REBEL-4002 THE COUNTRY GENTLEMEN "The Early Rebel Recordings" Where does one begin in trying to sum up the career of even the early Country Gentlemen? More and more their profound influence in providing a link between the traditional and the contemporary in Bluegrass can be appreciated as time goes by. But this 110-song collection provides a lot more than just an affirmation of their influence: it provides a ton of good music, and a chance to study the early careers of Charlie Waller, John Duffey, Eddie Adcock, Tom Gray, Bill Emerson, Doyle Lawson, Jimmy Gaudreau and others. Gary Reid's excellent & extensive notes on the sessions show the curious forces (traditional and contemporary) pulling against each other in the group (mainly in regard to choice of material) that somehow still resulted in many classic performances. The set covers about 8 albums worth of material, from their first long play, BRINGING MARY HOME through their classic AWARD-WINNING COUNTRY GENTLEMEN LP in 1971. There's an almost endless list of memorable songs, like MATTERHORN, TWO LITTLE BOYS, TEACH YOUR CHILDREN, GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY, LESS OF ME, REDWOOD HILL, MANY A MILE, FOX ON THE RUN, NEW FREEDOM BELL, THESE MEN OF GOD, LITTLE BESSIE, etc. Includes a number of previously unissued cuts. A wonderful, impressive collection.
