Tribute To The Stanley Brothers by Keith Whitley And Ricky Skaggs

Jalyn Records JLP-129

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1971
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
A1 We'll Be Sweethearts In Heaven
A2 Mother No Longer Awaits Me At Home
A3 White Dove
A4 Our Last Goodby
A5 Lonesome River
A6 I Love No One But You
B1 The Angels Are Singing In Heaven Tonight
B2 It's Never Too Late
B3 Loving You Too Well
B4 Too Late To Cry
B5 Little Glass Of Wine
B6 I Long To See The Old Folks
[Credits]
Keith Whitley (guitar/fiddle/lead vocals) Ricky Skaggs (mandolin/tenor vocals) Roy Lee Centers (banjo) Curly Ray Cline (fiddle) Jack Cooke (bass)
Liner notes: Ralph Stanleyliner notes
[Notes]
The young duo – at the time Keith Whitley was 15 years old and Ricky Skaggs was aged 16 years old – cut a dozen of the Stanley Brothers' best-known songs, not long after Ralph Stanley discovered them singing in a bar in Ft. Gay, West Virginia. Stanley, hardly believing that he wasn’t listening to a jukebox is reputed to have remarked that they "sounded just like me and Carter in the early days".

Keith Whitley: Don't Close Your Eyes

RCA 6494-2-R

Format: CD, Album
Country: US
Released: 1988
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Country
[Tracklist]
01 Flying Colors (3:35)
02 It's All Coming Back To Me Now (2:45)
03 Lucky Dog (2:00)
04 Don't Close Your Eyes (4:09)
06 Some Old Side Road (3:25)
07 Would These Arms Be In Your Way (3:10)
08 I'm No Stranger To The Rain (3:33)
09 I Never Go Around Mirrors (4:24)
10 When You Say Nothing At All (3:40)
11 A Day In The Life Of A Fool (3:37)
12 Honky Tonk Heart (3:04)
[Credits]
Keith Whitley (guitar/vocals) Allen Frizzell, Curtis Young, Dennis Wilson , Emmylou Harris, Garth Fundis and Vern Gosdin (chorus) Mac McAnally, Red Lane, Billy Sanford and Brent Rowan (guitar) Dave Pomeroy and Larry Paxton (bass) Eddie Bayers and Jerry Kroon (drums) Rob Hajacos (fiddle) Mitch Humphries (keyboards) Matt Rollings (piano) Mike Lawler (synthesizer) Sonny Garrish (steel guitar) Paul Franklin (pedalboard)
[Notes]
Don't You Close Your Eyes was more successful than Keith Whitley's two previous albums and it's easy to see why. Though the record still suffered from a handful of mediocre songs and a slightly soft production, the overall album was leaner and more direct than Whitley's earlier solo work, showcasing his talent for heartfelt honky tonk singing and his skill for crafting excellent barroom ballads. "Don't Close Your Eyes," "When You Say Nothing At All," and "I'm No Stranger to the Rain" were the hits, but there's a wealth of excellent material here, including a haunting version of Lefty Frizzell's "I Never Go Around Mirrors." The sheer strength of the best numbers make the handful of weaker songs perfectly excusable. After all, country in the late '80s rarely got better than Don't You Close Your Eyes at its best. -- AllMusic Review by Thom Owens