Earliest Recordings
Earliest Recordingsfeatures 14 bluegrass tracks from the legendary Stanley Brothers, all released in the late '40s and early '50s for Rich-R-Tone records. It's a great document of the rich history of bluegrass. Ralph Stanley's banjo playing is shown in a period of transition, not quite the old-time twang-and-strum, not quite the Scruggs' style of fingerpicking. Two versions of "The Little Glass of Wine" are included, along with a few gospel-inspired tunes ("Death Is Only a Dream," "Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake"). The CD transfers aren't the best--surface noise from the 78s abounds--but hey, these are hillbilly recordings, raw and rough.--Jason Verlinde