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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Singing Cowboy's early music, April 30, 2007
Gene Autry's recording career began in 1929, and all his records from then through 1933 can be heard on this splendid boxed-set album from the Bear Family of Germany.
Those not familiar with any aspect of Autry's career except "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and his western movies will be pleasantly surprised at a lot of the contents of this 225-song, nine-disc set. It spans Autry's early white country blues recordings, in the style of the immortal Singing Brakeman Jimmie Rodgers; through his early "hillbilly" songs, as they were called in those days; to his well-known songs of the range and the cowboy; through four heart-felt tribute songs to Rodgers after his death of tuberculosis in 1933.
Gene's singing styles vary widely during the four-year span. In the blues numbers, some of which were written by him and are both funny and risque, his voice is high-pitched but true, with expert yodeling; Gene Autry was actually a better singer than his idol Jimmie Rodgers.
By the time we reach the Rodgers memorial songs of 1933, Autry's voice has deepened and enriched, with a beautiful vibrato. And on the first tribute, "The Death of Jimmie Rodgers," Autry's sorrow at his idol's passing is very plain in his voice.
And, of course, anyone who has read earlier reviews of this set probably knows there are a couple of "raunchy" songs sung by Autry, and placed at the tail-end of the ninth and final disc. It is a shock, admittedly, to hear Gene Autry singing bawdy lyrics in the same matter-of-fact style that he would later perform his theme song, "Back in the Saddle Again." But then, he was human just like us all, a young man, and according to recent research, with an eye for the ladies.
The only fault I would find with this set is excessive repetition. Some songs are heard in three, four or five different versions. But it does help the listener to hear how Autry grew and improved as a performer over time.
All in all, this is an excellent collection of the early work of one of the 20th Century's best popular musicians, the Singing Cowboy. I heartily recommend it.
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2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Absolutely outstanding!, June 16, 2006
To all Gene Autry and country music fans! I received this award winning box set this past Monday and boy! Is it ever unbelievable! I am having such a blast listening to all these early Autry recordings and the way he sings and plays the guitar like the legendary Jimmie Rodgers is enough to give you goose pimples. I am a 21 year old guy and I have been blind all my life. I have been a huge country and western music fan since the age of 13. Gene Autry really puts his heart and sole in his music but folks, if you are looking for him singing songs such as Back In The Saddle Again, Be Honest With Me, Rudolph The Red Nose Raindeer and others, this set is not for you. If you are looking for Gene's early recordings as a Jimmie Rodgers impercenator, you absolutely deserve this set! I consider Bear Family to be the number 1 record company of all time! They are my hero! I really and truly love making friends especially country music fans so if any of you would like to Email me you are more than welcome to at maheen5894@sympatico.ca or better yet, if you would like to chat you may add me to MSN at maheen_the_music_man@hotmail.com that is the best way to communicate I find! Well done Bear Family you are the best! Yours very sincerely, Maheen.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Worth The Wait, June 19, 2008
As a Jimmie Rodgers admirer from the age of twelve, it intrigued me to look at Brian Rust's 1925-36 Victor discography and see blues titles recorded there by Gene Autry. This occurred when I was in college. As I was an Autry fan by virtue of watching a number of his films, I thought that it would be a completist's dream come true to eventually hear and own the blusier 1929-33 material. However, as I researched the titles back in the 1990's, I thought this would never happen: too much repetition, and probably not enough market for it.
I am so grateful that, once again, Bear Family has provided the collector and enthusiast with the comprehensive 1929-33 Autry collection. Let me say first, thank you so much! I have no qualms with the sound, fully expecting the budget labels to be deficient in that regard, and was actually mightily impressed by the fidelity of the Victor sides, which is even better than that of Rodgers' sides from the period.
What I hear in the early discs (1929-31) is a steady emergence of talent in the guitar-playing and yodeling department. I have to disagree with the reviewer who wrote that Gene Autry was a better singer than Jimmie Rodgers. Although I can understand why Autry's 35 cent discs might have outsold Rodgers, I would have been disappointed to have bought an Autry cover of Rodgers' music. They complement Rodgers' versions, and contain intriguing accompaniment at times, but there's no way that Autry's early thin little voice compares to Rodgers. Listen to Travelin' Blues, made in 1931. Poor Autry had sung about ten songs that day, and his voice is absolutely shot. He sounds like the lunger, not Rodgers, and even weaker than Rodgers' deathbed effort, "Yodelling Ranger." The guitar work is disjointed as well. On the Rodgers numbers, there's still none better than Jimmie Rodgers himself.
That said, there are selections which are impressive in that they establish Autry apart from Rodgers as the purveyor of his own "rough and rowdy ways" type of songs. These include: "That's How I Got My Start," "Bear Cat Papa Blues," "High Steppin' Mama," "I'll Always Be A Rambler," (a truly haunting selection) "Birmingham Daddy," (great fun) "Rheumatism Blues," and "Black Bottom Blues" among others. I even wish that Rodgers could have recorded several of these, as it would have been interesting to see what the master could have done with them. In any case, they are perhaps unintentional tributes to what Rodgers did so well, and which Autry was certainly quite good at himself. I did not really care for some of the accompaniment that Victor lavished upon Autry: a kazoo? But, Autry's "second shelf" renditions more than hold their own interest. The impeccable fidelity of the 1932-33 Victors is also brilliantly captured here.
As to the ballads to which Autry eventually gravitated, they are distinct but equally enjoyable. I will not comment on these much, as they became the type of recordings for which Autry is best known, and show him growing distinctly apart from his bluesy roots. Then again, maybe these are the songs that in which he was probably best, anyway. "Cowboy's Heaven" has got to be one of the most moving western songs that I've ever heard, as well. How ironic that the last selection "Good Luck Old Pal," from 1933, is yet another Blue Yodel-type song. On this Autry, shows the full maturity of his technique with that genre, and yet it was his last foray into it. I believe here, as on no other Rodgers-type number, that he has his mentor "down pat." Very enjoyable, and yet a signal that, now that Rodgers is gone, it is time for Autry to move on, which he certainly did.
I enjoyed listening to all of the variant takes, and hearing the gradual emergence of this singing star in his own right. If you want to hear a new, and perhaps more interesting dimension to Gene Autry, then this set is for you. As is true with so many other recording artists, the songs recorded when they were fighting to succeed are often more varied and winsome than when a measure of popularity has been acheived, and they can "coast."
Enjoy.
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