JSP Records 7731A-7731D
Format: Boxed Sets 4CDs, Various Artists, Remastered
Country: United Kingdom
Released: June 21, 2004
Genre: Folk, World, & Country
Style: Bluegrass, Early Bluegrass
[Tracklist]
Disc: A (1947-1953)
01 Orange Blossom Special: Jerry & Sky
02 The Old Grey Goose: Red Belcher & The Kentucky Ridgerunners
03 Kentucky Is Only A Dream: Red Belcher & The Kentucky Ridgerunners
04 Holston Valley Breakdown: Red Belcher & The Kentucky Ridgerunners
05 Somebody Touched Me: John Reedy & His Stone Mountain Boys
06 Jesse James: Toby Stroud & The Blue Mountain Boys
07 Tragic Romance: Toby Stroud & The Blue Mountain Boys
08 Lint Head Stomp: Phebel Wright
09 Jesse James: Whitey & Hogan
10 Radio Boogie: L.C Smith
11 Bluebonnet Lane: Colwell Brothers
12 Mother, Sweet Mother: Rebe & Rabe
13 Helen: Rebe & Rabe
14 Home Sweet Home: Hack Johnson & His Tennesseans
15 Let Me Rest (At The End Of My Journey): Shenandoah Valley Trio
16 This World Can't Stand Long: Stoney Cooper & Wilma Lee
17 Wicked Path Of Sin: Stoney Cooper & Wilma Lee
18 Hallelujah, We Shall Rise: Sauceman Brothers
19 They Sleep Together Now At Rest: Lilly Brothers
20 What Are They Doing In Heaven Today: Lilly Brothers
21 Pain In My Heart: Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
22 Lonesome, Sad And Blue: Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
23 Don't Forget Me: Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
24 Will I Meet Mother In Heaven?: Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
Disc: B (1945-1953)
01 You Broke Your Promise: Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
02 I'm Left Alone: Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
03 Nobody Cares (Not Even You): Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
04 Twenty One Years: Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
05 Lonesome Pine Breakdown: Lonesome Pine Fiddlers
06 New Campdown Races: Marvin Cobb
07 You're The One (I See In My Dreams): Frank Wakefield & Buster Turner
08 Leave Well Enough Alone: Frank Wakefield & Buster Turner
09 Long Time, No See: Frank Hunter & His Black Mountain Boys
10 Weary Hobo: Pee Wee Lambert & Curley Parker
11 Just A Memory: Pee Wee Lambert & Curley Parker
12 Going Back To Old Kentucky: Hobo Jack Adkins
13 Rattlesnake Daddy: Bailey Brothers & The Happy Valley Boys
14 I'm On My Way To The Old Home: Sonny Osborne
15 I've Never Been So Lonesome: Ted Lundy
16 Roll On Blues: Connie & Babe
17 How Will The Flowers Bloom: Connie & Babe
18 The Last Love Letter: Connie & Babe
19 The Lonely Waltz: Connie & Babe
20 Better Late Than Never: Buster Pack & His Lonesome Pine Boys
21 The Bright Crystal Sea: Cecil Surratt & His West Virginia Ramblers
22 Where Will You Spend Eternity: Cecil Surratt & His West Virginia Ramblers
23 He Saved My Soul: Hamm Brothers
24 You Have Left Me Memories: Hobo Jack Adkins
Disc: C (1938-1951)
01 Florida Blues: Jim Eanes & His Shenandoah Valley Boys
02 Blue Yodel #1: Jim Eanes & His Shenandoah Valley Boys
03 Missing In Action: Jim Eanes & His Shenandoah Valley Boys
04 Curtains Of Sorrow: Jim Eanes & His Shenandoah Valley Boys
05 Little Brown Hand: Jim Eanes & His Shenandoah Valley Boys
06 Down Among The Budded Roses: Jim Eanes & His Shenandoah Valley Boys
07 Tomorrow May Be Different: Jim Eanes & His Shenandoah Valley Boys
08 Come Back My Little Pal: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
09 Wabash Cannon Ball: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
10 Lonesome Dove: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
11 Where The Roses Never Fade: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
12 Natural Bridge Blues: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
13 The Best Of Friends Must Part Sometime: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
14 Polecat Blues: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
15 I Wonder Where You Are Tonight: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
16 Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
17 Can You Forgive: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
18 Loving You Too Well: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
19 'Neath The Bridge At The Foot Of The Hill: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
20 Little Sweetheart Come And Kiss Me: Roy Hall & His Blue Ridge Entertainers
21 Little Mohee: The Hall Brothers
22 The Wrong Road: The Hall Brothers
23 Orange Blossom Special: The Rouse Brothers
24 Let Me Be Your Salty Dog: The Morris Brothers
Disc: D (1931-1946)
01 Married Life Blues: Byron Parker & His Mountaineers
02 Up Jumped The Devil: Byron Parker & His Mountaineers
03 We Shall Rise: Byron Parker & His Mountaineers
04 C & N W Railroad: Byron Parker & His Mountaineers
05 Carroll County Blues: Byron Parker & His Mountaineers
06 Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar: Byron Parker & His Mountaineers
07 Concord Rag: J.E Mainer's Mountaineers
08 Don't Get Trouble In Your Mind: J.E Mainer's Mountaineers
09 Drunkard's Hiccoughs: J.E Mainer's Mountaineers
10 Blue Ridge Mountain Blue: J.E Mainer's Mountaineers
11 Johnson's Old Grey Mule: J.E Mainer's Mountaineers
12 Maple On The Hill: J.E Mainer's Mountaineers
13 Seven And A Half: J.E Mainer's Mountaineers
14 Short Life & It's Trouble: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
15 Wild Bill Jones: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
16 Lonely Tombs: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
17 Poor Drunkard's Dreams: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
18 I Won't Be Worried: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
19 Ramshackle Shack: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
20 Old Reuben: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
21 Don't Leave Me Alone: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
22 You May Forsake Me: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
23 Rambling Boy: Wade Mainer & The Sons Of The Mountaineers
24 I'll Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms: Buster Carter & Preston Young
[Credits]
Liner Notes: Pat Harrison
[Notes]
This four-disc box set from JSP Records collects tracks from the earliest years of bluegrass music, and in a rather curious sequencing decision, runs them backwards from the first disc, which includes the latest selections from the 1950s, to the fourth, which is made up of what are essentially high-octane string band tracks from the early '30s. Arranged this way, it neither functions effectively as a history or as an overview of early bluegrass, but that may well be secondary, since it does put about 90 hard to find 78s in one place, which no doubt will be its main attraction to bluegrass scholars and collectors. It is particularly interesting to hear the selections from Byron Parker & His Mountaineers, which all feature DeWitt "Snuffy" Jenkins on five-string banjo. Jenkins' three-finger picking style clearly prefigures the later work of banjo great Earl Scruggs, whose lightning three-finger runs have become the standard -- if not the very backbone -- of modern bluegrass. Also of interest here is the first version of "Orange Blossom Special," recorded by the Rouse Brothers in New York City in 1939. The song was actually written by the fiddler Ervin Rouse, and this simple early rendition is quite striking, particularly when you stop and ponder how many thousands of times the song has been recorded and performed since. Serious fans of bluegrass will find this box set useful and instructive, but casual listeners will no doubt find it to be about three discs too long. -- Review by Steve Leggett
