Various Artists - The Bristol Sessions 1927-1928

Artist:

Various Artists

UPC:

790051609429

Description:

Tributee: Charles K. Wolfe.
Liner Note Authors: Ted Olson; Tony Russell.
Recording information: Victor Talking Machine Company`s Bristol Sessions, Bris (07/25/1927-08/05/1927); Victor Talking Machine Company`s Bristol Sessions, Bris (10/27/1928-11/04/1928).
Illustrators: Tim Buchanan; Dave Barnes; Frank Mare; Bud Phillips; Christopher King; Brandon Story; Ted Olson; R.A. Andreas; Gary Rose; Bill Hartley; Wayne Martin ; Steven Weiss ; Stacey Wolfe; Randall Mays; Mark Sanderford; John F. Lilly; Malcolm Vidrine; Darrel Meadows; Gregg Kimball; Marshall Wyatt; Richard Nevins; Tony Russell.
Photographers: Tim Buchanan; Dave Barnes; Frank Mare; Bud Phillips; Christopher King; Brandon Story; Ted Olson; R.A. Andreas; Gary Rose; Bill Hartley; Wayne Martin ; Steven Weiss ; Stacey Wolfe; Randall Mays; Mark Sanderford; John F. Lilly; Malcolm Vidrine; Darrel Meadows; Gregg Kimball; Marshall Wyatt; Richard Nevins; Tony Russell.
In 1927, Victor Records, under the direction of producer Ralph Peer, headed to Bristol, Tennessee to record local musicians. Peer had been on similar journeys before, and he would be since, but those Bristol Sessions were pivotal, the epicenter of modern country music establishing the sound and style of the genre. Legendary as they are, they`ve never been collected in a single place prior to Bear Family`s remarkable 2011 box set The Bristol Sessions 1927-1928, a five-disc set that collects all of Victor`s Bristol recordings of those two years. Among the artists Peer and Victor captured during their session were Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, an event of such historical significance it tends to overshadow the wealth of other recordings. By its very scope, Bear Family illustrates that there was much, much more to the Bristol Sessions than these two artists, no matter how legendary they wound up to be. Peer recorded almost any artist that crossed his path on the Tennessee/Virginia border, and a couple of these appeared far more often than the Carters or Rodgers. Ernest Stoneman and his family and Ernest Phipps fronted more sessions than their more famous peers, the former solicited by Peer before he headed down to Bristol, to ensure that there was something to capture once he was there. Peer recorded quite a bit in 1927, then headed down to the town again in 1928 to see if he could draw more gems from the mine. He did: he recorded several acts he`d already captured in 1927, but there was enough new material from the old artists and the new to add to the legacy.
And the legacy is certainly rich; so rich that it acquired a legacy even without a set like Bear Family`s The Bristol Sessions to urge it along. Bear Family`s box doesn`t challenge the conventional notions, it sets it in stone, the first heavy proof of the depth and scope of Ralph Peer`s musical anthropology. Commonly acknowledged as the ground zero of modern country music, The Bristol Sessions doesn`t dispel the notion that these Victor recordings were monumental. Much of what came to be known as country music is here, from the sound to the sensibility, and if they don`t sound modern the way that Hank Williams records from three decades later do, they nevertheless point the way to the modern era, creating a bridge from old-timey folk to modern country. As such, The Bristol Sessions certainly carries a lingering scent of musty academia; its historical importance surely outweighs its entertainment value. Yet, that doesn`t matter: this is music that justifies its weight, and in this Bear Family set, The Bristol Sessions are finally given a presentation that is worthy of its importance and explains its significance, as well. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Track Listing:

DISC 1:

1. Dying Girl`s Farewell, The - Ernest V. Stoneman/Kahle Brewer
2. Tell Mother I Will Meet Her - Ernest V. Stoneman/Kahle Brewer
3. Mountaineer`s Courtship, The - Uncle Eck Dunford
4. Midnight on the Stormy Deep
5. Sweeping Through the Gates
6. I Know My Name Is There
7. Are You Washed in the Blood?
8. No More Good-Byes
9. Resurrection [Take 1], The - (take)
10. Resurrection [Take 2], The - (take)
11. I Am Resolved [Take 1] - (take)
12. I Am Resolved [Take 2] - (take)
13. I Want to Go Where Jesus Is
14. Do, Lord, Remember Me
15. Old Ship of Zion
16. Jesus Getting Us Ready for That Great Day
17. Happy in Prison
18. Don`t Grieve After Me
19. What Will I Do, For My Money`s All Gone - Uncle Eck Dunford
20. Whip-Poor-Will`s Song, The
21. Skip to Ma Lou, My Darling
22. Barney McCoy - Uncle Eck Dunford
23. Old Time Corn Shuckin`, Pt. 1
24. Old Time Corn Shuckin`, Pt. 2

DISC 2:

1. Jealous Sweetheart [Take 1], The - The Johnson Brothers (take)
2. Jealous Sweetheart [Take 2], The - The Johnson Brothers (take)
3. Passing Policeman, A - The Johnson Brothers (previously unreleased)
4. Just a Message from Carolina - The Johnson Brothers
5. Wreck of the Virginian [Take 1], The - (take)
6. Wreck of the Virginian [Take 2], The - (take)
7. I Mean to Live for Jesus
8. You Must Unload
9. Walking in the Way with Jesus [Take 1] - (take)
10. Walking in the Way with Jesus [Take 2] - (take)
11. Two Brothers Are We - The Johnson Brothers - (featuring Tennessee Wildcats)
12. Soldier`s Poor Little Boy, The - (featuring Tennessee Wildcats)
13. I Want to See My Mother (Ten Thousand Miles Away) - The Johnson Brothers
14. Pot Licker Blues
15. Narrow Gauge Blues
16. Cold Penitentiary Blues
17. Oh Molly Dear
18. Pretty Polly
19. Darling Cora - B.F. Shelton
20. Called to the Foreign Field - Alfred G. Karnes
21. I Am Bound for the Promised Land
22. Where We`ll Never Grow Old
23. When They Ring the Golden Bells
24. To the Work
25. Train on the Island - J. P. Nester
26. Black-Eyed Susie - J. P. Nester
27. Johnny Goodwin

DISC 3:

1. Bury Me Under the Weeping Willow
2. Little Log Cabin by the Sea
3. Poor Orphan Child, The
4. Storms Are on the Ocean, The
5. Single Girl, Married Girl
6. Wandering Boy, The
7. Remember Me, O Mighty One
8. I`m Redeemed
9. Henry Whitter`s Fox Chase - Henry Whitter
10. Rain Crow Bill
11. Big Bend Gal
12. Suzanna Gal - The Shelor Family - (featuring Dad Blackard`s Moonshiners)
13. Sandy River Belle [Take 1] - The Shelor Family (take, featuring Dad Blackard`s Moonshiners)
14. Sandy River Belle [Take 2] - The Shelor Family (take, featuring Dad Blackard`s Moonshiners)
15. Billy Grimes, the Rover
16. Newmarket Wreck, The
17. On the Banks of the Sunny Tennessee
18. Soldier`s Sweetheart, The
19. Sleep Baby Sleep
20. Longest Train I Ever Saw, The
21. Sweet Heaven When I Die
22. Miss `Liza, Poor Gal
23. Greasy String
24. Your Blue Eyes Run Me Crazy
25. Standing on the Promises
26. At the River

DISC 4:

1. My Name Is Ticklish Reuben
2. Way Down in Alabama
3. Do Not Wait `Till I`m Laid `Neath the Clay
4. Days of My Childhood Plays, The
5. We Shall All Be Reunited
6. If the Light Has Gone Out in Your Soul - Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
7. Went Up in the Clouds of Heaven - Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
8. I Know That Jesus Set Me Free - Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
9. Shine on Me - Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
10. Bright Tomorrow - Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
11. Little Talk with Jesus, A - Ernest Phipps & His Holiness Singers
12. I Cannot Be Your Sweetheart
13. Three Black Sheep
14. Good-Night Darling - Clarence Greene
15. Little Bunch of Roses
16. Broken-Hearted Lover, The
17. Angeline, The Baker
18. Old Shoes and Leggins
19. We Parted by the River Side
20. Down to Jordan and Be Saved
21. There`s a Light Lit Up in Galilee
22. Going Up the Mountain After Liquor, Pt. 1
23. Going Up the Mountain After Liquor, Pt. 2
24. Spanish Merchant`s Daughter, The
25. Too Late

DISC 5:

1. I`ll Be Happy
2. Like the Rainbow
3. Because I Love Him
4. Come to the Savior
5. Do Your Best, Then Wear a Smile
6. We Shall Reach Home
7. My Mother Is Waiting for Me in Heaven Above
8. She Has Climbed the Golden Stair
9. We`ll Sing on That Shore - Palmer Sisters
10. Singing the Story of Grace - Palmer Sisters
11. Help Me to Find the Way - Palmer Sisters
12. He`ll Be with Me - Palmer Sisters
13. Brownie Blues
14. Unknown Blues
15. Where Is My Mamma? - Carolina Twins
16. When You Go a` Courtin` - Carolina Twins
17. I Sat Upon the River Bank - Carolina Twins
18. New Orleans Is the Town I Like Best - Carolina Twins
19. She Tells Me That I Am Sweet - Carolina Twins
20. Mr. Brown, Here I Come - Carolina Twins
21. I Truly Understand, You Love Another Man
22. My Mother`s Hands

Album Information

Release Date:

04/05/2011

Type:

Collection

Genre:

Country

Label:

Bear Family Records (Germany)

Producer:

Ralph Peer; Christopher King (Reissue); Ted Olson (Reissue)

Catalog Number:

16094

Original Release Year:

2011

# of Discs:

5

Mono/Stereo:

Stereo

Runtime:

384 : 10

Guest Artist:

Tennessee Wildcats; Dad Blackard`s Moonshiners

Portions copyright 2005 Muze Inc. All rights reserved.