 |
|
Hank Williams
Revealed (The Unreleased Recordings) [Box] [11/3] *
Time-Life's first boxed set of unreleased Hank Williams recordings taken from the Mother's Best commercial transcriptions was easily one of the best-reviewed and best-selling boxed sets of 2008, and now here comes another three-CD set full of nuggets for fans of the country legend! This time, each disc includes a full show, plus some conversations with Hank that reveal the talented, troubled soul within. Remember, this is ALL unreleased, and it's a chance to hear Hank and the Drifting Cowboys live and in their element in great, hi-fi sound that surpasses their studio recordings!
IN STOCK NOW!
ON SALE!
$ 39.98
$ 31.98
buy
|
|
 |
|
|
 |
|
Dolly Parton
Dolly [10/27]
She’s got seven Grammys, two Oscar nominations, a Tony nomination, a place in the Country Music Hall of Fame…but Dolly has no career-spanning, multi-label anthology. This takes care of that on 4 CDs: her earliest cuts, huge RCA hits, recent recordings…99 tracks from one of country’s most adored stars! Unissued songs and demos and duets with Porter Wagoner, Kenny Rogers and Ricky Van Shelton join her smashes 'Here You Come Again; Heartbreaker; You’re the Only One; It’s All Wrong, but It’s All Right; Joshua; Jolene; Coat of Many Colors; I Will Always Love You; Love Is Like a Butterfly; The Bargain Store; The Seeker; I Really Got the Feeling; Starting All Over Again; 9 to 5; Why’d You Come In Here Lookin’ Like That; Yellow Roses', and more.
4 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 49.98
$ 39.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
George Jones
A Good Year For The Roses-The Complete Musicor Recordings 1965-1971 Part 2 [6/23]
Be they all-time classics or unissued cuts, George’s Musicor tracks have not' been treated right. A lawsuit kept them out of circulation for years and they’ve never been issued systematically (or in premium sound quality) ’til now. Bear Family’s much-appreciated telling of his complete Musicor story continues with 131 hits, overlooked gems, unissued tracks (20 of those) and duets! His country Top 10s 'When the Grass Grows over Me; I’ll Share My World with You; As Long As I Live', and 'A Good Year for the Roses' join duets with Tammy Wynette ('Each Season Changes You; The Race Is On; Never Grow Cold'), Brenda Carter ('Great Big Spirit of Love' and their hit 'Milwaukee, Here I Come'), Johnny Paycheck ('Your Angel Steps Out of Heaven'), and more. A big beautiful set, this is: 131 tracks and a 52-page book in an LP-sized box!
4 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 99.98
$ 84.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Jerry Reed
When You're Hot: The Best Of 1967-1983 *
From the freewheeling country classics to the more pop-flavored recordings, here are 28 essentials by “The Guitar Man”…26 of ’em Top 40 hits! His original 'Guitar Man' and 'U.S. Male' join his Top 10s 'When You’re Hot, You’re Hot; She Got the Goldmine (I Got the Shaft); Lord, Mr. Ford; The Bird; East Bound and Down; (I Love You) What Can I Say', and more.
ON SALE!
$ 19.98
$ 17.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Kristofferson, Kris
Border Lord / Jesus Was A Capricorn
'Border Lord' just missed the Top 40 in March 1971; 'Jesus Was a Capricorn' hit #31 that November. Hear his smash 'Why Me'; his hits 'Josie' and 'Jesus Was a Capricorn', plus 'Nobody Wins' (borrowed for a hit by Brenda Lee); 'Burden of Freedom', and more!
ON SALE!
$ 18.98
$ 16.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Kristofferson, Kris
Spooky Lady's Sideshow / Shake Hands With The Devil
The first LP here charted in May 1974; the second (1979) gave him his first country hit in years, 'Prove It to You One More Time Again'. Kris also sings his songs turned into hits by Bobby Bare ('Come Sundown') and Jerry Lee Lewis ('Once More with Feeling') plus 'Same Old Song; Rescue Mission', and more!
ON SALE!
$ 18.98
$ 16.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Kristofferson, Kris
Who's To Bless And Who's To Blame / To The Bone
The philosophical (but mighty tuneful) songs on the first LP here helped it chart in ’75; the second was a country hit in ’81 and finds him singing sad songs of love gone bad. Check out 'Stranger' (soon to be a Johnny Duncan smash); 'Magdalene; Devil to Pay' and Kris’s country hit 'Nobody Loves Anybody Anymore'.
ON SALE!
$ 18.98
$ 16.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Kristofferson, Kris
Surreal Thing / Easter Island
These two charted in ’76 and ’78 and run the gamut from deeply felt love songs to equally poignant songs of bitterness and scorn. Includes 'How Do You Feel About Foolin’ Around' (later a hit for Kris with Willie Nelson); 'It’s Never Gonna Be the Same Again; The Prisoner; The Fighter', and more.
ON SALE!
$ 18.98
$ 16.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys
The Tiffany Transcriptions [Box]
For our first-ever exclusive Collectors' Choice Music boxed set, we're presenting a series of recordings that changed the face of American country music, and, indeed, American popular music in general. But more on that later. The story behind the Tiffany Transcriptions is this: in 1945, Bob Wills, Oakland, California disc jockey Cactus Jack and businessman-songwriter Clifford Sundin founded Tiffany Music, Inc. to create a series of transcriptions, pre-packaged radio shows featuring Wills and his Texas Playboys. A steady series of programs, of course, required that Wills and the band record scores of tunes, and not just their hits and their bandstand repertoire. And the extra space afforded by the 16-inch transcription discs as opposed to 78s meant that the band had infinitely more jamming space, and this was a band (most notably vocalist Tommy Duncan, steel guitarists Noel Boggs, Roy Honeycutt and Herb Remington, guitarists Eldon Shamblin and Lester "Junior" Bernard, fiddler/mandolinist Tiny Moore, fiddlers Joe Holley and Louis Tierney, pianist Millard Kelso, banjoist Ocie Stockard, bassist Luke Wills and drummer Johnny Cuviello) that, more than arguably any other outfit in the history of country music, KNEW how to jam! The result was, as Wills expert Rich Kienzle puts it in his liner notes, "For all the great records Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys made in 1946-47 for Columbia and MGM, and there were plenty, the Tiffany sessions captured something deeper, intangible and vibrant, music that even the occasional miscue or missed note can't diminish. It represents the very soul, spirit and musical passion of Bob and the band as they really were on those Western and Southwestern bandstands. 60 years later, it still sounds like yesterday. Play it loud and listen. The magic is still there." These 150 remastered tracks include the debut of the Wills classic 'Faded Love', torrid versions of jazz classics like 'St. Louis Blues; C-Jam Blues', and 'Jumpin' at the Woodside'; early, pre-rock and roll knee-knockers like 'Okie Boogie' and 'A Little Bit of Boogie', and Western Swing favorites like 'Shame on You' and 'Oklahoma Hills' among their highlights. The accompanying booklet not only includes Kienzle's essay, which boasts quotes from many of the Playboys, but rare pix and artist testimonials from Ray Benson of Asleep at the Wheel, Ranger Doug from Riders in the Sky and Ashley Kingman from Big Sandy & the Fly-Rite Boys (hey, it's our first boxed set, we wanted to do it right)! Available now!
10 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 129.98
$ 103.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Eddy Arnold
There's Been A Change In Me (1951-1955) [Box] *
Personnel: Eddy Arnold (vocals, guitar); Douglas Kirkham, Dorothy Ann Dillard, Jack Brown, Betty McCormick, David Vogel, Lillian Clark, Keith Booth, Robert Spiro, Ralph Nyland, Merrill Ostrus, Marilyn Palmer, William Guilford Wright, Sylvia Textor, Bettye McCormack, Robert Spiro, David A. Vogel, Jack Brown, Sylvia Textor, Ralph Nyland, Keith Booth, Marilyn Palmer, William Guilford Wright, Jr., Lillian Clark, Marcia Neil, Anita Kerr, Lois Winter, Louis Dean Nunley, Millie Kirkham, Jimmy Leyden, Brock Speer (vocals); Chet Atkins (guitar, electric guitar); Al Chernet (guitar, banjo); Danny Perri, Jack Shook, Allan Hanlon, James Ulysis 'Guy' Willis, Tony Gottuso, Louis Innes, Tony Gottuso, Allen Hanlon, James "Guy" Willis, Louise Innes (guitar); Walter L. Garland, Hank Garland (electric guitar, banjo); George Barnes, Harold Bradley (electric guitar); Ivan Leroy 'Little Roy' Wiggins, Ivan LeRoy Wiggins (steel guitar); Harry Glickman, Lillian Hunt, Howard Carpenter, Wilda Tinsley, Irving Finkstein, Felix Orlewitz, Ed Stover, David Novales, Joyce McIlvaiin, Seymour Miroff, Ovid Collins, Maurice Hershaft, Maurice Golodner, Seymour Miroff, Felix Orlewitz, Sylvan Shulman, Maurice Wilk, Maurice Hershaft, David Novales, Sylvan Shulman, Maurice Wilk (violin); C. R. 'Skeeter' Willis (fiddle); Samuel Persoff, Howard Kay, Jules Whiteman, John W. Kline, George "Funky" Brown, George Brown, Howard Kay (viola); Lucien Schmit, Milton Prinz, Martin Lake, Thomas D. Thomas, Lucien Schmit, Martin Lake, Milton Prinz (cello); Vic Willis (accordion, piano); Henry Ross, Bernard Kaufman, Bernard Kaufman, Harold Feldman (saxophone); Arthur Berv, Walden Wilber, John Rossi (French horn); Marvin H. Hughes, Marvin H. Hughes, Marty Gold (piano, celesta, organ); Cy Levitan, John 'Papa' Gordy, John Guarniori, J. Vic Willis, Poppa John Gordy (piano); Eddie Litvin (organ); Jack Saunders, Philip Leo Kraus (vibraphone, drums); James Burks (vibraphone); Bob L. Moore, Sam Hollingsworth, R. 'Chuck' Wright, Ernie Newton, George Duvivier, Frank Carroll, Charles Randolph Grean (bass instrument); Polk Moore, Walter Lenk, Terry Snyder, Clifford Leeman, Farris Coursey (drums).
Liner Note Author: Michael Streissguth.
Recording information: Brown Radio Productions, Nashville, TN (01/27/1951-12/01/1955); RCA Victor Studio, New York, NY (01/27/1951-12/01/1955); Thomas Productions, Nashville, TN (01/27/1951-12/01/1955); Webster Hall, New York, NY (01/27/1951-12/01/1955).
Illustrators: R.A. Andreas; Packy Smith; E. Reinald Schumann.
Photographers: R.A. Andreas; Packy Smith; E. Reinald Schumann.
Arranger: Larry Wilcox.
Eddy Arnold's approach to country and his rich, expressive baritone voice always seemed closer to pop singers like Bing Crosby and Perry Como than it did to more rustic country stars like Hank Snow and Ernest Tubb, and he worked with pop songwriters out of New York as much or more than he used Nashville ones. His approach reaped dividends, certainly, and he charted countless hits in an a truly astounding seven-decade career, and if he was never fully embraced by the public as a pop singer, he brought a kind of urbane dignity and grace to country music in the bargain, prefiguring the so-called Nashville countrypolitan sound as early as 1955. This expansive seven-disc, 166-track box charts Arnold's RCA Victor years from 1951 to 1955, and it reveals a fascinating transformation from Arnold's early tenure as a hillbilly singer to his later stance as the man who melted country and pop together into what was essentially a whole new musical form. The early stuff here, like the opening track "Tennessee Hillbilly Ghost," is surprisingly sturdy and energetic, and shows that Arnold could have easily made a successful career out of the rustic material that most country singers turned to, but he was really after something else, and possessing a near faultless ear for a good song, he went in an entirely different direction, and by the time he recorded songs like "I Walked Alone Last Night," with its beautiful string ensemble backing, he was just a sweater or two away from being Perry Como. Still, Arnold never completely turned his back on Nashville, keeping his home base there, and he continued to record songs like Floyd Tillman's "I Love You So Much It Hurts" and Merle Travis' lovely "Bayou Lullaby," giving them a kind of easy and sincere smoothness. He also foresaw the urban folk revival in 1955 when he released a wonderful album of traditional material, and his beautifully orchestrated and elegantly dressed up re-imagining of folk classics like "The Wayfaring Stranger," which is included here, are among his finest tracks. Also worth noting are Arnold's versions of the slow waltz "I Wish I Knew," "(Now and Then, There's) A Fool Such as I," the organ-laced "You Always Hurt the One You Love" and Tommy Dilbeck's "This Is the Thanks I Get (For Loving You)," which is represented here in five versions that show the evolution of Arnold's approach to the song. As usual, Bear Family Records captures it all, and this is simply a gorgeously produced and annotated set that no Eddy Arnold fan will want to skip. ~ Steve Leggett
7 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 249.98
$ 149.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Various Artists
Boots, Buckles & Spurs: 50 Songs Celebrate 50 Years Of Cowboy Tradition [Long Box]
The cowboy as an actual occupation may have peaked before the end of the 19th century, but the mythology of the cowboy was just beginning when the recording industry began dipping into folk and regional music in the 1920s (film, radio, and television weren't far behind). It ensured that children would continue to play Cowboys & Indians for decades to come, then follow their favorite Singing (or acting) Cowboys on the silver screen and later, television. The rodeo tradition, closely related, has existed nearly as long as herding cattle, although it became professionalized and regimented beginning with the first National Finals Rodeo in 1959. Come 2008, and it's the 50th anniversary of that event, presented by Wrangler and governed by the oldest and largest rodeo organization, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA). Despite its unwieldy title, the three-disc box set Boots, Buckles & Spurs: 50 Songs Celebrate 50 Years of Cowboy Tradition is a fine retrospective of the best cowboy-themed music during that time (much of it the same as what's heard over the PA at those events). When compared to other large compilations of cowboy music and Western swing, some have been better from a historical perspective -- 1993's Songs of the West from Rhino is still the best -- but as an all-encompassing look at the allure of the cowboy within country music over the last 50 years, it's perfectly primed. (And given that the combined catalogs of Sony and BMG are involved, it boasts one of the biggest casts of performers that one could hope for.) Presented in rough chronological order, it begins with Gene Autry's "Back in the Saddle Again" and, early on, pegs key Western material of the '40s and '50s (Sons of the Pioneers, Roy Rogers, Bob Wills). That still leaves most of the first disc, and all of discs two and three, to cover the '60s (briefly) and everything produced after. Naturally, these tracks aren't dusty old 45s of Tex Ritter moaning about blood in the saddle or the perils of rye whiskey; this is polished, high-energy country, perfect for booming out over a 50,000-kilowatt system, with cowboys often used as metaphors by singers who may not know much about the rodeo or cowboy tradition at all (the biggest exception being Chris LeDoux, the celebrated country singer and rodeo champion). Over 50 songs and well over three hours of music, a parade of country stars appear with their best Western moments, including Charlie Daniels, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, Michael Martin Murphey, and Marty Robbins, as well as contemporary country stars George Strait, Clint Black, Vince Gill, Tracy Byrd, Montgomery Gentry, and Brooks & Dunn. If you have no problem seeing a continuous line of the cowboy within country music, with attendant dots for "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" by the Sons of the Pioneers, "Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys" by Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, and a cover of Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Montgomery Gentry, then this is just the set for you. ~ John Bush
3 CD SET
ON SALE!
$ 39.98
$ 34.98
buy
|
|
|
 |
|
Various Artists
Outlaw Trail Collection (3cd/2dvd)
Is it legal to have so much outlaw country in one place? Probably not, but we’ll act as partners-in-crime and offer up this sprawling set of greatness: 3 CDs of essential cuts, a DVD with the documentary 'The Outlaw Trail' (tracing the travels of America’s most notorious outlaws) and another with the amazing 'Outlaw Trail' concert from Austin, Texas! Rodney Crowell, Jessi Colter, Joe Ely, Asleep at the Wheel, Suzy Bogguss and many others take the stage there; CD tracks include 'Rock Island Line' Johnny Cash; 'I Gotta Get Drunk' Willie Nelson; 'Crying' Waylon Jennings; 'Detroit City' Bobby Bare; 'Tonight the Bottle Let Me Down' Merle Haggard; 'Sam Stone' John Prine; 'Texas on My Mind' Jerry Jeff Walker, plus Patsy Cline, Roger Miller, Glen Campbell, Eddie Rabbit, Johnny Paycheck and more!
3 CD / 2 DVD SET
ON SALE!
$ 69.98
$ 59.98
buy
|
|
|
|
|
