Emry Arthur was a well-traveled Kentuckian who recorded extensively in the 1920s and 30s, for several labels --he was the first to record Dick Burnett's classic song I AM A MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW (later cut by the Stanley Brothers and now brought to unimagined popularity by the O BROTHER film/soundtrack phenomenon). Arthur was not the greatest old-time singer, with a rather ordinary voice and plodding style, and many of the songs he chose to record were pretty stilted and innocuous. He did record some better stuff later for Paramount and Decca, and A "Best Of" would have been a lot more effective than this all-inclusive 24-track collection of all his Vocalion label recordings. There are some interesting songs and performances here nonetheless. WANDERING BOY, TRAIN WHISTLE BLUES, LOVE LIFTED ME, EMPTY POCKET BLUES, MARY DON'T GO, WANDERING GYPSY GIRL, etc.
