Sometimes called "The Big Bang of Country Music", the two field recording sessions that the Victor company conducted in the summer of 1927 and the fall of 1928 are particularly significant in that they included the first recordings by The Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, who were destined to become hugely successful and influential artists in the history of country music as we know it.. Curiously, there were only two songs cut then by Rodgers (SLEEP BABY SLEEP and THE SOLDIER'S SWEETHEART), who had to wait until his next record (BLUE YODEL) to start making a really big splash across the nation. And the Carter Family's relatively modest contribution to this story is just a 6-song sampling that included some of Sara Carter's most impressive vocals including the powerful SINGLE GIRL and WANDERING BOY. But any old time music fan will quickly realize the depth and quality of the music that was recorded in these historic sessions --it is a huge tribute to the good taste & judgment of Ralph Peer, the Victor producer who organized these sessions which accounted for more than 125 songs and tunes, most of them of very high musical quality. Though many long time collectors and fans will already be familiar with most of the artists on this set, it is instructive to look at them from a new angle, and this amazingly beautiful production gives us a chance to do just that. Apart from the music, the feature here is a fantastic 108-page hardbound book that contains dozens of great photos, a thorough discography, pictures of record labels and words to all the songs ( did you ever try to copy down the words to BILLY GRIMES THE ROVER or BIG BEND GAL?). Just think of the richness of rural music at the time, when Ralph Peer could put a tiny notice in the local Bristol Virginia/Tennessee newspaper and end up a few days later with some of the all time classic recordings of such artists as Alfred Karnes, J.P. Nester, B.F. Shelton, Ernest Stoneman, Ernest Phipps' Holiness Singers, The Shelor Family, The Bull Mountain Moonshiners, Shortbuckle Roark and Blind Alfred Reed!! There is a lot of music we could zero in on, but here are some of the greatest cuts ever: Alfred Karnes' THE DAYS OF MY CHILDHOOD PLAYS and WE SHALL ALL BE REUNITED has to be one of the greatest pairings ever, and the same can be said of B.F. Shelton's DARLING CORA and PRETTY POLLY, J.P. Nester & Norman Edmonds fiddle/banjo duet of TRAIN ON THE ISLAND with BLACK EYED SUSIE, and both of the Shelor Family's classic pairings. And don't fail to catch the amazing gospel songs by Ernest Phipps, like SHINE ON ME and JUST A LITTLE TALK WITH JESUS. A word of praise and thanks to Ted Olson, Tony Russell and Bear Family's Richard Weize for an absolutely stunning job! 5-CD set & Book
Disc: 1:
The Dying Girl's Farewell
Tell Mother I Will Meet Her
The Mountaineer's Courtship
Midnight On The Stormy Deep
Sweeping Through The Gates
I Know My Name Is
Are You Washed In The Blood?
No More Good-Byes
The Resurrection (take 1)
The Resurrection (take 2)
I Am Resolved (take 1
I Am Resolved (take 2) 13
I Want To Go Where Jesus Is
Do, Lord, Remember Me
Old Ship Of Zion
Jesus Getting Us Ready For That Great Day
Happy In Prison
Don't Grieve After Me
What Will I Do, For My Money's All Gone
The Whip-poor-will's Song
Skip To Ma Lou, My Darling
Barney McCoy
Old Time Corn Shuckin', Part 1
Old Time Corn Shuckin', Part 2
Disc: 2
The Jealous Sweetheart (take 1)
The Jealous Sweetheart (take 2)
A Passing Policeman
Just A Message From Carolina
The Wreck Of The Virginian (take 1)
The Wreck Of The Virginian (take 2)
I Mean To Live For Jesus
You Must Unload
Walking In The Way With Jesus (take 1)
Walking In The Way With Jesus (take 2)
Two Brothers Are We
The Soldier's Poor Little
I Want To See My Mother (Ten Thousand Miles Away)
Pot Licker Blues
Narrow Gauge Blues
Cold Penitentiary Blues
Oh Molly Dear
Pretty Polly
Darling Cora
Called To The Foreign Field
I Am Bound For The Promised Land
Where We'll Never Grow Old
When They Ring The Golden Bells
To The Work
Train On The Island
Black-Eyed Susie
Johnny Goodwin
Disc: 3
Bury Me Under The Weeping Willow
Little Log Cabin By The Sea
The Poor Orphan Child
The Storms Are On The Ocean
Single Girl, Married Girl
The Wandering Boy
Remember Me, O Mighty One
I'm Redeemed
Henry Whitter's Fox Chase
Rain Crow Bill
Big Bend Gal
Suzanna Gal
Sandy River Belle (take 1)
Sandy River Belle (take 2)
Billy Grimes, The Rover
The Newmarket Wreck
On The Banks Of The Sunny Tennessee
The Soldier's Sweetheart
Sleep Baby Sleep
The Longest Train I Ever Saw
Sweet Heaven When I Die
Miss 'Liza, Poor Gal
Greasy String
Your Blue Eyes Run Me Crazy
Standing On The Promises
At The River
Disc: 4
My Name Is Ticklish Reuben
Way Down In Alabama
Do Not Wait 'Till I'm Laid 'Neath The Clay
The Days Of My Childhood Plays
We Shall All Be Reunited
If The Light Has Gone Out In Your Soul
Went Up In The Clouds Of Heaven
I Know That Jesus Set Me Free
Shine On Me
Bright Tomorrow
A Little Talk With Jesus
I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart
Three Black Sheep
