Search - Sound Traditions: Best of Bluegrass :: Sound Traditions: Best of Bluegrass - 25 Classics

Material from 13 albums (from the 1960s) with traditional ru

J. Ross | Roseburg, OR USA | 01/02/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Playing Time - 46:35 -- With over 50 years in business, Rural Rhythm Records has built a catalog that connects many dots from past to present. Since its 1955 creation, Rural Rhythm has released hundreds of classic performances by many legendary bluegrass and old-time musicians such as J.E. Mainer, Don Reno, Red Smiley, Mac Wiseman, Vassar Clements, Hylo Brown, Bill Harrell, Jim Eanes, and many others. This album is part of that archival catalog. The label owes its Arcadia, California start to Uncle Jim O'Neal whose vision was to release the music of many top bluegrass and old-time musicians in the 1950-70s, seeking success where Starday had failed by producing records of limited appeal by lesser known, albeit talented, musicians. Early ads for records released by Uncle Jim O'Neal stated that the LPs sold for only $3.50 apiece. The self-professed "Little Cotton Picker," O'Neal also took an approach of releasing 20 songs on each 33 1/3 RPM album. These would have been great bargains in the mid-1960s when major label monaural records (with only about a dozen songs) were selling for $3.98 and stereophonic records were $4.98. The items still sold well, and Rural Rhythm Records thrived and flourished.



A sampler such as this CD will give you a taste of the large and varied Rural Rhythm musical archive. With music remastered by Steve Hoffman, featured bands include Don Reno & Bill Harrell, Mac Martin & The Dixie Travelers, Reno & Smiley, Hylo Brown, Red Smiley & The Bluegrass Cut-Ups, Earl Taylor & Jim McCall, Curly Fox, Vassar Clements, Tater Tate. Liner notes are provided by Nashville-based country music historian Colin Escott.



The label continues to demonstrate great business acumen in both issuing and reissuing traditional material to give it the attention and respect it deserves. Resurgence of interest in such material compels music fans with intellectual or fanatical streaks to dig deep into such archival material and seek it out. Songcarriers and musicologists would be particularly interested in this type of archival material. Don't always expect to hear stereo separation, elaborate arrangements or the same level of clarion studio recording quality we hear today. Most of the cuts span about 2 minutes apiece. Just enjoy and relive a classic bluegrass sound of yesteryear. The strength of a sampler like this is its inherent rusticity, rootsy sounds, and historical value. Material from 13 LPs is sampled on this CD.



If you're a traditional bluegrass fan, you're sure to discover artists for further exploration. Uncle Jim O'Neal would be happy and proud to know that his vision and life's work continue to be shared and enjoyed. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

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