Bluegrass Bonanza (Mini Lp Sleeve) [Box set, Import]

Various Artists (Artist), Coon Creek Girls (Artist), Stanley Brothers (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 24, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 4
• Format: Box set, Import
• Note on Boxed Sets: During shipping, discs in boxed sets occasionally become dislodged without damage. Please examine and play these discs. If you are not completely satisfied, we'll refund or replace your purchase.
• Label: Proper Box UK
• ASIN: B00005Q35D
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,156 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Hop Light Ladies

2. Ain't Nobody's Business

3. Carve That Possum

4. Unlucky Road to Washington

5. Hold the Woodpile Down

See all 24 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. New River Train

2. On the Banks of the Ohio

3. Rosa Lee McFall

4. Just a Song of Old Kentucky

5. Don't Forget Me

See all 26 tracks on this disc

Disc: 3

1. Banjo Pickin' Girl

2. Little Burdie

3. It's Raining Here This Morning

4. Going Back to the Blue Ridge Mountains

5. I'm Lonesome Without You

See all 30 tracks on this disc

Disc: 4

1. Blue Moon of Kentucky

2. Toy Heart

3. California Blues [Blue Yodel No. 4]

4. Will You Be Loving Another Man?

5. The Girl Behind the Bar

See all 29 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

4 CD box set compiled and annotated by bluegrass expert Adam Komorowski. The 109 tracks trace the history of bluegrass music from 1920's to the 1950's. Featured artists include Bill Monroe, Flat & Scruggs, Stanley Bros., Grandpa Jones, Delmore Brothers and many more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars some of the best music ever made in America, February 5, 2002

By 

Jerome Clark (Canby, Minnesota) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Bluegrass Bonanza (Mini Lp Sleeve) (Audio CD)

The 109 cuts in this box set document the evolution of bluegrass from its roots in early 20th-Century mountain string bands. Before the set ends in 1950, Bill Monroe, followed shortly thereafter by the Stanley Brothers and Flatt & Scruggs, has formalized a genre -- it had yet to be called "bluegrass" -- from which formula, more than half a century later, performers within the genre depart at their peril. The songs (and occasional instrumentals) are well chosen, and the sound quality is cleaner and sharper than one would expect from vintage recordings, some going back to the late 1920s.

Besides the old-time string bands, Bluegrass Bonanza highlights once-popular hillbilly-brother-duet groups such as the Monroe Brothers (of course) and the Delmore Brothers as well as neglected acts like the Armstrong Twins and the Bailey Brothers. One whole disc (#2) is devoted to the Monroes together and apart. Given how hard it is to find his solo work on CD, the Charlie Monroe sides are especially welcome. If you don't love his "Bringin' in the Georgia Mail" (which sounds like a traditional folk song, though written by Nashville producer and tunesmith Fred Rose, better known for his [later] association with Hank Williams), you might put a mirror to your mouth to see if you're still breathing. Though no bluegrasser, Grandpa Jones appears on #3 and #4, evidently in recognition of his role in keeping mountain music, without which there would be no bluegrass, alive on the Grand Ole Opry stage. Curly Fox's one cut, the traditional "Come Here, Son" (#3; actually, "Fire on the Mountain"), hints at what bluegrass might have sounded like if electric guitar had not been forbidden therein at any early stage. Disc #4, except for a single Molly O'Day side (the murder ballad "Poor Ellen Smith") and Grandpa Jones's standard "Old Rattler," is all early Bill Monroe, Flatt & Scruggs, and Stanleys, the last sounding a bit tentative, their sound somewhere between the Delmores and Monroe, minus the blues influence. It would be a while before Ralph and Carter found their voice, but even here their devotion to the older Appalachian traditions is palpable.

Rather than pour on the superlatives and the flattering adjectives, just let me say that this box set does its subject proud. Whether you're new or old to country string-band music, you will want this collection. This is some of the best music ever made in America.

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars What a deal, May 5, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Bluegrass Bonanza (Mini Lp Sleeve) (Audio CD)

Hard to find a better deal than this one--over 100 vintage songs in a four-CD set (lasting about five hours) at a price that doesn't break the bank. The selection of songs is well conceived: a strong emphasis on the Monroe Brothers (a total of about an hour and a half, including the entire second disk, is devoted to them alone), along with well known songs by other classic bluegrass singers (such as Flatt & Scruggs, Stanley Brothers, Delmore Brothers), and a very interesting first disk containing string-band songs from the 1920's and 30's (including my personal favorite, Uncle Dave Macon's version of "Buddy Won't You Roll Down the Line," a traditional song about the Coal Creek Rebellion of 1891).

The sound quality, as mentioned in the other review, is surprisingly good; some of the oldest songs are a little grainy, but most are quite crisp. The booklet, on the other hand, is somewhat disappointing. The information is generally accurate (disregarding the typos--for example, it's "Bringing in the Georgia Mail," not "Georgia Mill"), but the notes are conceptually thin, with very little discussion of the music itself, and virtually no reference to the lyrics.

If you love bluegrass music--and it isn't for everyone--you can't miss with this set: all your favorites are here, as well as dozens of genuine old songs that you may not have heard before.

5.0 out of 5 stars A true Bluegrass anthology., January 10, 2012

By 

Turbo - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bluegrass Bonanza (Mini Lp Sleeve) (Audio CD)

A true anthology of Bluegrass music. If you are new to Bluegrass music and want to know more about the evolution of this American artform, this is your ticket. I give this an A+.