Bill Monroe: Anthology

MCA Nashville / Decca 088 113 207-2

Format: 2 x CD, Compilation
Country: United States
Released: 2003
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
1-01 New Mule Skinner Blues (02:30)
1-02 My Little Georgia Rose (03:06)
1-03 Uncle Pen (02:45)
1-04 Raw Hide (02:36)
1-05 Kentucky Waltz (03:16)
1-06 When The Cactus Is In Bloom (02:04)
1-07 Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (03:01)
1-08 In The Pines (03:11)
1-09 Footprints In The Snow (02:40)
1-10 Walking In Jerusalem (02:00)
1-11 Get Up John (02:11)
1-12 On And On (02:47)
1-13 I'm Working On A Building (2:43)
1-14 Blue Moon Of Kentucky (02:08)
1-15 Roanoke (02:39)
1-16 Goodbye Old Pal (02:04)
1-17 Molly & Tenbrooks (02:22)
1-18 I'm Sitting On Top Of The World (02:18)
1-19 I Saw The Light (02:30)
1-20 Scotland (01:55)
1-21 Panhandle Country (02:05)
1-22 Gotta Travel On (02:34)
1-23 Big Mon (02:17)
1-24 Linda Lou (02:10)
1-25 Lonesome Road Blues (02:28)
2-01 Time Changes Everything (02:15)
2-02 I'm Going Back To Old Kentucky (02:23)
2-03 Toy Heart (02:15)
2-04 Live And Let Live (02:40)
2-05 Old Joe Clark (02:24)
2-06 Columbus Stockade Blues (03:05)
2-07 Drifting Too Far From The Shore (02:29)
2-08 Somebody Touched Me (02:32)
2-09 Jimmy Brown The Newsboy (02:26)
2-10 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry (02:13)
2-11 Devil's Dream (02:24)
2-12 Highway Of Sorrow (02:22)
2-13 Roll On Buddy, Roll On (02:11)
2-14 (We're Going) Just Over In The Glory Land (02:23)
2-15 Fire On The Mountain (02:05)
2-16 The Long Black Veil (02:40)
2-17 I Wonder Where You Are Tonight (02:34)
2-18 Dusty Miller (02:19)
2-19 Midnight On The Stormy Deep (03:42)
2-20 Sally Goodin (03:15)
2-21 Walls Of Time (03:19)
2-22 I Haven't Seen Mary In Years (03:04)
2-23 With Body And Soul (03:06)
2-24 Walk Softly On This Heart Of Mine (02:35)
2-25 My Last Days On Earth (04:42)
[Credits]
Bill Monroe (mandolin/vocals) James Monroe (bass/guitar/vocals) Jimmy Martin (guitar/vocals) Carter Stanley (guitar/vocals) Edd Mayfield (guitar/vocals) Del McCoury (guitar/vocals) Jimmy Maynard (guitar/vocals) Franklin G. Buchanan (guitar/vocals) Roland White (guitar/vocals) Peter Rowan (guitar/vocals) Rudy Lyle (banjo/vocals) Charlie Cline (fiddle/ocals) Kenny Baker (vocals) Boudleaux Bryant (vocals) Milton Estes (vocals) Culley Holt (vocals) Arlene Hardin (vocals) Bobby Hardin (vocals) Cindy Nelson (vocals) Curtis Young (vocals) Carl Butler (guitar) Jack Cooke (guitar) Jimmy Elrod (guitar) Grady Martin (guitar) Norman Blake (guitar) Jackie Phelps (guitar) Jimmy Selph (guitar) Joe Stuart (banjo/fiddle/guitar) Hubert Davis (banjo) Joe Drumright (banjo) Tony Ellis (banjo) Lamar Grier (banjo) Lonnie Hoppers (banjo) Vic Jordan (banjo) Bill Keith (banjo) Don Lineberger (banjo) Curtis McPeake (banjo) Robert Lee Pennington (banjo) Don Stover (banjo) Rual Yarbrough (banjo) Sonny Osborne (banjo) Gordon Terry (fiddle/vocals) Vassar Clements (fiddle) Red Hayes (fiddle) Tommy Jackson (fiddle) Connie Ellisor (fiddle) Carl Gorodetzky (fiddle) Bobby Hicks (fiddle) Byron Berline (fiddle) George Binkley III (fiddle) Richard Greene & Beryl Marriott (fiddle) Dennis Molchan (fiddle) Hal Smith (fiddle) Dale Potter (fiddle) Red Stanley (fiddle) Merle "Red" Taylor (fiddle) Horace "Benny" Williams (fiddle) Tommy Williams Jr. (fiddle) Roy Christensen (cello) Joel Price (bass/vocals) Ernie Newton (bass/vocals) Mark Hembree (bass) Howard Watts (bass) Farris Coursey (drums) Joe Zinkan (bass)
Producer: Owen Bradley, Paul Cohen, Harry Silverstein and Walter Haynes, Photographer: Les Leverett, Designer: Mike Fink, Liner Notes: Mary Katherine Aldin, Engineer: Gavin Lurssen
[Notes]
So much has been said about the founding father of bluegrass music that it would be nice if there was an all-encompassing collection of Bill Monroe's music to accompany the legend. Although the almost-correctly titled Anthology comes close, there is still a wealth of Columbia and RCA-Victor recordings missing from this Decca-centric collection, which runs chronologically from 1950 to 1969 (with one final track from 1981). Unfortunately, this means that the classic lineup of Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, with fiddler Chubby Wise and bassist Howard Watts, is not represented. Still, bluegrass luminaries Vassar Clements, Jimmy Martin, Kenny Baker, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, and many others, all drifted in and out of the Blue Grass Boys during their twenty-some years, and make appearances on classic tracks like "Sally Goodin," "Uncle Pen," "Blue Moon of Kentucky," and "New Mule Skinner Blues." All told, this may be the perfect collection of Monroe's work for Decca, but it falls only slightly short of being the Bill Monroe Anthology.-- AllMusic Review by Zac Johnson

Lilly Brothers: Bluegrass Breakdown

Prestige Folklore FL-14010

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1964
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Bluegrass Breakdown (3:00)
A2 I Wonder How The Old Folks Are At Home (3:20)
A3 Why Did You Wonder? (3:10)
A4 Miller's Cave (2:46)
A5 Wildwood Flower (3:40)
A6 Katy Hill (1:57)
A7 Have A Feast Here Tonight (2:18)
B1 Rollin' On (2:19)
B2 Beneath The Old Southern Sky (2:50)
B3 Storms On The Ocean (2:26)
B4 Foggy Mountain Breakdown (3:06)
B5 That Star Belongs To Me (3:24)
B6 Billy In The Low Ground (3:22)
B7 We Shall Meet Some Day (2:46)
[Credits]
Bea Lilly (guitar/vocals) Everett Lilly (mandolin/vocals) Don Stover (banjo) Herb Hoover (fiddle) Fritz Richmond (bass)
[Notes]
This classic bluegrass "brother" duet is particularly known for popularizing bluegrass music in the New England area, as the group held forth regularly at Boston's Hillbilly Ranch, among other sympathetic venues. It was the '60s, the height of the folk boom, and the Lilly Brothers were soon tapped to do some recording for the ever-expanding Prestige label. That the New England-based Rounder Records would jump on reissuing this material is only appropriate; that the parent company would get around to also re-releasing it a few decades later just adds to the multiple confusion that is known collectively as the Lilly Brothers' discography. Listeners slanted toward a more rural perspective may immediately imagine that this bluegrass is a bit more polished around the edges than many Southern groups, and they would be right. The vocal delivery of brothers Everett and Bea also sounds downright cosmopolitan in comparison with some bluegrass outfits. Some of the slickness comes from the way the original recordings were made. Prestige had a certain sort of sound established for its jazz artists and tended to try to create a similar ambience when establishing its Folklore series. The instruments are thus cleanly and deeply recorded. There is a lot of good picking, especially from banjo maestro Don Stover, who worked regularly with the Lilly boys. These sessions consisted of quintet, trio, and duo tracks, and the latter reveal just how strongly the brothers feel the rhythm of this music together. The instrumental tracks allow Stover, Everett Lilly on mandolin, and fiddler Herb Hooven to stretch out impressively. Another interesting aspect of these sessions are the more modern tunes from the pure country camp, but pushed back into a bluegrass and old-time style. Very effective. (AllMusic Review by Eugene Chadbourne)

The Lilly Bros & Don Stover: Bluegrass at the Roots 1961

Smithsonian Folkways SFW CD 40158

Format: CD, Album, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 2005
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
01 In My Dear Old Southern Home (2:13)
02 Midnight On The Stormy Sea (3:35)
03 Forgotten Soldier Boy (3:13)
04 Down On The Banks Of The Ohio (4:18)
05 Where Is My Sailor Boy? (3:07)
06 Sinner, You Better Get Ready (2:58)
07 What Would You Give In Exchange? (3:25)
08 Oh, Hide You In The Blood (3:01)
09 Little Annie (2:59)
10 'Neath That Cold Grey Tomb Of Stone (3:03)
11 Barbara Allen (7:08)
12 The Fox And Hounds (2:26)
13 John Hardy (3:28)
14 Old Joe Clark (1:53)
15 Salt River (1:31)
16 Cornbread And 'Lasses And Sassafras Tea (2:10)
17 The Waves On The Sea (2:43)
18 Saints Go Marching In (2:47)
[Credits]
Bea Lilly (guitar/vocals) Everett Lilly (mandolin/vocals) Don Stover (banjo/vocals) Herb Hooven (fiddle/bass) Mike Seeger (bass)
Producers: Mary Monseur, D. A. Sonneborn and Daniel Sheehy, Producer and Recorder: Mike Seeger, Liner Notes: Pete Kuykendall, Carla Borden and Dick Spottswood, Designer: Sonya Cohen Cramer, Photographer: John Cohen, Enginner: Pete Reiniger
[Notes]
Brothers Everett and "B" Lilly of West Virginia partnered with banjo great Don Stover to lay down this honest, first-class rendition of bluegrass roots. The Lillys' harmony vocals and Stover's classic banjo style made this a milestone recording when it was first released by Folkways in 1961. Remastered with 2 previously unreleased tracks from producer Mike Seeger's original recordings. 24-page booklet with photos. 56 minutes. Tracks 12 & 15 previously unreleased.

Good Deal! Doc Watson In Nashville

Vanguard VSD-79276

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country, Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Alabama Jubilee (2:08)
A2 Streamline Cannonball (2:24)
A3 Peach Picking Time In Georgia (2:55)
A4 June Apple (2:08)
A5 I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes (3:24)
A6 Memphis Blues (2:40)
A7 The Train That Carried My Girl From Town (3:45)
B1 Old Camp Meeting Time (2:45)
B2 Bye Bye Blues (2:40)
B3 Shady Grove (2:55)
B4 Blackberry Rag (2:36)
B5 The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band (3:20)
B6 Rainbow (2:30)
B7 Step It Up And Go (1:54)
[Credits]
Doc Watson (guitar/banjo/vocals) Merle Watson (guitar) Floyd Cramer (piano) Shot Jackson (dobro) Grady Martin (guitar/dobro) Buddy Spicher and Tommy Jackson (fiddles) Buddy Harman (drums) Junior Huskey (bass) Don Stover (banjo)
Producer: Jack Lothrop, Art Directer: Jules Halfant, Photographer: Joel Brodsky
[Notes]
After a successful career as a folk singer in the early and mid-60s, Doc Watson, like other folk artists including Joan Baez, recorded more country-orientated material as the folk boom dissipated. This 1968 album for Vanguard features a strong line-up of Nashville's finest session players including Buddy Spicher and Floyd Cramer.

Mountain Music Bluegrass Style

Folkways Records ‎FA-2318

Format: Vinyl, LP, Mono, Compilation
Country: United States
Released: 1959
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 Katy Hill: Tex Logan (1:46)
A2 Short Life Of Trouble: Earl Taylor And The Stoney Mountain Boys (2:43)
A3 Katy Cline: Don Stover, Mitchell B. Lilly & Don Chubby Anthony (2:38)
A4 The Philadelphia Lawyer: Bob Baker & The Pike County Boys (3:23)
A5 Natchez Under The Hill: Tex Logan (2:20)
A6 Ain't Nobody Gonna Miss Me When I'm Gone: Don Stover, Mitchell B. Lilly & Don Chubby Anthony (2:16)
A7 Old Joe Clark: Bob Yellin, Mike Seeger & Eric Weissberg (2:04)
A8 Little Willie: Bob Baker And The Pike County Boys (3:03)
A9 White House Blues: Earl Taylor & The Stoney Mountain Boys (1:57)
B1 Nine Pound Hammer: Smiley Hobbs (2:25)
B2 Cricket On The Hearth: Don Chubby Anthony & Don Stover (2:15)
B3 All The Good Times Have Past And Gone: Earl Taylor & The Stoney Mountain Boys (2:55)
B4 New River Train: Don Chubby Anthony, Mike Seeger & Bob Yellin (2:58)
B5 Leather Britches: Smiley Hobbs (1:20)
B6 Fox Chase: Earl Taylor & The Stoney Mountain Boys (1:58)
B7 Feast Here Tonight: Bob Baker & The Pike County Boys (2:37)
B8 Bile 'Em Cabbage Down: Don Stover, Mitchell B. Lilly & Don Chubby Anthony (2:11)
B9 Rocky Run: Jerry Stuart, Pete Kuykendall, Smiley Hobbs & Tom Gray (2:45)
B10 Snow Dove: Bob Baker & The Pike County Boys (3:19)
[Credits]
Recorded, Edited, Liner Notes and Annotated by Mike Seeger
[Nots]
Unforgettable performances by Don Stover, Earl Taylor, Chubby Anthony, Tex Logan and many others. Traditional bluegrass played by some of the genre's most talented and committed musicians. For over 30 years, Mountain Music Bluegrass Style remains a superb anthology. "Listeners who value spirit over polish...will find many of these selections to be as exciting and powerful as they were over 30 years ago." — Bluegrass Unlimited