Classic Bluegrass from Smithsonian Folkways

by N/A

Overview

While bluegrass samplers are by no means rare, it's unusual to encounter one as well thought-out as this generous (and mid-priced) package from Smithsonian Folkways, the folk label known more for its ethnomusicological field recordings than its bluegrass albums. Cynics will point out that this collection comes hot on the heels of the success of the film O Brother, Where Art Thou? and its soundtrack, but they miss the point: if bluegrass becomes trendy for a while and the result is fine albums like this one that wouldn't otherwise have an audience, then everyone benefits. The artists on Classic Bluegrass From Smithsonian Folkways range from the obvious (Bill Monroe, the Country Gentlemen, Doc Watson, the Stanley Brothers) through the influential but obscure (Red Allen, the Lilly Brothers) to the just plain obscure (Smiley Hobbs, Hugh Moore, banjo innovator Roger Sprung), and the result is a thorough overview that offers as much musical satisfaction as scholarly edification. Many of the songs selected were recorded live, and those are among the best performances: the Johnson Mountain Boys deliver a bit of pitch-perfect high-lonesome heartbreak on "Our Last Goodbye," while the Friendly City Playboys kick things into high gear with the hard-edged "Teardrops in My Eyes." Hazel Dickens and Alice Gerrard illustrate an important thematic stream in bluegrass songwriting with their rendition of the horrifying "Tiny Broken Heart," and the Stanley Brothers reveal some of the roots of bluegrass with their performance of "Little Birdie" (on which Ralph Stanley plays banjo in the older "clawhammer" style). Highly recommended, especially to anyone looking for an introduction to the genre. ~ Rick Anderson

Product Details

Release Date:	04/23/2002
Label:	Smithsonian Folkways Recordings
UPC:	0093074009222
Rank:	27215

Tracks

1. White House Blues  - Wilbur Jones  - Earl Taylor
2. Our Last Goodbye  -  Johnson Mountain Boys  - Carter Stanley
3. When He Reached Down His Hand for Me  -  Monroe
4. Tiny Broken Heart  - Hazel Dickens  - Alice Gerrard  - Eddie Hill  - Charlie Louvin
5. New Camptown Races  - Red Allen  - Frank Wakefield  -  Kentuckians
6. Suzanne  - Harley Allen  - Harley Jr. Allen  - Mike Lilly
7. I Heard My Mother Call My Name in Prayer  -  Nashville Grass  - Red Smiley
8. Teardrops in My Eyes  - Red Allen  -  Friendly City Playboys  - Tommy Sutton
9. Cumberland Gap  - Snuffy Jenkins  -  Traditional
10. Live and Let Live  - Gene Sullivan  - Wiley Walker  - Red Allen  -  Kentuckians
11. The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise  - Eugene Lockhart  - Ernest Seitz  - Roger Sprung  - Doc Watson
12. Hello City Limits  - Benny Martin  - Hugh Moore
13. (Legend of The) Brown Mountain Light  -  Country Gentlemen
14. Lonesome Road Blues  - Roni Stoneman
15. The Train That Carried My Girl from Town  - Doc Watson
16. The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake  - Bill Monroe  -  New Lost City Ramblers  - A. Rae Price
17. Little Birdie  -  Stanley Brothers  -  Traditional
18. Rabbit in a Log  -  Stanley Brothers  - Carter Stanley  -  Traditional
19. Grey Eagle  -  David & Billie Ray Johnson
20. Wayfaring Stranger  - Cullen Gaylean  -  Virginia Mountain Boys
21. Billy in the Lowground  -  Lonesome Strangers
22. The Rebel Girl  - Joe Hill  - Hazel Dickens
23. Train  - Smiley Hobbs
24. 'Neath a Cold Gray Tomb of Stone  - Mel Foree  -  Lilly Brothers  - Don Stover  - Hank Williams
25. Get Up John  - Bill Monroe  -  Monroe

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Kentuckians   Primary Artist
Mike Lilly   Primary Artist,Vocals,Banjo
The Virginia Mountain Boys   Primary Artist
Harley Allen Jr.   Primary Artist
Cullen Gaylean   Primary Artist
Hazel Dickens   Primary Artist,Bass,Guitar,Vocals
Red Allen   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
David & Billie Ray Johnson   Primary Artist
Roger Sprung   Primary Artist,Banjo
The New Lost City Ramblers   Primary Artist
The Country Gentlemen   Primary Artist
The Stanley Brothers   Primary Artist
Lonesome Strangers   Primary Artist
The Lilly Brothers   Primary Artist
Earl Taylor   Primary Artist
Frank Wakefield   Primary Artist,Mandolin
Nashville Grass   Primary Artist
Harley Allen   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Mandolin
Alice Gerrard   Primary Artist
Hugh Moore   Primary Artist,Banjo,Vocals
Roni Stoneman   Primary Artist
Don Stover   Primary Artist,Banjo
Doc Watson   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
The Johnson Mountain Boys   Primary Artist
The Friendly City Playboys   Primary Artist
Smiley Hobbs   Primary Artist,Banjo
Snuffy Jenkins   Primary Artist,Banjo
Bill Monroe & His Bluegrass Boys   Primary Artist
Bob Yellin   Banjo
Charlie Waller   Guitar,Vocals
Larry Nager   Bass
Curly Seckler   Guitar,Vocals
Benny Martin   Fiddle,Vocals
David McLaughlin   Fiddle,Vocals,Mandolin
David Grisman   Mandolin
Marshall Wilborn   Bass
Buddy Pendleton   Fiddle
Vernon Derrick   Fiddle
Ira Dimmery   Guitar
Ron Mesing   Dobro
Earl Yager   Bass
Billy Edwards   Banjo
Warren Pinnix   Vocals,Bass
Greg Allen   Banjo,Vocals
Scott Adams   Vocals,Mandolin
Bill Keith   Banjo
Bea Lilly   Guitar
Walter Hensley   Banjo,Vocals
Fred Weisz   Bass
Vernon "Boatwhistle" McIntyre   Bass
Dale Lee   Bass
Lamar Grier   Banjo
Sam Porky Hutchins   Guitar,Vocals
Everett Lilly   Vocals,Mandolin
Oliver Phillips   Bass
Billie Ray Johnson   Guitar
Willis Spears   Guitar,Vocals
Dudley Connell   Guitar,Vocals
Carter Stanley   Guitar,Vocals
John Duffey   Vocals,Mandolin
John Herald   Guitar
John Warren   Fiddle,Vocals
Gene Wooten   Dobro
Eugene Cox   Guitar
John Cohen   Guitar
Mac Wiseman   Guitar,Vocals
Curley Lambert   Mandolin
Peter Rowan   Guitar
Pete Kuykendall   Mandolin
Eddie Stubbs   Fiddle,Vocals
Dane Bowers   Fiddle,Mandolin
Tom Adams   Banjo,Vocals
Billy Baker   Fiddle
Kenny Ingram   Banjo,Vocals
David Johnson   Fiddle,Guitar (Steel)
Eddie Adcock   Banjo
Bob Thomas   Drums
Herb Hooven   Bass,Fiddle
Don Reno   Banjo,Vocals
Ralph Stanley   Banjo,Vocals
Mike Seeger   Bass,Vocals,Mandolin
Tom Morgan   Guitar
Tracy Schwarz   Fiddle,Vocals
Bobby Harrison   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

Wiley Walker   Composer
The Johnson Mountain Boys   Performer
D.A. Sonneborn   Production Supervisor
Benny Martin   Composer
Eugene Lockhart   Composer
Charlie Louvin   Composer
Jeff Place   Producer,Liner Notes
Red Smiley   Composer
Tommy Sutton   Composer
Lee Michael Demsey   Producer,Liner Notes
Bill Monroe   Composer
Mary Monseur   Production Coordination
A. Rae Price, Ph.D.   Composer
Joe Hill   Composer
Doc Watson   Composer
Carter Stanley   Composer
Gene Sullivan   Composer
Ernest Seitz   Composer
Wilbur Jones   Composer
John Cohen   Cover Photo,Photography
Roni Stoneman   Performer
Pete Reiniger   Compilation Mastering
The New Lost City Ramblers   Performer
Red Allen   Composer
Eddie Hill   Composer
The Stanley Brothers   Performer
Lonesome Strangers   Performer
The Lilly Brothers   Performer
The Country Gentlemen   Performer
Carla Borden   Editing
Frank Wakefield   Composer
Mel Foree   Composer
Nashville Grass   Performer
Hank Williams   Composer
Dan Sheehy   Production Supervisor
Alice Gerrard   Performer
Traditional   Composer