A new reissue of the Stanley Brothers' earliest recordings
A new reissue of the Stanley Brothers' earliest recordings
by Jim Ridley
Stanley Cup
Its previous releases have explored avant-garde jazz, spontaneous guitar/dance improvisation, and the trance-inducing drone of dozens of hurdy-gurdies. On its newest release, the Nashville “raw musics” label Revenant, founded by folk guitarist John Fahey and local attorney Dean Blackwood, turns to the early 78s recorded by The Stanley Brothers before their landmark sessions for Mercury in the mid-1950s. A collector’s dream, Earliest Recordings: The Complete Rich-R-Tone 78s (1947-1952) gathers 14 sides cut by Carter and Ralph Stanley at the very outset of their recording career.
The earliest tracks date back to the year the Stanleys drove down to Johnson City in a 1946 Packard, hoping to convince Rich-R-Tone’s owner, Jim Stanton, to give them a record deal. The recordings on the CD aren’t nearly as polished as their later work for Mercury, but they bristle with energy and virtuosity, and the celestial harmonies on gospel numbers like “I Can Tell You the Time” and “Death Is Only a Dream” are piercingly sweet. And Earliest Recordings marks the first time these 78s have been gathered in their original form: An LP release of the same material in the 1960s added echo, reverb, and even an overdubbed bass fiddle.
Upcoming Revenant CDs include compilations of bluesman Dock Boggs, the ethno-music troupe Sun City Girls, and slide guitarist Rev. Lonnie Farris. In the meantime, look for Earliest Recordings at Ernest Tubb, Lawrence Bros., and other stores where fine country music is sold.
Eric Babcock, one of the guiding forces behind the pioneering Chicago alt-country label Bloodshot Records, has left the company to run his own label. He describes his new home, Checkered Past Records, as a “fairly Nashville-centric” label geared toward “the history of country or what’s happening now.” Babcock was instrumental in developing Bloodshot’s Nashville compilation, The Other Side of the Alley, and his first releases on Checkered Past will include records by two of that compilation’s standout artists.
In August, Checkered Past will issue the long-awaited new album by poet Tom House, recorded locally with producer Scott Chase from the band Lambchop. “Tom House has been a favorite of mine ever since the Nashville compilation,” says Babcock. House will launch the record with a preview party July 25 at Douglas Corner. In September, Babcock will release a solo album by Lonesome Bob, whose appearances around town at the Sutler and other clubs have built a steady buzz.
Just as exciting are the nifty reissues Checkered Past has in the works—but we can’t talk about those. Nevertheless, if you want to drop Babcock a line, try e-mailing him at eric@checkeredpast.com.
Paul Burch has just finished his second album for the French label Dixiefrog, which released his superb LP Pan-American Flash earlier this year. The new record, entitled Wire to Wire, is a concept album that encompasses a broad range of country music, from honky-tonk and Western swing to what its creator terms “R&B psychedelic country.”
“I’ve been trying for several years to make a record that had all the different kinds of music I like,” says Burch, who produced the record with Hank Tilbury, steel player Paul Niehaus, and guitarist George Bradfute. Not only does Burch have on hand his redoubtable WPA Ballclub—Niehaus, Bradfute, vocalist Deanna Varragonna, upright bassist Dennis Crouch, and drummer Ken E. Loggains—he’s joined by Ranger Doug from Riders in the Sky and Raymond McLain, banjoist and fiddler with Jim and Jesse’s Virginia Boys. “It was fun to make, relatively painless, and everybody involved seems to be pleased with it,” Burch says. Watch for the record this fall.
Elliptical dispatches: Public Enemy lead singer (and new Fox News commentator) Chuck D and “hip-hop activist/media assassin” Harry Allen will appear 7 p.m. Thursday, July 10 in Fisk University’s Appleton Room, in conjunction with a Race Relations Institute panel discussion. Also appearing will be authors Neely Fuller Jr. and Dr. Frances Cress Welsing. For more information, call Jackie Jones at 936-0486....
To go or not to go? That is the question when Fleming & John, Victor Mecyssne, Farmer Not-So-John, and Marcus Hummon play a benefit for David Alford’s Mockingbird Public Theatre Friday, July 18 at Caffé Milano. Proceeds from the performance will benefit Alford’s upcoming staging of Hamlet, which the director only half-jokingly describes as “rock ’n’ roll Shakespeare.” Tickets are $20, and anyone who’s seen the Mockingbird’s outstanding work knows the money will be put to good use....
The Tennessee Jazz & Blues Society’s 1997 concert series continues Sunday evening at 6 p.m. with the Roadrunners at Belle Meade Plantation, followed July 13 by The Group Tachior at the Hermitage. Upcoming acts include April Barrows (July 20, Belle Meade), the great Nashville R&B vocalist Roscoe Shelton (July 27, Hermitage), and Sandra Dudley & the Bruce Dudley Quartet (Aug. 10, Belle Meade). Tickets are $8 at the gate, and kids 12 and under get in free....
Good news for swing lovers: The Tennessee Jazz Orchestra, the acclaimed 20-piece big band that scored last Christmas with a performance of Duke Ellington’s Nutcracker Suite, is now playing every Monday night at the Sutler. Tickets are a measly $5, and the joint starts jumpin’ at 9 p.m....
Comments (0)