The Louvin Brothers - Tragic Songs of Life [Gusto]

Artist:

Louvin Brothers (The)

UPC:

792014010525

See Also:

Martin, Jimmy (Guitar)

Description:

Personnel includes: Charlie Louvin (vocals, guitar); Ira Louvin (vocals, mandolin); Paul Yandell (guitar).
Producer: Ken Nelson.
Reissue producer: John Johnson.
Includes liner notes by Charles Wolfe.
Recording information: 1956.
This is Charlie and Ira Louvin at their musical best, offering up a prime example of their quietly influential bluegrass-inflected country sound. The brothers` high harmonies and deft guitar and mandolin picking (Charlie and Ira, respectively) carry the tunes, which stay true to the melancholy mood suggested by the record`s title. While the Louvins perform their own songs (namely the lovelorn narrative "A Tiny Broken Heart" and the somber "Alabama"), they mainly focus on traditional numbers (the shuffling "Let Her Go, God Bless Her" and the murder ballad "Knoxville Girl") and other classics (the homesick "Kentucky" and the haunting "In the Pines"). Although the Louvins` penchant for gospel themes isn`t very apparent here, their passionate delivery and tales of lives gone wrong hint at the more blatantly religious material they would tackle on later releases such as THE FAMILY WHO PRAYS and SATAN IS REAL.

Track Listing:

DISC 1

1. Kentucky
2. I`ll Be All Smiles Tonight
3. Let Her Go, God Bless Her
4. What Is Home Without Love
5. Tiny Broken Heart, A
6. In the Pines
7. Alabama
8. Katie Dear
9. My Brother`s Will
10. Knoxville Girl
11. Take the News to Mother
12. Mary of the Wild Moor

Album Information

Release Date:

06/17/2003

Type:

Performer

Genre:

Country

Subgenre:

Bluegrass

Label:

Gusto Records

Catalog Number:

105

Original Release Year:

1956

# of Discs:

1

Studio/Live:

Studio

Mono/Stereo:

Mixed

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