Night Train to Nashville, Vol. 2

Various Artists (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 20, 2005)
• Original Release Date: September 20, 2005
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Lost Highway
• ASIN: B000AC7ORA
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #94,785 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Track Listings

Disc: 1

1. Boogie Woogie Jockey (Jimmy Sweeney)

2. Gene Nobles' Boogie (Richard Armstrong)

3. All States Boogie (Ivory Joe Hunter)

4. Wail Daddy (Charlie Dowell & Orchestra)

5. Blues (Billie McAllister)

6. No Better For You (Gay Crosse & the Good Humor)

7. You Belong To Me (Helen Foster)

8. Too Much (Bernard Hardison)

9. If Things Don't Change (Gene Allison)

10. Love, Love, Love (Ted Jarrett)

See all 19 tracks on this disc

Disc: 2

1. Doctor Feel-Good (Dr. Feelgood & The Interns)

2. I'm A Woman (Christine Kittrell)

3. Don't Pity Me (Herbert Hunter)

4. Next To Me (Clyde McPhatter)

5. Release Me (Esther Phillips)

6. Soldier of Love (Arthur Alexander)

7. Don't Take My Kindness for a Weakness (Earl Gaines)

8. That's My Man (Marion James)

9. Strain On My Heart (Roscoe Shelton)

10. Soul Poppin' (Johnny Jones & the King Casuals)

See all 20 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Entertainment Weekly - B+

A swell party album for any old-soul or early-rock fan.

Product Description

NASHVILLE, Tenn., June 16, 2005 - All R& B heaven is about to break loose when the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum and Lost Highway Records release Night Train to Nashville: Music City Rhythm & Blues, 1945-l970, Volume Two on September 20, 2005. The first volume garnered a Grammy Award as the best historical recording of 2004.

Both volumes accompany the Museum’s same-titled multi-media exhibition, which opened in March 2004 and closes in December this year. The exhibition and its accompanying recordings, publications and continuing series of public programs revisit an almost forgotten time when Middle Tennessee was a major center for R&B musicians and their followers. "The Night Train story resurrects and celebrates an important era in the evolution of Nashville as Music City," said Museum Director Kyle Young. "The avalanche of local and national critical acclaim it has already received has helped not only to validate the work of important artists, but also to create new opportunities for them.

The two-CD second volume further illustrates the sterling quality and diverse sounds of the Nashville rhythm & blues that exploded across national radio and television airwaves (even though it was not considered suitable for family audiences) in this period. Again, there are numerous interesting examples of collaborations between R&B and country music artists, of country songs that became R&B hits and R&B songs that became country hits. The major focus is on Nashville-based artists, but the collection also includes selected recordings by renowned out-of-towners such as Ivory Joe Hunter, Clyde McPhatter, Esther Phillips and John Coltrane (as a member of Gay Crosse’s band). A number of the Nashville artists, including the Spidells, Jimmy Church and Sandra King, appeared in the 1960s on the all-black, Nashville-produced, groundbreaking television program Night Train. First imagined by show host Noble Blackwell, Night Train was followed in later years by the more well-known, Chicago-based Soul Train.

"I think Volume Two strikes a balance between well-known hits and seductive rarities," said Museum Associate Editor Michael Gray, who co-produced both volumes with Dan Cooper.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reinvigorates an interest in Nashville's R&B music of fifty years ago, October 24, 2005

By	J. Ross "a-music_fan" (Roseburg, OR USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Playing Time - CD1 (47:00), CD2 (54:34)-- Continuing with a desire to re-release "hits and rarities" from a great 25-year era of Music City R&B, the Country Music Hall of Fame has compiled a second volume from 25 different record labels. There's also one live track never before heard on record (The Imperials' "Lucky Lou") which was recorded on the bandstand by guitarist George Yates. Both of the volumes in this series coincide with an exhibition that was held at the Museum in 2004-5, held to document an underreported era in Nashville's music history, the story of Nashville's R&B heyday from pre-World War II roots through its ongoing connections to country music.

Disc #1 captures Nashville in the late 1940s and 50s. Rhythm & blues is the black popular music genre, emerging at that time, and which became a big influence on rock `n' roll and even pop music today. Check out pianist Bernie Hardison's 1955 rendition of "Too Much," a song that Elvis took to the top of the pop charts two years later. The roots of R&B were the country blues, vaudeville `hokum,' big band and swing. As the big band era came to an end, groups got smaller, and vocalists fronted combos presenting blues and pop. Lyrics were often fun and humorous. The music was very danceable too.

Volume 2 has rollicking barrelhouse piano, steaming saxophone, smooth vocals, raucous singing, and even some doo wop groups that accented soulful singing. The Gladiolas' "Little Darlin" is imparted with a calypso beat. One of Little Ike's only known recordings is "She Can Rock." We know that the electric guitar made inroads into R&B, and I'm curious about the instrument's minor roll in the music of this release. We hear Johnny Jones playing it on the 1959 release of Charles Walker and the Daffodils' "No Fool No More." The electric guitar also gives Freddie North's "OK, So What?" a sweet country twang. Christine Kittrell's bluesy "I'm a Woman" wouldn't be the same without electric guitar and sax. Johnny Jones' "Soul Poppin'" has some swinging trumpet too. A colorful commercial message at track 11 on disc#2 encourages us to buy a swinging soul medallion for only $3.

Many of the great musicians on this release are unnamed Nashville cats who really knew how to jump with their jive. With a 32-page booklet insert, this CD is a splendid introduction to some fantastic music of not so long ago. These remastered tracks have very high fidelity. At the time, Nashville seemed open-minded to new musical ideas, and record producers were encouraging boundaries to be expanded. Just like the ground-breaking television show back then, "Night Train," this 2-disc CD will reinvigorate an interest in R&B music of fifty years ago. (Joe Ross, Roseburg, OR.)

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A True Gem, January 4, 2007

By	Bug Lady "Teri" (Lemon Cove, CA) - See all my reviews

I like Blues. I like Blues that aren't the run-of-the mill type Blues. I never imagined that music like this could come out of Nashville. It shows what a Mecca Nashville was and how quality music could be produced despite being known for only one genera. This was a wonderful glimpse into a part of the Blues that is little known. The CD works well played straight through; its not boring or monotonous. It is great as part of a mix too. It gave me a pleasant surprise. I loved it! I loved "Night Train to Nashville" just as much.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Jimmy Bell rediscovered, October 31, 2007

By	Richard L. Barlow (Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I bought this album for one reason- because the number "She Wears My Ring" by Jimmy Bell was on it. The Ray Price version just was not as good. Worth the cost for this one song.