Reviewed by Dave Brassington

Many bluegrass fans will tell you that the Stanley Brothers are one of the high water marks of the bluegrass genre and these tracks are all pulled from their many fine releases on Columbia, Mercury and Starday from the 1950s. Such classics as "Little Glass Of Wine", "The White Dove" and "Man Of Constant Sorrow" represent bluegrass country music of the highest standard. It is interesting to note that when some of these early recordings were released, bluegrass was accepted as part of the normal country music scene and it is quite ironic that "Man Of Constant Sorrow" when it was re-recorded as part of the classic 'O Brother, Where Art Thou movie sound track from early in the last decade has helped pull bluegrass back into the centrality of country music from where sadly it had been exiled for many years. There are many gospel classics here such as "Angel Band", "The Cry From The Cross", "The Angel Of Death" and my personal favourite, the classic "Rank Stranger". All in all, classic recordings.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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