Customer Reviews

America's Most Colorful Hillbilly Band - Vol. 1

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

First off, I must say the music included here is some of the craziest, most outlandish honky tonk music ever recorded. I have never heard music performed that was so good.

But the problem here doesn't lay with the music. The problem lies with the cd itself. Music this important deserves better treatment.

The biggest problem is the fact that the song "I Want to Live and Love" is here twice, once under it's name and once under the name "New Mule Skinner Blues." That is an almost unexcusable error in a collection this important. (Their version of "New Mule Skinner Blues" is on Volume 2).

Next, no where in the booklet is there any recording dates or even a simple explanation of what label the music was recorded for. It says they were signed to Columbia records in 1951, but it also says the recordings included here were recorded between 1946 and 1951.

The sound quality is alright for recordings this old.

A release this important deserves better.

I still recommend this collection, but I wish it was taken more seriously by Arhoolie Records.

Though the Maddoxes began recording long before the emergence of rock 'n' roll and rockabilly in the early '50s, the numbers included on this generous 27-song collection - lifted from the group's sessions for the 4-Star label in the late '40s and early '50s - pointed the way for others to follow. One can easily hear the enormous influence that bassist/vocalist Fred Maddox had on the rockabilly bassists who followed him, including Bill Black and Dorsey Burnette. And lead guitarist Roy Nichols displays the ample chops that he would later employ to great effect with the likes of Lefty Frizzell, Wynn Stewart, and Merle Haggard. The most impressive thing about the Maddoxes, though, is that their records were Fun with a capital "F." Sure they never enjoyed much popularity outside of their west coast base, but their records have stood the test of time far better than some others of the era and you're a better person than I am if you can stifle a smile while listening to the almighty racket that the group made. Most of the songs are punctuated by the kinds of whoops and hollers and laughing that would be commonplace on rockabilly records made nearly a decade later, and more than a few sound like someone is building a house in the studio while the group was recording. If you're a musician who's getting a little too full of the "art" of playing music, give a listen to the Maddoxes for a reminder of what music sounds like when it's played for fun...and sounds like it.

This is it man. If you haven't got this,stop, don't go any further.Rock and Roll from the 40's!!! A crazed mix of baudy shoutouts, spirituals,early honky tonk,ballads, miner work songs, everything they had ever heard thrown into the pot and turned up to FULL BOIL!!! If your girl says she doesn't like country except for Patsy Cline (uhhhh, country, yeahhh...), turn her on to this and she'll be sportin' cuffed jeans and kicker boots in no time flat,brother!!! This is everything right about music, everything that those snooty alterna-rock snobs will never understand. Absolutely,positively,utterly essential.

There has never been anybody quite like this family band. These recordings were made between 1946 and 1951, but although they pre-date rock'n'roll, they have a definite good time rock'n'roll feel to them.

Almost relentlessly upbeat, the songs include great covers of the Hank Williams classics Move it on over, Honky tonkin' Another great cover is Faded love, the Bob Wills song which Patsy Cline later made her own, but whereas Patsy's version is very emotional, Rose and the boys do it in a much more upbeat style. If you want sad music , you won't find it here. I love Patsy's version, but I also love the version here.

Philadelphia lawyer was written by Woody Guthrie but became one of Rose's trademark songs. Rose recorded it several times in her long career, but this version with the brothers is the first.

Rose sings lead on most of the songs, except Fred on four songs and Don on another. The mood is still the same - listen to them all on Whoa sailor, with Fred on lead and Rose coming in on a few lines.

There are so many great songs here. I want to live and love (their theme song) actually gets in twice, because the record company made a mistake and included it as track 12 where they meant to put New mule skinner blues, as indicated by the track listing. It also appears correctly as the last track on the CD. This mistake is acknowledged in the notes for volume 2, where all the tracks are as listed, beginning with New mule skinner blues.

Do not let that mistake put you off. There are still 26 excellent upbeat songs to get those toes tapping. If you can't get enough, there are 30 more on volume 2.

Rose Maddox had a voice so obnoxious you wanted to punch her in the face. While I have heard her later bluegrass stuff and her recordings with Buck Owens, I alway like to picture her as the girl on the front of this c.d.'s cover, a fun loving bar hopping honky tonk gal. She and her brothers had incredible taste in music as evidenced by the classic selections they cover here. While the later cuts feature top notch musicians (especially the guitar players), their greatest talent was their abbility to transform the material into out and out fun music. They played the western swing circuit of California and I can picture the avacoda pickers (is there such a thing), coming in from the fields around Sacramento dirt covered and thirsty, downing their weight in draft beer) ready to whoop and holler.

Listen to a classic like Muleskinner Blues become a trolloping western swing tune along with insane background whoops and hollers (WHOAAAAAAAAAA MULE!!). There is no better version of Woody Gutheries Philadelphia Lawyer anywhere else on the planet. The classic country theme of divorce is present on my favorite two tracks, (Oh lord, I wish I was a single girl again and alimony).

Play this c.d. for your friends and odds are they may think you are insane. Just blast it out in your car as you are driving around and get happy! If you like Bob Wills (and if you don't know who he is get any of the Tiffany Transcripts) or Bakersfield stuff you will love this album. If you like hot jazz or old roots music you will dig it.

I agree with the previous reviewer that the material on her could have been better treated by the record company. This was a really fun, wild, shameless band with a very progressive sound for the time. Theirs is still my favorite rendition of "Water Baby Boogie" and it's essentially rock and roll, ten years early.

Here is one of the most unique "bands" you'll ever hear, playing some of the finest "Rockabilly" before "Rockabilly" existed! I have to admit I'm not a big fan of the "banter" between the musicians and Rose in the middle of the songs, but it is necessary as that was their delivery. With that aside, the Maddox Brothers (and yes, Rose to) were a big influence on Merle Haggard, and any Haggard fan needs this album to understand that Jimmie Rodgers was only part of Merle's influence. The Maddox Brothers were true heroes of the misplaced "Okies", as they were dustbowl survivors (and California immigrants) as well. It is amazing to hear the upbeat and excitement provided by these folks despite their roots and the hardships they endured; no doubt, it endeared them to the thousands of dissplaced Mid-Westerners who ended up on the west coast. There are 27 songs here (over an hour of music) and in their original form. I think you'll enjoy this CD and the musical history it provides. Give it a listen. B+

This is easily the best Maddox album out there. The Arhoolie collection is some of their best hits and covers dance hall boogie, western swing, California country (the roots of the Bakersfield sound of Buck Owens and Merle Haggard), cowboy themes and just about any other kind of music being played at the time. One warning: track 12, which is supposed to be "New Muleskinner Blues" is actually "I Want to Live and Love". This means that "Live and Love" actually plays twice, since it is also track 27. You may not mind because it's one of the best songs on the disc. Arhoolie makes up for the error by including "New Muleskinner Blues" as the first track of Volume 2 in this series, which is almost as good.

Early recordings from America's Most Colorful Hillbilly Band. Hear "Milk Cow Blues" from this album on Boot Liquor (SomaFM.com/BootLiquor) internet radio. Funny, fun and well done. If you like this, more can be had on the Arhoolie label. Unfortunately, Rose Maddox's later excellent solo work, mostly on Capitol, is hard to find. She remained active both onstage and in recordings right up until her death, her last studio work with members of the Desert Rose band.

I heard some Rose Madox and it sounded real good, like Patsy Cline. This sounds more like old Carter Family Stuff, the quality is not that good and not as smooth. If you like old Carter Family Stuff you might like this. But the cooler stuff must have been recorded in latter years.