Customer Reviews

Early Years 1958-61

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

 

 

In another review, I suggested that people buy all the cheap, discount store Stanley Brothers albums they could find, and then weed out the duplicate cuts, and save the good ones on tape. That was before I found this collection. It's all here, the good the bad, and the ugly. Everything the Stanley Brothers recorded for Starday and King from 1958 to 1961.

The good far outweighs the bad and the ugly. The cream of this collection rivals their Mercury material. Many of the songs in this set have gone on to become Bluegrass classics. The four CD set also includes a booklet with a complete sessionography and fascinating bits of Stanley Brothers lore. If you are a Stanley Brothers fan, this is money well spent.

I strongly disagree with the first reviewer of Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961. I believe that the first reviewer is only a casual fan of bluegrass music and the Stanley Brothers. The first reviewer's comments are misleading. Early Starday-King Years is definitely an outstanding four cd set and acccurately deserves a five star rating! The first reviewer's four star rating of the four cd Stanley Brothers' Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961 is inaccurate and unfairly critical. In fact, the overall tone of the first reviewer's partly foolish and sometimes critical comments are too harsh, and thus are highly disrespectful to the nearly always brilliant Stanley Brothers, who were and still remain the very best, most thrilling, and most inspiring bluegrass group to ever play and sing outstanding bluegrass music. I especially strongly object to the first reviewer's use of the word "ugly" to describe some of the Stanley Brothers' music found on Early Starday-King Years. The Stanley Brothers never recorded a song that could be accurately described as "ugly"! The Stanley Brothers were so very highly multi-talented and had such high musical standards that most of the songs that the Stanley Brothers ever recorded can be accurately described as "brilliant." Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961 is definitely an outstanding bluegrass music collection, but it is not as highly outstanding as is The King Years 1961-1965 (see my review) four cd set. It is true that the first one and 1/4 cds of the Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961 are definitely not as nearly completely filled with outstanding secular and gospel bluegrass songs as are the first one and 1/4 cds of The King Years 1961-1965. There are far too many banjo and fiddle only tunes on the first one and 1/4 cds of Early Starday-King Years! However, there are also many outstanding secular and gospel bluegrass songs on the first one and 1/4 cds of Early Starday-King Years, including the incomparable The White Dove, written by Carter Stanley. The last two and 3/4 cds of the Early Starday-King Years four cd set are mostly filled with outstanding secular and gospel bluegrass music, as are the second two and 3/4 cds of The King Years. We need to remember that the Stanley Brothers were always highly multi-talented musicians. Ralph Stanley is supremely talented as a banjo player, and Ralph also has an outstanding bluegrass tenor singing voice. Carter Stanley was probably the best and most effective lead singer to ever sing bluegrass music and Carter was also an outstanding guitar player. No one else in bluegrass music, past or present, has ever sang bluegrass music as well and as effectively as Carter Stanley does so very brilliantly on Stone Walls and Steel Bars and Don't Cheat In Our Homwtown, the very best two secular songs that the Stanley Brothers ever recorded, as found on The King Years four cd set. All but the least memorable of songs that Carter and Ralph play and sing together on Early Starday-King Years are a showcase for their highly outstanding and truly unsurpassed multiple musical talents. Carter and Ralph Stanley are the very best and most talented musical group ever to play and sing bluegrass music! While my most favorite and most treasured four cd collection of the Stanley Brothers' outstanding bluegrass music remains The King Years 1961-1965, Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961 is definitely also an outstanding four cd collection of many essential Stanley Brothers' secular and gospel bluegrass songs. Many of the beautiful songs found on Early Starday-King Years are now most highly regarded by bluegrass experts as among the most important, most praised, and most classic standards in all of bluegrass music! In addition, there are many bluegrass songs on Early Starday-King Years that are not as well known as the classics, but are actually outstanding bluegrass songs when highly appreciated by a loyal and devoted fan of bluegrass music and the Stanley Brothers. Take for instance one song that appears on disc four titled Lover's Quarrel. The casual fan of bluegrass music and the Stanley Brothers might only listen to Lover's Quarrel once or twice, and because he/she doesn't already know this song, this casual fan might easily dismiss or criticize it. However, the loyal and devoted fan of bluegrass music and the Stanley Brothers will listen to Lover's Quarrel many times, and will soon discover that Lover's Quarrel is an outstanding bluegrass song about a man and a woman who break up. Early Starday-King years contains many songs that might be quickly dismissed by the casual fan, but be highly appreciated by the loyal and devoted fan of bluegrass music and the Stanley Brothers. As a final thought, let me remind you that the bluegrass music found on Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961 was initially recorded with the less highly developed recording equipment that was used 50 years ago. Just imagine how incredibly outstanding these bluegrass songs found on Early Starday-King Years would sound if they were initially recorded using today's recording technology! None of today's bluegrass recording artists except Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, who are also outstanding bluegrass musicians and deserve your listening attention, can even approximate the outstanding quality of bluegrass music that is found on the Stanley Brothers' Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961. Early Starday-King Years accurately deserves an outstanding five star rating! I very highly recommend Early Starday-King Years 1958-1961 to every loyal and devoted fan of the Stanley Brothers. I also most highly recommend The King Years 1961-1965 (see my review), a MUST BUY four cd set for every serious collector of bluegrass music.

John