4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A collection that truly is definitive, September 6, 2009
This review is from: Definitive Collection 1947-1966 (W/Book) (Audio CD)
I have owned two previous Stanley Brothers albums on CD, as well as one on LP. The latter was 16 Greatest Hits, which frankly wasn't a very good collection. The two albums on CD, however, were both extraordinary. Angel Band: The Classic Mercury Recordings is a collection of the Stanley Brothers recordings from the mid-fifties that shows them at the height of their genius. Equally fantastic is the Complete Columbia Recordings. Both of these show the Stanley Brothers at their greatest. As great as Bill Monroe and Flat & Scruggs were, bluegrass at its best is a vocal art, and vocally no one was better than the Stanley Brothers (though I have to point out that if I could travel back in time to see any bluegrass act, I would love to be in the 1940s to see Bill Monroe's line up with not merely Flatt and Scruggs in the band, but superstar fiddle player Vassar Clements, an assemblage of so much talent as to seem surreal). You would have Ralph Stanley singing the mid-range harmony, his brother Carter singing a very high tenor lead, and usually another band member singing even higher. Or occasionally they would do numbers with a lead solo voice, usually Ralph on great songs like "Man of Constant Sorrow" or "O Death" (which he performed in the Coen Brothers film O BROTHER! WHERE ART THOU?).
I can recommend either of those albums strongly. They both show one of the greatest musical acts in American history at their very best. So that is the context for my saying that this box set, The Definitive Collection 1947-1966, is without any question the greatest Stanley Brothers album ever released and absolutely the one essential collection of theirs to own. it has all the greatest hits, a number of rareties, and a number of the quirky songs that were staples of their act (it isn't a great skit, but as a native of Little Rock I always get a kick out of "How Far to Little Rock?"). Frankly, it is hard to imagine this album ever being superseded. If you love the Stanley Brothers -- or even if you don't but want to know more -- this is the hands down the album by them that you most need to own. American music just doesn't get any better than this.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
how can you miss, May 30, 2007
This review is from: Definitive Collection 1947-1966 (W/Book) (Audio CD)
I do not yet have this collection. I have many of the pieces on previous compilations but just reviewing the song list gives me goose bumps. There is a ton of great material here, the Stanley Brothers are essential to any bluegrass or folk collections. There is a song Jacob's Vision, that I had on one of those bargain bin cassettes you see in truck stops. One of the most moving songs ever recorded. Looked for it for years after the tape broke and here it is on CD. Listened to a sample of that and it is the same song I have looked for quite a while. Buy this set now, you will not regret it for a moment. Cannot vouch for the mastering quality, the booklets or any of that, but the songs are great and have been scattered over many different labels for years. Here it is in one box.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Good old bluegrass, May 28, 2011
This review is from: Definitive Collection 1947-1966 (W/Book) (Audio CD)
These recordings go back to the beginning, before it was called bluegrass. Still some of the best. Possibly the most influential group in the genre. And besides, it's very good music.
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