Reviewed by Dave Brassington

The recordings that the late Carter Stanley made with his brother Ralph for Mercury remain some of their very best and have been eagerly sought after by lovers of bluegrass music. Now, thanks to Bear Family, we get all their Mercury tracks (including some unissued gems) plus a couple of sides from Blue Ridge recordings. 49 tracks in all on two superb CDs and truly not a duff track amongst them! Quartets, trios, with about a quarter of the songs sacred, plus several fast paced instrumentals, including the truly outstanding "Hard Times", arguably the best bluegrass instrumental ever with Ralph on superb form with his banjo work. Bill Monroe's "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" is given an unusual treatment for a prominent bluegrass group, as it was more based on Presley's 1954 Sun recording, with strong lead acoustic guitar. "Angel Band" is perhaps the pick of the gospel tracks. The only surprise being it took until 1961 for this fine track to be issued on an LP. The equally outstanding "The Cry From The Cross" runs it a close second. To sum up, this is a wonderful release, something which belongs in the collection of anybody who enjoys top rate country bluegrass music. Very highly recommended.

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.

Interested in reviewing music? Find out more here.