Customer Reviews

The Very Best of Ralph Stanley

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Many of these songs have been recorded by various bluegrass artists and when you hear this album you will hear what they are striving to acheive. The vocal harmonies and the instruments combine for the best staight ahead bluegrass music you are likely to hear anywhere. Ralph Stanley is in fine voice for these numbers. His renditon of Will You Miss Me? is not to be missed. This is a must have album for even a casual fan of bluegrass.

Newly refamed thanks to the movie, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Ralph Stanley is a longstanding classic bluegrass/mountain Gospel star. With 200+ albums behind him, his newfound popularity is nothing new at all.

This "Very Best" CD doesn't do him justice. There is too much great music in his vault to draw from. Listeners will begin with this taste of his magnificent talent, and work their way through his vast discography.

"Man of Constant Sorrow" will be the most familiar song, with Stanley drawing long tones. You'll feel his pain through each note.

Fast-paced banjos and fiddles scream through songs like "Clinch Mountain Backstep." There's no room for words in this lightening picked instrumental. A number of other instrumentals grace the CD, like "Hard Times."

"Rank Stranger" walks slowly as a lament, causing me to wonder had Stanley been walking with me.

Many of the songs come from early 1970s, including "Sorrows."

Fans of everyone from Flatt and Scruggs to Lyle Lovett will discover something fun here. The tale-telling, the presence of voice, and the nod toward the fine traditions of music made in the deep Appalachian Mountains all work together in the singer and banjo player Ralph Stanley.

I fully recommend "The Very Best of Ralph Stanely."

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

Ralph Stanley is a God of bluegrass and this CD shows us why. The man's voice has such character and presence and power. The music is as good as bluegrass gets and the harmonies are great.

There is a good variety of music on this CD. From barn burners to slow mournful dirges, its all here. You wouldnt think that an album full of songs about death would be uplifting, but it is.

Highly Recommended!

The songs will make you think about yourself,And will chang your
out look.I think it is the best cd I ever bought.The man Ralph
Standly music is very diffront. From todays music. You will enjoy

I happened to catch a documentary on Ralph Stanley on TV and immediately ordered this tape. It was a wonderful introduction to blue grass for me. Ralph Stanley has a magnificent voice and he knows how to create wonderful harmonies.

Dr. Ralph Stanley is a seminal American musician and this albums shows it. I'm very happy with my purchase of the Very Best of Ralph Stanley, the sound quality on this disc is excellent and the songs are great. I did get a second album of "gospel" numbers to really understand Ralph Stanley, but I do keep these tunes in mu Ipod.

My personal favorite track is Rank Stranger, but I do enjoy the entire album.

The voice isn't for everyone, and the music can feel old, so take a listen to the sample, if you think you'll enjoy it, dive right in.

The Very Best of Ralph Stanley is a most outstanding cd that is completely filled with outstanding secular and gospel bluegrass music. I have been listening to only this cd for several months now, and I never get tired of hearing Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys sing forth on every one of their beautiful bluegrass songs. There are absolutely no criticisms of this bluegrass music that could possibly be raised, as Ralph Stanley is the very best of bluegrass singers, now that Carter Stanley is deceased, and the Clinch Mountain Boys, through many changes in their personnel, remain the very best of bluegrass bands. Clinch Moutain Boys heard on The Very Best of Ralph Stanley include Roy Lee Centers, Ricky Skaggs, Keith Whitley, and Jack Cooke. The only important point that can be made is that Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys have recorded so very many outstanding bluegrass songs so that The Very Best of Ralph Stanley only samples their very large body of outstanding secular and gospel bluegrass music. The Very Best of Ralph Stanley is a totally excellent way of introducing Ralph Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys to a new generation, and the cd is also a very outstanding addition to the already large Ralph Stanley cd collection of long-time devoted fans of Ralph Stanley's incredible secular and gospel bluegrass music. The Very Best of Ralph Stanley has my highest positive recommendation to everyone who enjoys bluegrass music! Whie we are admiring Ralph Stanley, let me also most highly recommend Ralph Stanley's 2009 autobiography, Man Of Constant Sorrow, which will be most highly appreciated by every true fan of Ralph and/or Carter Stanley.

John

Ralph Stanley is a funny pick for me, a punky rock'n'roller with an edgy alternative side. Well, not so strange, really, because Stanley is definitely edgy. His voice pierces through songs that make my heart cry and that's not an easy thing to do. Straight down from the mountain and as honest as rain, Ralph Stanley is a master at old-time bluegrass. I prefer the cuts that have vocals because his words are heartbreaking, but if you like to hear good banjo and fiddle instrumentals, he's also your guy. Bless this man; his body is too small for his soul.

This CD will also introduce you to Ralph's brother Carter Stanley whom Bill Monroe said had the most natural singing voice he'd ever heard. Many of the songs on this CD are sung by Carter and are beyond compare. Highly recommended introduction to Bluegrass or a must have for the serious bluegrass listener.

One of the cooler C.D.'s I've bought.
Just very neat.
Makes a Bluegrass fan grin and tap some feet.
:)