Mule Skinner Blues [Live][#] - Bill Monroe, Christian, M.
Cryin' Holy Unto My Lord - Bill Monroe, Traditional
Back Up and Push - Bill Monroe, Traditional
Goodbye Old Pal - Bill Monroe, Carlisle, Cliff
Heavy Traffic Ahead
Wicked Path of Sin
It's Mighty Dark to Travel
Bluegrass Breakdown
Can't You Hear Me Callin'
My Little Georgia Rose
I'm on My Way to the Old Home
I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome - Bill Monroe, Smith, J.B.
Uncle Pen
Lord Protect My Soul
Rawhide
Brakeman's Blues - Bill Monroe, Rodgers, Jimmie [1]
Sugar Coated Love - Bill Monroe, Butler, Audrey
Christmas Time's A-Coming - Bill Monroe, Logan, Tex
The First Whippoorwill
In the Pines - Bill Monroe, Bryant, Slim
Footprints in the Snow - Bill Monroe, Jones, Rupert
Walking in Jerusalem
Track Listings (24) - Disc #2
Memories of Mother and Dad
The Little Girl and the Dreadful Snake - Bill Monroe, Price, A.
Y'all Come - Bill Monroe, Duff, Arlie
Sitting Alone in the Moonlight
On and On
White House Blues - Bill Monroe, Jones, Wilbur
Happy on My Way - Bill Monroe, Pyle, Pete
A Voice from on High - Bill Monroe, Mauldin, Bessie Lee
Close By - Bill Monroe, Little Robert
Put My Little Shoes Away - Bill Monroe, Jones, Wilbur
Wheel Hoss
Cheyenne
You'll Find Her Name Written There - Bill Monroe, Hensley, Harold
Roanoke - Bill Monroe, Ahr, Joe
Blue Moon of Kentucky [Live][#]
The Girl in the Blue Velvet Band [Live][#] - Bill Monroe, Carlisle, Cliff
Used to Be
A Good Woman's Love - Bill Monroe, Coben, Cy
Cry, Cry Darling - Bill Monroe, Newman, Jimmy C.
I'm Sitting on Top of the World - Bill Monroe, Henderson, Ray
I'll Meet You in the Morning - Bill Monroe, Brumley, Albert E.
Scotland
Molly and Tenbrooks [Live][#]
John Henry [Live][#] - Bill Monroe, Traditional
Track Listings (27) - Disc #3
Big Mon
Dark as the Night, Blue as the Day
Sold Down the River - Bill Monroe, Horton, Vaughn
Little Joe - Bill Monroe, Carter, A.P.
Lonesome Road Blues
I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky
Toy Heart
Nine Pound Hammer - Bill Monroe, Travis, Merle
Big Sandy River - Bill Monroe, Baker, Kenny
Darling Corey - Bill Monroe, Traditional
Salt Creek - Bill Monroe, Keith, Bill
Sailor's Hornpipe - Bill Monroe, Keith, Bill
Roll on Buddy, Roll On - Bill Monroe, Wilburn, Doyle
Bill's Dream [#]
Never Again (Will I Knock on Your Door) - Bill Monroe, Williams, Benny
Dusty Miller - Bill Monroe, Christian, M.
Midnight on the Stormy Deep - Bill Monroe, Traditional
Soldier's Joy [#] - Bill Monroe, Christian, M.
Blue Night - Bill Monroe, McGee, Kirk
Sally Goodin - Bill Monroe, Traditional
Kentucky Mandolin
Walls of Time [#]
I Haven't Seen Mary in Years - Bill Monroe, Black, Damon
The Dead March
With Body and Soul - Bill Monroe, Stauffer, Virginia
Walk Softly on My Heart - Bill Monroe, Landers, Jake
Going Up Caney
Track Listings (23) - Disc #4
Kentucky Waltz
Get Up John
Lonesome Moonlight Waltz
Rocky Road Blues
Jenny Lynn
My Old Kentucky and You
You Won't Be Satisfied That Way [Live] - Bill Monroe, Davis, Jimmie
Jerusalem Ridge
Ashland Breakdown
Come Hither to Go Yonder
My Last Days on Earth
My Sweet Blue-Eyed Darlin'
Travelin' This Lonesome Road
The Old Brown County Barn
Stay Away from Me
The Long Bow
The Old Crossroads
Southern Flavor
Take Courage Un' Tomorrow
Pike County Breakdown
I'm Working on a Building - Bill Monroe, Carter, A.P.
You're Drifting Away
Boston Boy [#] - Bill Monroe, Traditional
It's the rare artist who virtually invents a genre single-handedly, and there's no artist in any genre whose work has remained as dominant a force as Bill Monroe. The songs here not only define bluegrass, they remain the c... more »ore of any bluegrass band's repertoire. Monroe added a dose of sophistication to traditional hillbilly music--intricate group harmonies, expert musicianship--and he rehearsed his Blue Grass Boys for hours on end. MCA's lavish 4 CD set covers 60 years and 98 songs, adding detailed notes and anecdotes. Beginning with 1936 duets with brother Charlie, the list of Blue Grass Boys reads like a roster of legends: Flatt and Scruggs, Chubby Wise, Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Martin, Vassar Clements, Sonny Osborne, Bobby Hicks, Kenny Baker, Bill Keith, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, and Richard Greene; the list goes on and on, as does the legacy of Monroe's music. --Marc Greilsamer« less
It's the rare artist who virtually invents a genre single-handedly, and there's no artist in any genre whose work has remained as dominant a force as Bill Monroe. The songs here not only define bluegrass, they remain the core of any bluegrass band's repertoire. Monroe added a dose of sophistication to traditional hillbilly music--intricate group harmonies, expert musicianship--and he rehearsed his Blue Grass Boys for hours on end. MCA's lavish 4 CD set covers 60 years and 98 songs, adding detailed notes and anecdotes. Beginning with 1936 duets with brother Charlie, the list of Blue Grass Boys reads like a roster of legends: Flatt and Scruggs, Chubby Wise, Mac Wiseman, Jimmy Martin, Vassar Clements, Sonny Osborne, Bobby Hicks, Kenny Baker, Bill Keith, Del McCoury, Peter Rowan, and Richard Greene; the list goes on and on, as does the legacy of Monroe's music. --Marc Greilsamer
kevinj@unm.edu | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 08/12/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Bill Monroe is truely the father of bluegrass music. Thiscollection spans his entire career, from his earliest recordings withhis brother Charlie, through his final session in 1994. Throughout his career, Monroe has produced some of the greatest legends in all of bluegrass. Del McCoury,Peter Rowan, Jimmy Martin, Flatt and Scruggs, Don Reno, Kenny Baker, Richard Greene, Vassar Clements and countless others made their debuts on Monroe records. All these artists appear on multiple tracks throughout the anthology. This anthology is a necessary addittion for any lover of American Music."
A must-have for ANY Bluegrass fan
Amy Beth Hale | Nashville, TN USA | 09/01/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"We grew up calling him Uncle Bill. We listened to his music so much in our house that he felt like part of the family (even if he wasn't really). His songs, most of which are Bluegrass standards now, could make your hair stand on end or put you into a crying fit. This box set is a wonderful collection of those songs. Everything about this set is perfect. From the sound to the song selection. Even the packaging is classy. The music contained herein is delivered by true artists. Many a Bluegrass legend has "served time" in Mr. Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys. Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Jimmy Martin, Kenny Baker, "Tater" Tate, Peter Rowen, Cubby Wise are all on this box set for your listening pleasure. And the great thing about it is that the extensive discography will tell you who's playing what and even when the track was recorded! I cannot think of a better collection of "Uncle" Bill's songs."
A Must for Collectors of American Music
Thomas Benson | Scotia, NY United States | 09/22/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This boxed set, while certainly not the complete recorded output of Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys, is an excellent sampling of Bill's music throughout his storied career. I would recommend this collection to anyone who is interested in the evolution of American music in particular "roots" music and early Rock n' Roll. While Monroe stayed within a simple chord progression format though the years, the textures of the music evolved with the changes of the band's personnel and his own experiences. Some of the instrumentals on disc one and two are examples of bluegrass "breakdowns" that are played at a breakneck pace. The instrumentals on disc three and four, while still played quickly, are more subtle and have a modal "old timey" quality to them, as if Monroe was returning to the sounds he heard as a child.
The vocal songs also show the changes that Monroe went through as a songwriter and song interpreter. The listener can compare "I'm Blue, I'm Lonesome" on disc one with a powerful yet understated quality, to "Blue Night" on disc three sung with a raw nerve exposed. On "Blue Night" with his voice against the urgent fiddle of Richard Greene played with a siren-like quality, the listener can take away the notion that as Monroe got older, the more he was willing to take a chance and challenge the listener as well. Background music this is not!
Credit is due to [the record company] for issuing this material and investing in the liner notes and photographs on such a non-mainstream project. The accompanying booklet is worth almost as much as the recorded material.
Just as Louis Armstrong is an important figure in American music and popular culture, Bill Monroe's music is equally as important as a synthesis of what he heard around him; Blues, Swing, Jazz, Gospel, Celtic and later even Rock n' Roll. Without Bill Monroe we may never have had the Everly Brothers, Elvis, or Buddy Holly. (Listen to Monroe's mandolin and compare it to Chuck Berry's guitar. Coincidence? I doubt it!) If you are reading this and don't own it, buy it now. You'll thank me later."
"Bill Monroe"...still the Best of the Best !
J. F Kopeck | Parkville, Maryland United States | 06/21/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Simply...this is about the finest collection of the finest work of Bill Monroe that can be found anywhere. I love this set so much that after purchasing it on cassett I then moved to CD's and purchased that set (you can never have to much of the Blurgrass Boys).I own just about every LP that Monroe put out in the 50s & 60s but they just can't stand up to the remastered sound of this box set. I have been listening to my favorite songs like "Footprints in the snow","Put my little shoes away","Blue moon of Kentucky" and of course "Uncle Pen"(the booklet that comes with this set has a picture of Bill at the gravesite on his Uncle Peneton, the grave stone is complete with a fiddle and bow.A little known fact is that Jimmy Martin helped Monroe write this classic song about his uncle).This is a true Bluegrass lovers collection, even the case itself is cool with it's old time book-binding cover. This set is about as good as it gets!A Bill Monroe fan for 50+ years I would never stear anyone wrong.
"ENJOY"
"
A True Genius and Inovater
TheHighlander | Richfield, PA United States | 06/01/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"How many people can claim that they "invented" a style of music? And have the music named after their home state. This is the legacy of Bill Monroe and this box set shows the reason why. Bill's vision regarding his music was absolutely remarkable. It was a new style, unheard of, captivating and invigorating. On track after track his genius is shown. A master mandolin player, a great vocalist for this new style of music and a larger than life figure. He was also tough and unrelenting on what he wanted. Bluegrass music today exists because of his demands and forsight. Almost every major figure of the second generation of bluegrass pickers played in his band at one time or another. We are now in the third generation of pickers and they are still influenced by his mastery. You can not go to a bluegrass concert today and not hear atleast one of his compositions. This box set shows why he is considered the father of bluegrass. The tracks vary from driving instrumentals, to gospel, to thought provoking songs of real life in the mountains. They attest to his unequaled grasp of the feeling that is meant to be presented in music, especially acoustic music. If you are a bluegrass fan, this is something you should already own. If you are not a bluegrass fan, buy this and enjoy and learn where the music came from. A classic box set, one of the best ever, an awesome collection."