ Pipe
Liner's Blues/ BILL MOUNCE & THE SONS OF THE
SOUTH: I've Found A New Baby/ MOON MULLICAN & THE
SHOWBOYS: The Lonesome Hearted Blues/ HOYLE NIX: A
Big Ball's In Cowtown/ W. LEE O'DANIEL & HIS
LIGHTCRUST DOUGH BOYS: There'll Be Some Changes
Made/ HANK PENNY: Let Me Play With Your Poodle/
Steel Guitar Stomp/ You Played On My Piano/ PORT
ARTHUR JUBILEERS: Jeep's Blues/ OLE RASMUSSEN &
HIS NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS: In The Mood/ WADE RAY &
NOEL BOGGS: It's All Your Fault/ JIMMIE REVARD &
HIS OKLAHOMA PLAYBOYS: It's A Long, Long Way To
Tipperary/ BOB SKYLES & HIS SKYROCKETS: Rubber
Dolly/ SONS OF THE WEST: Sally's Got A Wooden
Leg/ OCIE STOCKARD & THE WANDERERS: Bass Man Jive/
THE SWIFT JEWEL COWBOYS: Fan It!/ You Gotta
Ho-De-Ho (To Get Along With Me)/ HANK THOMPSON &
HIS BRAZOS VALLEY BOYS: Good Rockin' Tonight/
FLOYD TILLMAN: Drivin' Nails In My Coffin/ MERLE
TRAVIS: Divorce Me C.O.D./ THE TUNE WRANGLERS:
She's Sweet (Ain't She Sweet)/ T. TEXAS TYLER &
HIS OKLAHOMA MELODY BOYS: My Bucket's Got A Hole
In It/ TEX WILLIAMS & HIS WESTERN CARAVAN:
Artistry In Western Swing/ Never Trust A Woman/
Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)/ JOHNNIE LEE
WILLS & HIS BOYS: Milk Cow Blues/ Rag Mop/ Too
Long/ Whatcha Know, Joe?/ BOB WILLS & HIS TEXAS
PLAYBOYS: Big Beaver/ Brain Cloudy Blues/ Cherokee
Maiden/ Corrine Corrina/ Faded Love/ New San
Antonio Rose/ New Spanish Two-Step/ Roly Poly/
Rosetta/ Sittin' On Top Of The World/ Stay A
Little Longer/ Steel Guitar Rag/ Sugar Moon/ Take
Me Back To Tulsa/ Twin Guitar Special/ White Heat/
BILLY JACK WILLS & HIS WESTERN SWING BAND: I Don't
Know/ SMOKY WOOD & HIS WOOD CHIPS: Keep On
Truckin'/ SMOKY WOOD & THE WOODCHIPS: Woodchip
Blues
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Fantastic Voyage 097 |
The Quiller Memorandum, Vol. 1 |
● CD $15.98 |
25 tracks, 57 mins, highly
recommended This is a wonderful collection dedicated to the
legendary songwriting team of Felice & Boudleaux
Bryant. Although most famous for their songs
performed by the Everly Brother--Wake Up Little
Susie/ Love Hurts/ Bye, Bye, Love/ All I Have to
Do Is Dream/ Bird Dog, etc.--many artists made
great records with the Bryants' compositions. On
this CD we get a lot of the early recordings done
with their songs, so you get the Everly's doing
.Susie, and Nashville Blues, Rusty &
Doug (Kershaw) with "the rambunctious Hey
Sheriff, Wanda Jackson doing the confusingly
Calypso Don'a Wan'a, Sammy Salvo with
Wolf Boy, Webb Pierce with Bye, Bye
Love, Roy Orbison with Jolie, Buddy
Holly's heartbreaking Raining In The Heart,
and many more outstanding tracks from the likes of
Porter Wagoner, Bob Luman, Billy Grammer, The
Browns, etc. So essentially a whole lot of great
songs, many that were big hits, others that were
just about as great, but aren't as well known. All
pretty essential stuff and the people who put this
out did a great job with it, with thorough liner
notes and fantastic sound. (JM)
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Fantastic Voyage 114 |
Honky Tonkin' - 87 Tracks From The Golden Years |
● CD $21.98 |
Three CDs, 87 tracks, 3 hours 48
mins, very highly recommended A honky tonk is essentially a rural bar where your
average Joe (and Jane) gather to drown their
sorrows with like minded folks and honky tonk
music is the soundtrack with mournful aching
vocals and stripped down accompaniments with
sawing vocals and soaring steel guitars. This
fabulous collection traces the history of the
style featuring recordings made between 1937 and
1960. The first disc starts with Jimmie Davis's
Honky Tonk Blues (not the Hank Williams
song) - one of the first songs to use the word
honky tonk in the title and continues with some of
the originals of songs that have become honky tonk
standards like Rex Griffin's gorgeous Last
Letter, Ted Daffan with Born To Lose,
Lost Highway by Leon Payne, Wild Side Of
Life by Jimmy Heap as well as early honky tonk
sides from Hank Williams (whose style defined
honky tonk music for all time), George Morgan, The
Maddox Brothers & Rose and the others. The other
two discs feature 60 classic honky tonk sides
recorded between 1953 and 1960 including big hits
like There Stands The Glass by Webb Pierce,
Kitty Wells with It Wasn't God Who Made Honky
Tonk Angels (the answer to Wild Side Of
Life, City Lights by Ray Price, Second
Fiddle by Buck Owens, Always Late by
Lefty Frizzell and more along with lesser known
gems like Joe "Cannonball" Lewis's fantastic
You've Been Honky Tonkin, Too Hot To
Handle by Eddie Noack, Juke Joint Johnny
by Lattie Moore, Daydreamin' by Bud
Deckleman and more. Other artists featured include
Art Gibson, Bill Carlisle, Moon Mullican, Eddy
Arnold (before he turned "pop"), Hank Thompson,
Faron Young, Bob Gallion, Jimmy Newman, Patsy
Cline and many others. There's not a single dud
among the 87 tracks here. Sound quality is
excellent and the 20 page booklet has informative
notes by Dave Penny. (FS)
EDDY ARNOLD: I'm Throwing
Rice (At The Girl That I Love)/ BENNY BARNES: Poor
Man's Riches/ TOMMY BLAKE: Honky Tonk Mind (The
Woman I Need)/ CLIFF BRUNER AND HIS BOYS: Truck
Driver's Blues/ SONNY BURNS: Another Woman Looking
For A Man/ BILL CARLISLE: Rockin' Chair Money/
PATSY CLINE: Honky Tonk Merry-Go-Round/ TOMMY
COLLINS: You Better Not Do That/ TED DAFFAN'S
TEXANS: Born To Lose/ JIMMY DAVIS: Honky Tonk
Blues/ THE DAVIS SISTERS: I Forgot More Than
You'll Ever Know/ BUD DECKELMAN WITH THE
DAYDREAMERS: Daydreamin'/ AL DEXTER: Answer To
"Honky Tonk Blues"/ Poor Little Honky Tonk Girl/
LITTLE JIMMY DICKENS: Closing Time/ CHARLIE
FEATHERS: Honky Tonk Kind/ LEFTY FRIZZELL: Always
Late (With Your Kisses)/ If You've Got The Money
(I've Got The Time)/ BOB GALLION: Out Of A Honky
Tonk/ ART GIBSON & HIS MOUNTAIN MELODY BOYS: Honky
Tonk Mama/ REX GRIFFIN: The Last Letter/ HARDROCK
GUNTER: Honky Tonk Baby/ HAWKSHAW HAWKINS: Sunny
Side Of The Mountain/ JIMMY HEAP & THE MELODY
MASTERS: Wild Side Of Life/ TOMMY HILL: Honky Tonk
Romance/ JOHNNY HORTON: Honky-Tonk Man/ BILLY
HUGHES: Cocaine Blues/ SONNY JAMES: That's Me
Without You/ GEORGE JONES: Just Little Boy Blue/
Out Of Control/ JERRY LEE LEWIS: You Win Again/
JOE "CANNONBALL" LEWIS: You've Been Honky Tonkin'/
LORETTA LYNN: I'm A Honky-Tonk Girl/ THE MADDOX
BROTHERS & ROSE: George's Playhouse Boogie/ Honky
Tonkin'/ GEORGE MCCORMICK: Fifty-Fifty Honky
Tonkin'/ SKEETS MCDONALD: Make Room For The Blues/
EDDIE MILLER AND HIS OKLAHOMANS: Release Me (And
Let Me Love Again)/ BILLY MONTANA: You're More At
Home In A Honky Tonk/ LATTIE MOORE: Juke Joint
Johnny/ GEORGE MORGAN: Candy Kisses/ MOON
MULLICAN: I'll Sail My Ship Alone/ JIMMY NEWMAN:
Cry Cry Darling/ Honky Tonk Tears/ EDDIE NOACK:
Too Hot To Handle/ BUCK OWENS: Above And Beyond
(The Call of Love)/ Second Fiddle/ DOLLY PARTON:
Girl Left Alone/ JOHNNY PAYCHECK (AS DONNY YOUNG):
Shakin' The Blues/ LEON PAYNE: Lost Highway/ CARL
PERKINS: Let The Jukebox Keep On Playing/ WEBB
PIERCE: In The Jailhouse Now/ There Stands The
Glass/ DOUG POINDEXTER & THE STARLITE WRANGLERS:
My Kind Of Carrying On/ RAY PRICE: City Lights/
Crazy Arms/ Invitation To The Blues/ JERRY REED:
If The Good Lord's Willing (And The Creek Don't
Rise)/ DICK REYNOLDS: Silver Threads And Golden
Needles/ MARTY ROBBINS: Knee Deep In The Blues/
TOMMY SCOTT & HIS RAMBLERS: Juke Joint Girl/ JEAN
SHEPARD: Girls In Disgrace/ JIMMIE SKINNER:
Another Saturday Night/ CARL SMITH: Back Up,
Buddy/ Loose Talk/ HANK SNOW & HIS RAINBOW RANCH
BOYS: I'm Moving On/ RED SOVINE: Why Baby Why?/
WYNN STEWART: The Keeper Of The Keys/ HANK
THOMPSON & HIS BRAZOS VALLEY BOYS: Honky-Tonk
Girl/ Whoa Sailor/ HANK THOMPSON & THE BRAZOS
VALLEY BOYS: A Six Pack To Go/ MEL TILLIS: Honky
Tonk Song/ FLOYD TILLMAN: Slippin' Around/ ERNEST
TUBB: I Ain't Going Honky Tonkin' Anymore/ Walkin'
The Floor Over You/ CONWAY TWITTY (AS HAROLD
JENKINS): Just In Time/ CHARLIE WALKER: Pick Me Up
On Your Way Down/ Who Will Buy The Wine?/ KITTY
WELLS: It Wasn't God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels/
THE WILBURN BROTHERS: Somebody's Back In Town/
JESS WILLARD: Honky Tonkin' All The Time/ HANK
WILLIAMS: Lovesick Blues/ Mind Your Own Business/
You're Gonna Change (Or I'm Gonna Leave)/ JIMMY
WORK: Making Believe/ FARON YOUNG: I've Got Five
Dollars And It's Saturday Night/ Sweet
Dreams
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
JSP JSPCD 77144 |
Wizards Of Country Guitar - Selected Sides, 1935-1955 |
● CD $28.98 |
Four CDs, 100 tracks, essential A fabulous collection devoted to the use of the
guitar in country music - especially the electric
steel guitar in Western Swing groups. The first
disc is devoted to the work of the great pioneer
in electric steel guitar Bob Dunn recorded between
1935 and 1939 featuring him with Milton Brown &
His Brownies, Cliff Bruner & His Boys, Dickie
McBride & The Village Boys and others including a
couple of cuts with his own band The Vagabonds.
There are only a couple of duplications with the
great Bob Dunn two CD set issued recently (Origin
Jazz Library 1004 - $33.98). The second disc is
devoted to the less well known but also superb
Wilson "Lefty" Perkins. He is featured on
recordings made between 19036 and 1938 as a member
of Durwood Brown & His Musical Brownies and Bill
Boyd & His Cowboy Ramblers. The third disc
features Billy Briggs who had a lengthy career -
most of the disc features his early work with the
Hi Flyers and The Sons Of The West between 1937
and 1941. In the 40s Briggs struck out on his own
as a solo performer and the last two cuts are a
couple of superb performances from 1949. The
following year he would have a hit with the
novelty song Chew Tobacco Rag. The final
disc features two guitar wizards from California -
Jimmy Bryant, the first master of the Fender
Telecaster and Speedy West the first pedal steel
guitarist in country music. These all instrumental
cuts sides recorded between 1951 and 1955 showcase
their amazing instrumental virtuosity. In
spontaneous, and still fresh and futuristic
fashion, they traded off breathtaking solos, with
Bryant's dazzling cascades of country-jazz guitar
on white lightning duelling with Speedy's
flamboyant, swooping pedal steel. Great music
throughout with excellent sound and informative
notes from Pat Harrison. (FS)
|
VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Not Now 400 |
Hillbilly Hop |
● CD $9.98 |
Two CDs, 50 tracks, recommended Excellent and entertaining budget priced two CD
set devoted to up tempo hillbilly and country
boogie - mostly from the early/ mid 50s. The first
disc is up tempo hillbilly including from well
known names like Red Foley, Hank Snow, Hank
Williams and Bob Wills along with lesser known
artists like Bob Eaton, Jesse Rogers (a fine cover
of Hank's Mind You Own Business), Louis
Innis and others. The second disc is all hillbilly
boogie including Hillbilly Boogie from Jerry
Irby, Peach Tree Street Boogie from The The
Delmore Brothers, Freight Train Boogie by
Johnny Tyler plus sides by Gene O'Quin, Johnny
Bond, Al Dexter, Tennesseee Ernie Ford, Merle
Travis and many more. Long time collectors
probably have everything here but as beginner's set
this can't be beat with fine sound and brief
notes. (FS)
JOHNNY BOND & HIS RED RIVER
VALLEY: Mean Mama Boogie/ MILTON BROWN: Easy
Ridin' Papa/ SPADE COOLEY: Oklahoma Stomp/ The
Rhumba Boogie/ THE DELMORE BROTHERS: Pan American
Boogie/ Peach Tree Street Boogie/ AL DEXTER: Diddy
Wah Boogie/ Saturday Night Boogie/ RAMBLIN’ JIMMIE
DOLAN: Juke Box Boogie/ BOB EATON & HIS LONE STAR
BOYS: Virginia On A Saturday Night/ TIBBY EDWARDS:
Flip Flop And Fly/ RED FOLEY: Hillbilly Fever No.
2/ Tennessee Border/ TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD:
Blackberry Boogie/ Shot-Gun Boogie/ TILLMAN FRANKS
& HIS RAINBOW BOYS: Hot Rod Shotgun Boogie/ ART
GIBSON & HIS MOUNTAIN MELODY BOYS: Everybody's
Sweetheart/ ARTHUR "HARDROCK" GUNTER: Honky Tonk
Blues/ JACK GUTHRIE: I Told You Once/ Okie Boogie/
LOUIS INNIS & HIS STRING DUSTERS: My Dreamboat
Struck A Snag/ JERRY IRBY & HIS TEXAS RANCHERS:
Hillbilly Boogie/ MERLE KILGORE: Seein' Double
Feelin' Single/ THE MADDOX BROTHERS & ROSE: I
Gotta Go Get My Baby/ THE MILO TWINS: Baby Buggie
Boogie/ Downtown Boogie/ JIMMY MURPHY: Here Kitty
Kitty/ MUSTARD & GRAVY: Be Bop Boogie/ GENE
O’QUINN: Boogie Woogie Fever/ Texas Boogie/ HANK
PENNY: Bloodshot Eyes/ WAYNE RANEY: Catfish Baby/
JIMMIE REVARD & HIS OKLAHOMA PLAYBOYS: Oh Swing
It/ JESSE ROGERS & HIS '49ERS: Mind Your Own
Business/ LUKE SIMMONS: Blue Moon Of Kentucky/
Your Cheatin' Heart/ ARTHUR SMITH’S HOT QUINTET:
Guitar Boogie/ HANK SNOW: I'm Movin' On/ MERLE
TRAVIS: Louisiana Boogie/ Merle's Boogie Woogie/
So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed/ ERNEST TUBB:
Walkin' The Floor Over You/ No Help Wanted No 2/
ZEB TURNER: Travellin' Boogie/ JOHNNY TYLER:
Freight Train Boogie/ Old Macdonald Boogie/ JESS
WILLARD: Truck Driver's Boogie/ HANK WILLIAMS:
Howlin' At The Moon/ Settin' The Woods On Fire/
BOB WILLS & HIS TEXAS PLAYBOYS: Cotton Eyed
Joe
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
TeeVee 772 |
Nashville Steel Guitar - 20 Greatest |
● CD $7.98 |
20 tracks, 51 min., recommended World-class steel guitarists Roy Wiggins, Buddy
Emmons, Leon McAuliff, Jimmy Day, Jim Baker, Shot
Jackson, Ray Pennington, and the Nashville Rhythm
Section make this budget release a worthwhile
acquisition. Western swing fans will remember
McAuliff from his days with Bob Wills And The
Texas Playboys ("Take it away, Leon"), and his 5
tracks are easily the best performances here. Day
played with Webb Pierce, T. Texas Tyler, Jim
Reeves, and others. Shot Jackson worked with the
Bailes Brothers, Kitty Wells, Jimmie Osborne,
among others. You get the idea. These guys are
good. Not sure about including Little Drummer
Boy and Silver Bells by Wiggins and
Baker, since Christmas music is usually best
served up with its own kind sometime between
Halloween and New Year's Eve, but perhaps it could
be argued that it works along side the NRS's
Amazing Grace and What A Friend We Have
In Jesus. And then again, perhaps not. Solid if
unspectacular. (JC)
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Trailer-Park 9 |
Twisted Tales From The Vinyl Wastelands, Vol. 9 |
● CD $15.98 |
32 tracks, 78 mins, highly
recommended Another delightful collection of obscure country
sides from the 50s and 60s with a thematic bent or
are just plain weird! Subjects include truckers,
unemployment, drugs (including the amazing The
Slave by Buck Ritchey), topless bathing suits,
murder, the Peace Corps, booze, prison (Prison
Gray by Dee Mullins is a great honky tonk song)
and more. On the weird side we have Jackie Powers'
great but bizarre blues Lonesome Heebie
Jeebies and Rocky Foster's version of Mule
Skinner Blues which the cover describes as the
"most primitive recording ever" which might be a
bit of an exaggeration, but not much of one - it
sounds like it was performed in someone's bathroom
with the microphone in another room! Too bad since
it's a pretty good performance. Grandpa Jones does
a delightfully improbable cover of Bill Parson's
All American Boy and there are lots of other
delights in store for you if you enjoy the
unusual. (FS) JOHNNY BOND:
Hell's Angels/ SONNY COLE: Truck Drivers Hell/
CURLEY DAY: Sorrow City 1963/ MIKE DEBUSK:
Lovesick Blues/ JIMMY DUNCAN: Capital Punishment/
ROCKY FOSTER: Mule Skinner Blues/ JOHNNY GUITAR:
Twenty Years/ THE HAYSEEDERS: Alcatraz/ DELLA
HICKS: When De Debbil Taps You On The Back/ HONEY
BEE: Our Stars/ BOB HOOD: It's Nothin' To Me/
CAROL HUFF: Diesel Drivin' Devil/ KARL JAY:
Unemployment Line/ BIG BILL JOHNSON: Beer Belly
Blues/ GRANDPA JONES: The All-American Boy/ ROCKY
JONES: Steel Men/ JIM KANDY: Cocaine Blues/ THE
LONE X: Rubber Doll/ ED LOVE: The Killers/ JAY
LUTTRULL: Country Boy/ GENE MCKOWN: Peace Corps/
JANETTE MONDAY: Johnny Cellars/ DEE MULLINS:
Prison Grey/ JIMMY PATTON: Preacher & A Girl In
The Night/ JACKIE POWERS: Lonesome Heebie Jeebies/
New River Train/ JOE PRATER: Highway 41/ BUCK
RITCHEY: The Slave/ KELLY ROGERS: Topless Bathing
Suit/ ELBERT SYKES: Prisoners Dream No. II/ ELVIN
WALTERS: God's Talent Scout/ BOBBY WARD: The Ice
Man
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VARIOUS ARTISTS |
Trikont 310 |
Flowers In The Wildwood - Women In Early Country Music |
● CD $18.98 |
25 tracks, 70 mins, highly
recommended Available again at a lower price. Wonderful
collection of country recordings made between 1923
and 1939. Most of these tracks are making their
first appearance on CD. Among the artists featured
a Lulu Belle & Scotty, The Dezurik Sisters (some
of the most amazing yodelling you'll ever hear),
The Aaron Sisters (a fascinating acapella trio
recorded by Columbia in 1932), The Girls Of The
Golden West, Moonshine Kate (fine Jimmie Rodgers
style blues by Fiddlin' John Carson's daughter),
Joe & Alma, Fred & Gertrude Gossett (a fine
version of All The Good Times Are Past &
Gone), The Leatherman Sisters (fine duet vocals
and guitars on the gospel song Home-Coming
Week), Mr. & Mrs J.W. Baker (fine group with
guitar, fiddle, banjo & autoharp), The Carter
Family ( a couple of their less familiar tracks),
The Coon Creek Girls, The Wisdom Sisters and
others. Sound quality is a bit rough on some cuts
but is mostly excellent. Set comes with 28 page
illustrated booklet with extensive notes in German
and English including an interview with Carolyn
Dezurik and biographical profiles of all the
performers. (FS) THE AARON
SISTERS: She Came Rollin' Down the Mountain/ How'm
I Doin'?/ MR. & MRS. J.W. BAKER: On the Banks of
the Old Tennessee/ SAMANTHA BUMGARNER & EVA DAVIS:
Big-Eyed Rabbit/ THE CARTER FAMILY: Just Another
Broken Heart/ Walking in the King's Highway/ THE
CHUCK WAGON GANG: We Are Climbing/ GRADY & HAZEL
COLE: Brother, Be Ready for That Day/ THE COON
CREEK GIRL: Flowers Blooming in the Wildwood/
Little Birdie/ THE DEZURIK SISTERS: Go to Sleep My
Darling/ I Left Her Standing There/ THE GIRLS OF
THE GOLDEN WEST: Round-Up Time in Texas/ FRED &
GERTRUDE GOSSETT: All the Good Times Are Past and
Gone/ AUNT MOLLY JACKSON: Kentucky Miner's Wife
(Ragged Hungery Blues), Pt.1/ JOE & ALMA (THE
KENTUCKY GIRLS): Lorena/ THE LEATHERMAN SISTERS:
Home-Coming Week/ LOUISIANA LOU: With My Banjo on
My Knee Blues/ LULU BELLE & SCOTT: Wish I Was a
Single Girl Again/ PATSY MONTANA: My Poncho Pony/
MOONSHINE KATE: My Man's a Jolly Railroad Man/
WANDA & RUTH NEAL: Round Town Girls/ SOUTHLAND'S
LADIES QUARTETTE: My Loved Ones Are Waiting for
Me/ ROBA STANLEY: Single Life/ THE WISDOM SISTERS:
Prayer
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