Richard Weize Archives have recently released this classic collection of gems from Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys. This is a significant 5-CD Boxset and is available for download or hard copy through Rock Star Records.
For devotees of Bill Monroe’s music, the CD box sets issued by Bear Family were the answer to a listener’s dream. Imagine having the originator of bluegrass music’s complete recordings and all with an informative 68 page book including a revised discography by Neil Rosenberg, and notes by Dick Spottswood (edited by Rosenberg) with recollections by Monroe fiddler Charlie Smith.
This 5 CD Boxset contains all the familiar Monroe recordings for Decca in 1950-51, featuring lead singers Jimmy Martin, Carter Stanley, and Edd Mayfield, presented next to unbelievably all the outtakes (none previously issued) of all the tracks. Among other things, this means multiple takes of Raw Hide. For musicians and careful listeners who have studied that spectacular recording for years, it’s as though a new set of Stone Tablets has been found. It also means the “tape blip” we’ve always tolerated in The First Whippoorwill is now corrected, as the previously issued take was from a faulty tape dub whereas the “new” 1951 version is from the original master.
An Excerpt from the Book by Dick Spottswood, Charlie Smith and Neil Rosenberg:
…Bear Family has assembled Monroe’s complete pre-1950 studio recordings into a 5-CD set (BCD 16399), that combines the 1936-38 Monroe Brothers and 1940-41 Blue Grass Boys RCA dates with Columbia’s 1945- 49 sessions, including outtakes, mistakes, false starts and studio chatter that survive on the original master discs. In the 1940s and early 1950s, master records of live performances were cut at 33-1/3 rpm on sixteen-inch discs called lacquers. The process, invented in the early 1930s for the early talkies, had migrated to radio and records during the decade. By 1939 Columbia Records had followed suit over the next few years. As the veteran Nashville producer Buddy Killen remembered, “You’d get started and if somebody screwed up, you’d have to stop and they’d have to move the needle over and put it back down and start all over again.” These rejected takes and false starts were preserved on the master discs at Decca just as they were at Columbia.
Track List:
CD 1
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CD 2 1. The Old Fiddler (take 1, breakdown) 2. The Old Fiddler (take 2, breakdown) 3. The Old Fiddler (take 3, breakdown) 4. The Old Fiddler (take 4) 5. The Old Fiddler (take 5, false start) 6. The Old Fiddler (take 6) 7. The Old Fiddler (take 7) 8. The Old Fiddler (take 8) OP 1950 9. Uncle Pen (false start) 10. Uncle Pen (take 2) OP 1951 11. When The Golden Leaves Begin To Fall (take 1) 12. When The Golden Leaves Begin To Fall (take 2) 13. When The Golden Leaves Begin To Fall (take 3, breakdown) 14. When The Golden Leaves Begin To Fall (take 4) OP 1951 15. Lord Protect My Soul (take 1, false start) 16. Lord Protect My Soul (take 2) 17. Lord Protect My Soul (take 3, false start) 18. Lord Protect My Soul (take 4) 19. Lord Protect My Soul (take 5) 20. Lord Protect My Soul (take 6) OP 1951 21. River Of Death (take 1/2, breakdown) 22. River Of Death (take 3, false start) 23. River Of Death (take 4, breakdown) 24. River Of Death (take 5) OP 1951 25. Letter From My Darlin’ (take 1) OP 1952 26. On The Old Kentucky Shore (take 1) 27. On The Old Kentucky Shore (take 2/3, breakdown) 28. On The Old Kentucky Shore (take 4) 29. On The Old Kentucky Shore (take 5) OP 1951 30. Raw Hide (instrumental) (take 1, breakdown) 31. Raw Hide (instrumental) (take 2) 32. Raw Hide (instrumental) (take 3, false start) 33. Raw Hide (instrumental) (take 4) 34. Raw Hide (instrumental) (take 5) 35. Raw Hide (instrumental) (take 6) OP 1952 |
CD 3 1. Poison Love (take 1, breakdown) 2. Poison Love (take 2, breakdown) 3. Poison Love (take 3, breakdown) 4. Poison Love (take 4, breakdown) 5. Poison Love (take 5, breakdown) 6. Poison Love (take 6, breakdown) 7. Poison Love (take 7, false start) 8. Poison Love (take 8) 9. Poison Love (take 9, breakdown) 10. Poison Love (take 10, breakdown) 11. Poison Love (take 11 false start, 2 breakdowns) 12. Poison Love (take 12 false start, breakdown) 13. Poison Love (take 13, false start) OP 1951 14. Kentucky Waltz (take 1) 15. Kentucky Waltz (take 2) 16. Kentucky Waltz (take 3) OP 1951 17. Prisoner’s Song (take 1, false start) 18. Prisoner’s Song (take 2) OP 1951 19. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (take 1) 20. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (take 2) 21. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (take 3, breakdown) 22. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot (take 4) OP 1951 23. Angels Rock Me To Sleep (take 1) 24. Angels Rock Me To Sleep (take 2, false start) 25. Angels Rock Me To Sleep (take 3, false start) 26. Angels Rock Me To Sleep (take 4) 27. Angels Rock Me To Sleep (take 5, breakdown) 28. Angels Rock Me To Sleep (take 6) OP 1951 29. Brakeman’s Blues (take 1, breakdown) 30. Brakeman’s Blues (take 2, false start) 31. Brakeman’s Blues (take 3) OP 1951 32. Travelin’ Blues (take 1) 33. Travelin’ Blues (take 2 false start, breakdown) 34. Travelin’ Blues (take 3) 35. Travelin’ Blues (take 4, breakdown) 36. Travelin’ Blues (take 5) OP 1951 |
CD 4 1. When The Cactus Is In Bloom (take 1, breakdown) 2. When The Cactus Is In Bloom (take 2) 3. Sailor’s Plea (take 1) 4. Sailor’s Plea (take 2) 5. Sailor’s Plea (take 3, breakdown) 6. Sailor’s Plea (take 4) OP 1952 7. Sailor’s Plea (take 5, breakdown) 8. Sailor’s Plea (take 6) 9. My Carolina Sunshine Girl (take 1, breakdown) 10. My Carolina Sunshine Girl (take 2, breakdown) 11. My Carolina Sunshine Girl (take 3) 12. My Carolina Sunshine Girl (take 4, breakdown) 13. My Carolina Sunshine Girl (take 5) OP 1989 14. Ben Dewberry’s Final Run (take 1) 15. Ben Dewberry’s Final Run (take 2, breakdown) 16. Ben Dewberry’s Final Run (take 3) OP 1989 17. Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia (take 1, 2 false starts) 18. Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia (take 2, false start, breakdown) 19. Peach Pickin’ Time In Georgia (take 3,false start) OP 1964 20. Those Gambler’s Blues (take 1, breakdown) 21. Those Gambler’s Blues (take 2, false start, breakdown) 22. Those Gambler’s Blues (take 3, false start) OP 1989 23. Highway Of Sorrow (take 1, false start, breakdown) 24. Highway Of Sorrow (take 2) 25. Highway Of Sorrow (take 3) OP 1951 26. Rotation Blues (take 1) 27. Rotation Blues (take 2) 28. Rotation Blues (take 3, breakdown) 29. Rotation Blues (take 4, breakdown) 30. Rotation Blues (take 5) 31. Rotation Blues (take 6, breakdown) 32. Rotation Blues (take 7, breakdown) 33. Rotation Blues (take 8, breakdown) 34. Rotation Blues (take 9) OP 1951 |
CD 5 1. Lonesome Truck Driver’s Blues (take 1, breakdown) 2. Lonesome Truck Driver’s Blues (take 2) 3. Lonesome Truck Driver’s Blues (take 3, breakdown) 4. Lonesome Truck Driver’s Blues (take 4) OP 1951 5. Sugar Coated Love (take 1) 6. Sugar Coated Love (take 2, breakdown) 7. Sugar Coated Love (take 3) 8. Sugar Coated Love (take 4) 9. Sugar Coated Love (take 5) OP 1951 10. Cabin Of Love (take 1) 11. Cabin Of Love (take 2) 12. Cabin Of Love (take 3) 13. Cabin Of Love (take 4) OP 1953 14. You’re Drifting Away (take 1) 15. You’re Drifting Away (take 2) 16. You’re Drifting Away (take 3) OP 1953 17. Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (take 1) 18. Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (take 2, breakdown) 19. Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (take 3) 20. Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (take E1) 21. Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (take E2) 22. Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (take E3) 23. Get Down On Your Knees And Pray (take 3, master) OP 1951 24. Christmas Time’s A-Coming (take 1, false start & breakdown) 25. Christmas Time’s A-Coming (take 2, breakdown) 26. Christmas Time’s A-Coming (take 3, breakdown) 27. Christmas Time’s A-Coming (take 4) 28. Christmas Time’s A-Coming (take 5, breakdown) 29. Christmas Time’s A-Coming (take 6) OP 1951 30. The First Whippoorwill (take 1) 31. The First Whippoorwill (take 2, false start) 32. The First Whippoorwill (take 3, breakdown) 33. The First Whippoorwill (take 4, breakdown) 34. The First Whippoorwill (take 5, breakdown) 35. The First Whippoorwill (take 6) 36. The First Whippoorwill (take 7) OP 1951 |
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