Reviewed by Paul Poulton

Carter's guitar rings like a bell, the sound quality of these sessions are as clean as a surgical procedure. Not surprising either, the King label took the music they recorded very seriously, building purpose-built studios in Cincinnati that were sonically superior to other studios of the day. The "day" being 1961 through to 1966, which is when Carter died, cutting the duo's musical output tragically short by about 50 years: Ralph is still playing today. "Keep Them Cold Icy Fingers Off Me" is typical of the fun the brother's had when playing, they have their own angle on bluegrass music, which contains some sacred music and what Ace Records (who have released this compilation) call secular music, though to me it's all one. I've never been keen on the sacred/secular divide, the sacred/sinful divide I could understand, but if God is involved in the world he's involved in all of it not little bits of it. The musicianship is in a class of its own and inspiration for people like Ricky Skaggs, who later played with Ralph in the respected Clinch Mountain Boys. On the instrumental tune, "What A Price" the full-steam ahead rhythm and precise picking is quite dazzling. "What A Price" is sung to God with feeling and a certain sobriety. "Don't Cheat In Our Hometown" is sung to the wandering girlfriend and shows a level of grace that most of us these days could never live up to. The last of the 24 tracks is the fitting "I Feel Like Going Home" recorded the same year as Carter died.

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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