This wonderful set from Bear Family essentially covers Jimmy Martin's recording career, & does it beautifully. Though his 4 early cuts with Bobby Osborne for King are not included, nor are his more recent Starday sessions, the 5 CDs here include his entire Decca/MCA output plus his 6 fine songs for RCA with the Osborne Brothers --a total of some 146 songs & tunes spanning a 20-year period from 1954-1974. Martin had very few weak recordings over that period, and has always been known for maintaining a really tight band and getting the most from the members. The list of sidemen over the years is indeed impressive, with names like J.D. CROWE, PAUL WILLIAMS, VIC JORDAN, BILL EMERSON, DOYLE LAWSON, EARL TAYLOR, ALAN MUNDE, CHRIS WARNER, BUDDY SPICHER, VASSAR CLEMENTS and so on. Along with his best-known songs like HIT PARADE OF LOVE, TENNESSEE, SUNNY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, OCEAN OF DIAMONDS and WIDOW MAKER, there are the well-known instrumentals (BEAR TRACKS, SWEET DIXIE, ARAB BOUNCE, THEME TIME) plus some of the finest Bluegrass gospel recordings ever cut (STORMY WATERS, I LIKE TO HEAR THEM PREACH IT, WHO'LL SING FOR ME). A 42-page booklet of notes by Chris Skinker, plus discography & many photos is up to the usual Bear Family standard of excellence and adds greatly to the enjoyment of this fine & important body of work. This will be a must-have for Bluegrass lovers.
