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For UPS/COD shipments, please add $9.00 in addition to regular shipping charges. For US Mail/COD shipments, please add $6.25 in addition to regular shipping charges. For special expedited rates (FED EX, UPS, NEXT DAY, etc) please call or fax us for cost & authorization. SEND ALL ORDERS TO: COUNTY SALES P.O. BOX 191 FLOYD, VA 24091 540-745-2001 * Minimum credit card order is $25.00 * (Fax) 540-745-2008 PHONE ORDERS: (540) 745-2001 FAX ORDERS: (540) 745-2008 COUNTY SALES P.O. Box 191 Floyd,VA 24091 Purchase Amount $4.00-29.99 $30.00-59.99 $60.00-139.99 $140.00-199.99 Over $200.00 U. S. Media Mail 3.50 5.00 7.00 8.00 9.50 U. S. Priority Mail 5.00 7.50 9.75 12.50 15.00 International/Canadian orders will be charged exact shipping costs based on weight of the order ALL CUSTOMERS ARE CHARGED A $1.00 HANDLING FEE * ALL VIRGINIA CUSTOMERS MUST ADD 5% SALES TAX. NEWSLETTER #301 www.countysales.com August - September 2009 MIKE SEEGER With sadness we have to report the passing of MIKE SEEGER, who died of cancer on Friday, August 7 at his home in Lexington, Va. He was 75 years old. Seeger was one of the real pioneers in preserving authentic Old Time music and bringing it to an entirely new audience, starting in the late 1950s. He was a founding member of the New Lost City Ramblers, the group that did the most to intro- duce a young, receptive audience to the wonderful sounds we know today as Old-Time music. Along with Tom Paley, John Cohen and later Tracy Schwarz, he showed through the group's records and stage showsthat this music was not only a lot of fun to hear and play, but was a very important part of our American heritage as well. As a force behind the New York City based Friends of Old Time Music, he "rediscovered" such musical giants as Dock Boggs, Eck Robertson, Elizabeth Cotton, Cousin Emmy, and Fiddlin' Arthur Smith, and brought them to the attention of urban audiencesoverseas as well as throughout the USA. A skilled performer on many instru- ments, he was also extensively involved with Cajun, Blues, and Bluegrass music, and in fact was responsible for one of the very early LP records of this genre, the fine and very influential "Mountain Music Bluegrass Style" on Moe Asch's Folkways Records. A great many people who be- came "movers & shakers" in Bluegrass and Old-Time mu- sic were inspired by Seeger's work, and we all owe a debt of gratitude for his very key role in making the music as popular as it is today. COUNTY RECORDS CAPS & T-SHIRTS Answering many requests, we now have a new sup- ply of COUNTY RECORDS caps with our well known train logo in a red, white and black patch. Cap colors are your choice of black or khaki and they are just $ 10.00. We also have plenty of our popular COUNTY RECORDS T-shirts (with train logo): these are $ 12.00 and come in either white or ash (gray). Please specify the size you want, MEDIUM, LARGE, X-LARGE or XXL. SPECIAL OFFER We remind our readers that you can always take advantage of our standing SPECIAL OFFER: If you buy 6 or more items, you can select a 7th CD at no charge. The only con- dition is that the free CD must be either a REBEL or COUNTY label recording. Also note that books, box sets and DVDs count as just one item (regardless of price). COUNTRY SONG & SOUVENIR BOOKS WANTED We are always looking to acquire old song books that feature country or Bluegrass artists. If you have any for disposal, please contact Dave describing what you have. We are especially looking for Souvenir booklets put out in the 1930s by CRAZY WATER CRYSTALS for radio stations WBT in Charlotte., N.C. and WPTF in Raleigh, N.C. Will pay well for these 2 Due to some problems with the mail service, quite a few of our readers (especially Canadian and foreign customers) failed to get our last Newsletter (# 300, JULY). Therefore we are going to re-list some of the highlight CDs from that Newsletter below, as there were a number of excellent records that you should at least know about. These are in stock ready for immediate shipment. ROU-0647 STEVE MARTIN "The Crow" "New Songs For 5-String Banjo" A dandy record by the comedian, who also happens to be an excellent Scruggs style banjo picker. Accompanied by the STEEP CANYON RANGERS he will be making a tour of major market cities In October and Novemberwatch for them! He gets help on this album from Earl Scruggs, Tim O'Brien, Tony Trischka, Vince Gill and Dolly Parton. It is not "barn burning" banjo, but solid, tasteful renditions of his own songs & tunes. $ 13.50 REB-1826 BARRY SCOTT & SECOND WIND "In God's Time" Simply one of the finest Bluegrass gospel albums that we have ever heard, with every song a gem. Scott, who was a member of Doyle Lawson's Quicksilver for some 7 years, has a fine, tight band, with great singers. Kenny Smith (guitar) and Ronald Inscore (mand.) help out, and Scott is joined by Vince Gill's vocals on 2 cuts. A wonderful disc here. $ 13.50 REB-7523 MAC WISEMAN "Bluegrass Hits & Heartsongs" A superb collection of 14 songs handled beauti- fully by one of the greatest Bluegrass singers of all. These recordings were made in the 1970s with a fine band that included Tater Tate, Billy Edwards and John Palmer. The songs include some great old timers that Mac never cut previously: KNOXVILLE GIRL, LETTER EDGED IN BLACK, THE BLACK SHEEP etc. $ 10.00 MCM-0050 DEL McCOURY "Celebrating 50 Years" (5-CD Boxed set). In this 50 song compilation Del and his current band have re-recorded many of the finest songs from the earlier years of his career when he recorded for Rounder, Rebel, Arhoolie, and Revonah. The quality of Del's singing, and the quality of his bands over the years has not changed much at allit is excellent all the way. Most all of his great songs are here: RAIN & SNOW, HIGH ON A MOUNTAIN, GOOD MAN LIKE ME, COLD HARD FACTS, 1952 VINCENT BLACK LIGHTNING, ELI RENFRO, DON'T STOP THE MUSIC and I'VE ENDURED, etc. $ 45.00 WJRC-40125 NORMAN & NANCY BLAKE "Rising Fawn Gathering" The Blakes get together with the Celtic band Boys Of The Lough and their old friend James Bryan for a lovely program of old time music with the Celtic flavor. The CD features fiddles, mandolin, cello and guitars in a warm, relaxed setting. $ 15.00 COMP-4511 DALE ANN BRADLEY "Don't Turn Your Back" Dale Ann's best recording to date has a good mixture of songs and first class instrumental and vocal backing from artists like Stuart Duncan, Mike Bub, Claire Lynch and Steve Gulley. Ms. Bradley was the IBMA's female vocalist for the past two years. $ 13.50 REB-8005 DRIVE TIME BLUEGRASS (Various Artists) At a great bargain price, this 18-song CD has some of the most dynamic Bluegrass music you'll hear in one place, with classic recordings from Rebel's vaults by artists like Ralph Stanley, Del McCoury, Mac Wiseman, Red Allen, Junior Sisk, Blue Highway, The Seldom Scene, The Country Gentle- men, Dave Evans, etc. Great music that really moves along! $ 9.00 PAP-2 THE NEW MULES "Pride of America" If you want some great old time music featuring fiddle, this new CD will be a rewarding choice. Leader Garry Harrison, from the state of Illinois, always has a bunch of great tunes and plays them beautifully. Here he is accompanied by his daughter and three other old-time musicians who make up a fine string band. $ 13.50 Here is the FINAL CALL for the following CDs from the MUSIC MILL labelbargains at just $ 5.00 each! MME-70037 MAC WISEMAN "The Capitol Singles" MME-70047 ROCKY TOP (Various Artists) All Bluegrass songs about Tennessee MME-70048 BILL MONROE & JIMMY MARTIN "The King & The Father" (Fine selection) MME-70053 JIMMY MARTIN "This World Is Not My Home" (Great gospel album!) MME-70054 JIMMY MARTIN "Singing All Day & Dinner On The Ground (another fine gospel CD) 3 OH-4060 CHARLIE MOORE "Mountain Sweet- heart" This is a re-issue of an old LP that was recorded in 1979 when the late Charlie Moore was touring Europe. The original 12 songs are augmented here with another 10 pieces, including a couple of comedy routines. On this over- seas trip Moore was backed by a Belgian band, Smoketown Strut, and the album originally came out on the foreign Raccoon label. In addition to FIREBALL, WOODEN HEART, I'LL NEVER LOVE ANOTHER, LITTLE GEORGIA ROSE and others from the original LP, the new material here includes RATTLER, I'LL BREAK OUT AGAIN, WHERE THE OLD RED RIVER FLOWS, LITTLE BLOSSOM and MIDNIGHT TRAIN, etc. $ 15.00 SFR-105 HOWARD "HOWDY" FORRESTER "The MGM Recordings" In the early days of LPs (the late 1950s and early 1960s), when there were only a relative handful of Bluegrass LPs and not too many more in the country & western field, this album appeared on the market, and quickly be- came a classic and essential fiddle album (it was possibly the first 12-inch country fiddle album ever released). It didn't stay in the catalog very long, and since that time the original MGM album has become a highly sought, high-dollar collector's item. A quick look at the tunes reminds us just how influential this album was among a whole generation of fiddlers: along with Howdy's versions of old standards like LEATHER BREECHES, SALLY GOODIN', GRAY EAGLE and DOG IN THE RYE STRAW, you will find his signature tunesRUTLAND'S REEL, SAY OLD MAN, HIGH LEVEL HORN- PIPE, BRILLIANCY, CRUEL WILLIE, and CLARINET POLKA. Backing Howdy on this record were Pete Kirby (Brother Oswald) and Ray Edenton on guitars and Jun- ior Huskey on bass. Forrester is deservedly considered one of the very best of the coun- try fiddlershe played a con- siderable amount of Blue- grass, but was best known as Roy Acuff's fiddler for over 20 years. Acuff, a fiddler himself and a real fan of great fiddling, was responsible for getting Howdy the opportunity to cut this 1958 recording for MGM (which was closely associated with the giant Acuff-Rose enterprise). It should be pointed out that Acuff had previously recorded an 8-tune, ten inch LP for Columbia in the late 1940s that featured an- other fiddle great, Tommy Magness! This album is nicely packaged with over a dozen photos. It is still a wonderful and essential fiddle record! $ 13.50 PATUX-186 TATIANA HARGREAVES "Started Out To Ramble" Ms. Hargreaves, who plays both fiddle and old-time banjo, did some nice work on a recent Patuxent label record by Nate Leath. On this, her own full project, she tackles 15 good tunes and songs with the help of some excellent musicians including Bruce Molsky, Mark Schatz and Sarah Jarosz. Her playing here is excellent and stands out on pieces like GRUB SPRINGS, ROCKY PALLET, SHAKING DOWN THE ACORNS and especially WALK ALONG JOHN TO KANSAS. The singing is a different story: there is no mention of Ms. Hargreaves' age, but her voice has not yet matured into the vehicle it may well be- come at a later dateright now it is not in full control and at times is more of a distraction than anything else. She has picked out some tough songs to sing, and the record may have been a bit more successful with a couple more tunes in place of a couple of the weaker vocals. There is still a lot of nice old time music here, and it is very likely we will be hear- ing more of this talented your lady in the future. SAY DAR- LING SAY, PRETTY SARO, RALEIGH & SPENCER, GINSENG SULLIVAN, etc. $ 13.50 SAR-2256 VARIOUS ARTISTS "The Road Home" A tribute to Butch Baldassari" A large number of good musiciansincluding Ricky Skaggs, David Grisman and Sam Bushadd their talents to this nicely produced tribute to the late Baldassari, a highly re- spected mandolin player who passed away at too early an age from a brain tumor. Baldassari taught and influ- enced many, and was the origi- nator of the Nashville Man- dolin Ensemble, among other things. Whether by de- sign or coincidence most of the tunes here are waltzes or slower, gentle pieces that create a lovely, peaceful mood. There are just 3 vocals among the 20 cuts (Tim O'Brien sings STEALIN' and Sam Bush adds EAST VIRGINIA BLUES). All of the tunes are well played, and the program is far from boring even with- out many up tempo pieces. Among the highlights here are tunes by Mike Compton (HAPPY HOLLOW), David Grisman (DAWG'S WALTZ), Steve Kaufman's COLD FROSTY MEDLEY, Keith Little's THE GIFT, Ron Block's ERICA'S SONG and an especially fine RED FOX WALTZ by Robin Bullock. A recommended album with a lot to offer to any mandolin picker. $ 13.50 MJH-0004 MICKEY HARRIS "Dog House Blues" Straight & solid traditional Bluegrass by Harris on this, the third or 4th solo album to feature the bass player for Rhonda Vincent's band. He is backed by a variety of musicians in- cluding Wayne Benson (mand.), Kenny Ingram (banjo), Darrell Webb and Josh Williams (guitar) and Jimmy Van Cleve (fiddle) $ 13.50 SUG-4040 BRYAN SUTTON "Almost Live" Generally considered one of the top 4 or 5 guitarists in the Bluegrass/acoustic genre, Sutton is joined by a host of top flight musicians on this excellent collec- tion of tunes and songs that is both relaxed and taste- ful. There are only 10 tracks here, but all range from 3 and to 5-minutes, and there is plenty of variety. As one who is fascinated by what a "super" picker can do with traditional type tunes, I es- pecially enjoyed Sutton's ex- cellent version of Norman Blake's great CHURCH STREET BLUES (with Tim O'Brien doing the vocal & mandolin), KITCHEN GIRL (again with O'Brien, Pete Wernick & Nick Forster), and a neat duet with Chris Thile on GONNA LAY DOWN MY OLD GUITAR (on which Sutton actu- ally sings the lead). DARK ISLAND, a guitar duet with Russ Barenberg is a more modern tune but is equally tasteful, as is the up tempo WONDER VAL- LEY GIRLS (the notes fail to credit whoever is play- ing the old-time banjo on this piece (Tim O'Brien?)). An excellent and enjoyable CD from a top musi- cian. $ 13.50 SB-10007 THE SPINNEY BROTHERS "When The Golden Leaves Begin To Fall" This group from eastern Canada continues to issue good, solid albums of straight- forward traditional Bluegrass. This new one is produced by Ron Stewart, so you know in advance you will be getting excellent music (Ron assists the 4 piece band by adding his fine fiddling to the disc. If there's any problem here it's the fact that almost all of the 14 songs are "war horses" that have been recorded repeatedly (WE'LL MEET AGAIN SWEETHEART, I ONLY EXIST, ROCKY TOP, NO LETTER IN THE MAIL, WILL YOU BE LOVING AN- OTHER MAN and the title song). If you're in the market for an album of standards well played & sung, this one quali- fies, even if it offers little that is new or different. $ 13.50 BEE BALM-310 GLEN SMITH "Mountain State Fiddler" Ohio's Bee Balm label has recently taken over much of the old Kanawha Records catalog and this is one of 5 old LPs that they have reissued in CD form. Glen Smith was born in Woodlawn, Virginia (close to Galax) but moved to West Virginia in 1954. Not to be confused with another older fiddler from the Galax area with the same name, Smith is a solid and competent musician and this is an enjoyable record of good fiddling with an accompaniment of Blue- grass banjo, bass, guitar and harmonica. The 14 tunes are standards like LIBERTY, LEATHER BRITCHES, KATY HILL, BLACKBERRY BLOSSOM, etc. $ 13.50 JSP-6201 VIRGINIA ROCKS! (Various artists) (2- CD set). While most of us don't think of Virginia as a hot bed of Rockabilly music, this new 2-CD set from the British JSP label is an eye-opener. Produced in cooperation with the Blue Ridge Institute of Ferrum, Va., it includes a mar- velous 72-page booklet of notes and photos, and there are 61 tracks that document an importantif brief period in the history of country music. Did you know that Gene Vincent, Janis Martin, Wayne Newton and Joe Maphis were all native Virginians? There are cuts here by them as well as others like Patsy Cline and Mac Wiseman who made their names in the country and Bluegrass fields but dabbled in the rockabilly sound when it was sweeping the country, inspired by Bill Haley, Buddy Holly and Elvis Presley. Then there are the totally obscure groups that appeared on odd label 45s, like the Downbeats, Leon & Carlos, Hender Saul , and the Rock-A-Teens. The general quality of the music here is quite good, and anyone who likes the rockabilly style will have much to enjoy and appreciate here. The quality of the re-mastering is excellent, and as usual with the JSP label, the package is good value (the equiva- lent of 4 or 5 regular CDs). Songs include INDIAN BOOGIE, BLUEJEAN BOP, HARD HEADED WOMAN, GRANDPA'S ROCK, ROCK EVERYBODY, SWEET WILLIE, AIN'T GONNA ROCK TONIGHT, HEP CAT BABY, SUNSET BLUES, etc. 2-CD set: $ 22.50 RHY-1045 RUSSELL MOORE & IIIrd TYME OUT This is a top notch album from this long estab- lished Georgia-based band that features Moore, surely one of the top 5 or 6 vocal- ists in the Bluegrass genre today. Moore's singing is as strong as ever, and the band shows little effect of losing the great bass singer Ray Deaton (except on the gos- pel song EASTERN GATE). Still key members of the band are Wayne Benson (mandolin) and Steve Dilling (banjo), and there's some good fiddling by Justen Haynes. The songsfrom a variety of sourcesare all excellent, strong material that is a perfect fit for Moorefrom the hard driving first cut (HARD ROCK MOUN- TAIN PRISON), to the gentler ME & DAD and Tim Stafford's LAST GREYHOUND, to Becky Buller's neat adaptation of the old ANGELINA BAKER (here called MY ANGELINE). A superb album that combines the best elements of traditional and con- temporary Bluegrass, and where everything works beautifully. $ 13.50 4 PD-22001 PAM DALEY "Someone Like You" Pleas- ant contemporary Bluegrass by this lady who has written all but four of the 12 songs here (producer Robert Gately wrote 3 of the others). An impressive list of musicians and vocal- ists provide smooth, well-arranged backing: these include Ron Stewart, Keith Little, Chris Jones, David Harvey, Rob Ickes, Ned Luberecki and David Grier. Songs in- clude AFTER THE STORM, NO REASON TO CRY, OUT IN THE FIELDS, SOUTHERN RAILROAD, etc. $ 13.50 PRC-6514 KRISTIN SCOTT BENSON "Second Season" For her 2nd album banjo picker Kristin Scott Benson gets a bit bolder in her choice of material with more contemporary tunes like FAR ENOUGH AWAY, TRYING TIMES and FREEDOM PARK, but these are nicely bal- anced with several more traditional tunes that Ms. Benson plays beautifully: SANDY RIVER BELLE, GREENCASTLE HORNPIPE and BUGLE CALL RAG. Kristin, who has won the IBMA's "banjo picker of the year award", is nicely assisted by about a dozen excellent musi- cians including David Grier, Cody Kilby, Josh Williams, Jim Van Cleve and her husband Wayne Benson. Nice work., $ 13.50 CD-094 APPALACHIA "Music From Home" Joining the ever growing assortment of recordings pertaining to Appalachia, this very nicely produced 20 track collection is one of the better ones to ap- pear on the market. Put out by Lonesome Records (which also gave us a good boxed set of mining songs recently) and the Lonesome Pine Office on Youth, and accompanied by a nice booklet of notes, this album stresses both the variety of the music of the mountains, and the strong respect that these mu- sicians have for it. Each cut features a different musician or band, and while there are some tracks that will not interest our general audience, any record that includes songs and tunes by Art Stamper, Ralph Stanley, Blue Highway and Dock Boggs is cer- tainly worthy of our attention. Many of the tracks are bor- rowed from older albums, i.e. Boggs' COAL CREEK MARCH from Folkways, Blue Highway's UNION MAN from their "Still Climb- ing Mountains" CD, and Art Stamper's lovely MID- NIGHT ON THE WATER from Art's "Lost Fiddler" re- cording on County. There are nice cuts by the Clack Mountain String Band, the Midnight Ramblers, Jeff Winegar & Martin Fox (LAST OF CALLAHAN), Carl Martin, and a dynamite gui- tar version of SOLDIER'S JOY by James Alan Shelton. Leaning more to the folk side of things, but still quite pleasant are Molly Slemp's BLACKEST CROW, Jean Ritchie's PRETTY SARO, a song by Robin & Linda Williams and a nice HASTE TO THE WEDDING by Evan Carawan on hammer dulcimer. Ralph Stanley is joined by his grandson Nathan as well as Judy Marshall on a very nice version of GLORYLAND. A very nice project here. $ 15.00 SMM-2009 MAC TRAYNHAM & SHAY GARRIOCK "Turkey In The Mountain" Mac Traynham has had sev- eral nice old time albums with his wife Jenny. Here he is joined by fiddler Garriock in a very nice program of 22 well chosen old time tunes, most of which feature simply fiddle and old time banjo (Jenny Traynham adds guitar backing on three tunes. A solid and quite enjoyable album for anyone who likes the classic combination of old time fiddle and banjo. BIG EYED RABBIT, SHIP IN THE CLOUDS, LITTLE MAGGIE, GEORGIE, JOKE & HENRY, POSSUM TROT, etc. $ 13.50 DVD: AFV-204 THE NEW LOST CITY RAM- BLERS "Always Been A Rambler" Presented by the Arhoolie Foundation, this is a beautifully pro- duced DVD that is successful both as a documen- tary of a very important and influential group and as a storehouse of good music (there are around 50 full or partial songs & tunes, some in black & white and others in full color). It is certainly a worthy tribute to a band that took rural American music (what Arhoolie's Chris Strachwitz calls "the real stuff") to a new generation not for their own aggrandizement, but because of a wish to share some amazing music that otherwise might have been lost. In addition to playing numerous concerts all over the world in a career that spanned 50 years, the group discovered and introduced such old-time giants as Dock Boggs, Tom Ashley, Roscoe Holcombe and Elizabeth Cot- ton to an ever growing and ap- preciative young audience. This well-edited film includes interviews with Ramblers Mike Seeger, John Cohen, Tom Paley and Tracy Schwarz, as well as other contemporary and later artists; it makes use of some rare film footage from the band's earliest days and more recent shows, but it also provides musical performances by a lot of other folks from Doc Watson and Tom Ashley to Ricky Skaggs. Especially nice is a song by Sara & Maybelle Carter, and some precious color footage of Cajun artists Dewey & Rodney Balfa. Toward the end of the DVD (which runs over 80 minutes) there are snippets of performances by several of today's young "old-time" groups including Rayna Gellert, The Carolina Chocolate Drops and the Stairwell Sis- ters (though it's kind of amusing and incongruous to see a group of five young ladies singing about "climb- ing ole Sugar Hill"!). The quality of both video and sound is excellent on this fine film by Yasha Aginsky. DVD: $ 20.00 MHR-3090 THE PRIMITIVE QUARTET "I'm Looking Through New Eyes" Aided by the instrumental touches of Jeff Tolbert and David Johnson, this group from Candler, N.C., has another well done recording of Blue- grass gospel songs (10 of them, mostly new material, much of it written by the group's leader Reagan Riddle). The group recently celebrated its 35th anniversary. COME BACK HOME, DEAR LOVED ONE, I'M GOING THERE, WITH MY DEAR LORD, etc., $ 13.50 5 ROU-0609 NEWFOUND ROAD "Same Old Place" This Ohio based band, led by the lead vocals of Tim Shelton, has its second Rounder release after an earlier career as a strictly gospel group. The 12 songs are all solidly done with good arrangements and a nice mixture of new songs set off with several well handled standards like I AM THE MAN THOMAS, LONESOME RIVER and Larry Sparks' BRAND NEW BROKEN HEART. $ 13.50 HFB-2009 THE HARTLEY FAMILY "A Million Things" Another of the many family Bluegrass bands that are springing up all over America, this 7 member unit from Arkansas does a pleasant, competent job on a dozen songs all their own compositions except for the traditional GOSPEL PLOW and WERE YOU THERE. Father Tom Hartley plays banjo, his wife Deb plays bass, and the singing and other instruments are handled by Anna (19), Josiah (16), Daniel (15), Abby (13) and Micah (6). 13-year old Abby does a respectable job on lead guitar. Other songs include CATHY PRAYED, JOHN TAYLOR, IN THE EYE OF THE STORM, DON'T GIVE UP, SET ME FREE, etc. $ 13.50 NEWSHOUND-2009 DVD: BUCK LAKE RANCH "Nashville of the North" This interest- ing 80 minute DVD documents the history of one of the many outdoor country music parks that flourished primarily in the 1940s and 50s (though this Indiana park celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2007!). Like New River Ranch in Maryland and Sunset Park and Himmelreich's Grove in Pennsylvania, Buck Lake Ranch (in Angola, Indiana) attracted thousands of fans on summer weekends to see and hob-nob with the stars of the entertainment world. Although like most of these parks Buck Lake Ranch special- ized in country music, it also brought in some very big names of the popular music scene and movies as well. It is clear from this DVD that this particular "ranch" was on a much bigger scale than Sunset Park or New River Ranch: it was almost like a full scale amusement park that provided entertain- ment and food for the entire family. It would be wonderful if we could say that this video document contains a lot of musical footage from the pastunfortunately that is not the case as it seems very little in the way of film exists to- day. There is a little bit, mostly of the house band performing, but basically the DVD brings us a large number of still shots, both of the park's grounds and features as well as photos of many of the perform- ers who played on stage over the years. The still shots are accompanied by commentary from some of the artists who played at the park, including Bill Anderson, Little Jimmy Dickens, Marty Stuart, Connie Smith and Loretta Lynn. This is a wel- come document that illuminates an important but lesser known part of our country music heritage, and I'm sure it will be a great souvenir for people in Indiana and the mid-west who were lucky enough to visit the park in its glory days. DVD: $ 20.00 DEHLIA-1106 DEHLIA LOW "Tellico" This 5- member band from western North Carolina has an inter- esting sound that is somewhere between old-time and Bluegrassor should we say the group is an acoustic band that plays both Bluegrass and "contemporary" old-time. On different songs the spotlight falls on either the singing of Anya Hinkle and Stacy Claude, or the instrumental work of Aaron Balance (dobro) and Bryan Clendenin (mandolin). Their songs are all group originals except for a nice version of Norman Blake's LORD WON'T YOU HELP ME. Among the more successful tracks are sev- eral moody instrumentals including ANATORI and 8 min- utes worth of a tune called SPOON. It's a pleasant, well produced album, though it could have used a few less origi- nals: with some other good songs from other sources it could have been as successful as their previous recording (which was simply called "Dehlia Low" DEHLIA-2008, an eight song mini-CD, $ 11.00). BIDE MY TIME, SANTA ANA WINDS, RIVER IS RISING, WILKINS COUNTY WOOD, PLAINS OF TELLICO, TAKE ME BACK, etc. $ 13.50 ROU-0612 ALECIA NUGENT "Hillbilly Goddess" Nugent, a gal with a fine voice for Bluegrass, has another excellent album here (her 2nd for Rounder) nicely produced by Carl Jackson. The songs are all new to Bluegrass, taken from some of today's leading songwriters like Larry Cordle, Jerry Salley, Tim Stafford, Tim O'Brien, and Jackson, and the backing musicians include some of the genre's best: Adam Steffey (mandolin), Andy Leftwich (fiddle), Rob Ickes on dobro, Stafford on guitar, etc. Songs include WRECKIN' THE TRAIN, THE LAST GREY- HOUND, ALREADY HOME, etc. $ 13.50 OD-49820 JESSE McREYNOLDS & THE VIR- GINIA BOYS AND AMANDA "Family Harmony" A pleasant and enjoyable new album from Jesse, who is joined by three of his grandchildren in a nice 12-song pro- gram that retains the old Jim & Jesse sound. Amanda McReynolds does the lead vocal on a couple of songs as well as providing harmony to the songs that Jesse sings. In the notes Luke McKnight is credited with doing some of the distinctive cross picked mandolin that Jesse has al- ways been known for: whether it is Jesse or Luke (or both) doing the cross picking here, it's right on the mark and top flight. Nice versions of LIVE & LET LIVE, I'M WAITING TO HEAR YOU CALL ME DARLING, PLEASE BE MY LOVE and TOP OF THE WORLD. $ 13.50 6 HJM-003 THE HAINTS "Shout Monah" An excellent album of old time playing and singing by this trio consisting of Erynn Marshall (fiddle), Jason Romero (banjo) and Pharis Romero, who plays guitar and does much of the singing. 15 well-chosen tunes are handled nicely by the trio, with sources and in- strument tunings provided in the 12-page booklet. High- lights include a really nice BAPTIST SHOUT by Jason, EADLE ALLEY (from Melvin Wine), OLD CHRISTMAS MORN- ING, and TUPELO BLUES. $ 13.50 WHOOP-104 RED MOUNTAIN "Throw The Old Cow Over The Fence" It's been a while since we saw a new record by this Alabama old-time band, but they can always be counted on for presenting a bunch of neat tunes & songsthis time around there are 21 tracks that include some excellent pieces that are seldom recorded today: B FLAT RAG, ACORN STOMP, CALIFORNIA BLUES, BLOODY WAR, TUPELO BLUES, COME OVER & SEE ME SOME TIME, TEXAS FAIR and BARNYARD DANCE. I kind of miss their original band nameRed Mountain White Trash: with the group name, the music, and the album title (Fire In The Dumpster) their first al- bum was one of the classics! There are numerous groups today who are more skilled musicians and singers, but this band certainly conveys to the listener the fun and enjoy- ment they get from playing these old pieces. More power to them. $ 13.50 BACM-274 DOCK BOGGS & EMRY ARTHUR "Old Time Songs From Virginia and Kentucky" The dozen songs that Dock Boggs recorded back in the late 1920s were nicely presented several years ago on the Revenant label with extensive notesunfortunately, that record is no longer available, so this British compilation fills a gap. It presents the original 8 songs cut for the Brunswick label in 1927, plus the 4 Boggs recorded for the legendary & ultra rare "Lonesome Ace" label in 1929. In addition, there are another 10 tracks that feature some recordings of Emry Arthur that were made for the Vocalion and Decca labels from 1928-1935. (Not a bad pairingthe two art- ists were musically similar in some ways and were prob- ably friends, both from around the Kentucky/Virginia bor- der). If you don't already have Boggs' classic recordings of COUNTRY BLUES and DOWN SOUTH BLUES on some anthology, this is a good chance to get them. PRETTY POLLY, SUGAR BABE, THE BLIND BOY, LET THAT LIAR ALONE, etc. $ 15.00 7 LUCKS-1002 SONGS FROM THE ROAD BAND "As The Crow Flies" Quite a few musicians take part in this package of contemporary Bluegrass, but the force be- hind this album is clearly Charles Humphrey, who is the "ex- ecutive producer" and has written all of the dozen songs on the disc. As savvy Bluegrass fans (especially in North Caro- lina) will recognize, Humphrey is the bass player for the Steep Canyon Rangers, one of today's most exciting new Blue- grass bands. (Humphrey has also written several numbers for that group as well). Also borrowed from Steep Canyon is their fine fiddler Nicky Sanders. There's some interest- ing, well played Bluegrass here. TAXMAN, SONG FOR GRAM PARSONS, SATISFIED, WHAT ARE WE WAIT- ING FOR, GOD BLESS THE OUTLAWS, etc. $ 13.50 TSQ-2219 THE RED FOX CHASERS "I'm Going Down to North Carolina" Fans of Old- Time music got a nice sampling of this group's music years ago from an old County label LP: now you can obtain all of the band's surprisingly extensive output (42 pieces, all cut between 1928 and 1931) on this lovely 2-CD set. Seeing and hearing the group's music all in one place gives us this thought: if the Red Fox Chasers had been recorded by the Columbia or Victor companies, they might have been one of the best known old-time bands of the period. But the Gennett label, fas- cinating as it is to today's col- lectors, had quite limited dis- tribution, reflected in the fact that only two or three copies of some of their records still exist today (which accounts for the really rough sound on a few of the tracks). Otherwise, this group really had a lot to offer. Guy Brooks was a fine fid- dler, as one can tell from ARKANSAS TRAVELER, DID YOU EVER SEE THE DEVIL UNCLE JOE and MISSISSIPPI SAWYER . And Paul Milesthe group's leaderwas a dandy banjo picker, playing in a 3-finger style similar to Charlie Poole. And the vocals of Bob Cranford and A.P. "Fonzie" Thomp- son epitomize the best of old-time singing, from the wonderful full band numbers like STOLEN LOVE, NAOMI WISE, WRECK ON THE MOUNTAIN ROAD and DEVILISH MARY, to the equally fine duets like GOODBYE LITTLE BONNIE, SWEET FERN, PRETTY POLLY and KATY CLINE. Sev- eral of the songs here were later picked up by Blue- grass bands: LITTLE SWEETHEART PAL OF MINE, PUT MY LITTLE SHOES AWAY, BUD- DED ROSES, etc. A fine package here with lots of great old time music. $ 18.00 Pre Sorted First Class U.S.POSTAGE PAID Roanoke, VA Permit #495 COUNTY SALES PO BOX 191 FLOYD,VA. 24091 ADDITIONAL NEW RELEASES NOW IN STOCK Unless otherwise noted, all CDs are $ 13.50 COU-2744 RURAL PARLOR GUITAR neat Old-Time with E.C. Ball, Lena Hughes, Earl Blair, etc ROU-0606 CLAIRE LYNCH "Whatcha Gonna Do?" Newest release by great singer GSM-2009 CHRIS JONES & THE NIGHT DRIVERS "Cloud Of Dust" with Ned Luberecki, Jon Weisberger RHY-1043 TOMMY WEBB "Heartland" Strong, solid traditional Bluegrass RHY-1046 BRANDON RICKMAN "Young Man, Old Soul" former member Lonesome River Band RHY-1051 LOU REID & CAROLINA "My Own Set Of Rules" First rate traditional Bluegrass SFW-40180 NEW LOST CITY RAMBLERS "50 Years" Wonderful 3-CD set with extensive notes ($ 35.00) HW-1262 DAVID HOLT & JOSH GOFORTH "Cutting Loose" Tunes mixed with Storytelling WOBS-009 CHRIS VIA & THE REED FAMILY "Giles County Favorites" Henry Reed's family favorites CLG-83008 PAM GADD "Benefit of Doubt" Fine singing with Dolly Parton, Dale Ann Bradley, etc. BACM-249 ERNEST TUBB "Just Rollin' On" From rare 1944 WORLD radio transcriptions ( $ 15.00) HL- 001 HARRY LIEDSTRAND "Traditional Fiddle Tunes" with guitar and mandolinnice job BG-004 THE MIDDAY RAMBLERS "Run Mountain, Chuck A Little Hill" BT-04252 TOM GODLESKI & BUNCOMBE TURNPIKE "Ditch Diggin' Blues" Asheville area band YODEL-074 HUNTER ROBERTSON & CASEY JOE ABAIR 17 excellent old time tunes, fiddle & banjo RC-124 THE TIPTON HILL BOYS "Songs We Like" (Chris Sharp, etc) on Red Clay label SYNCRO-128591 MARTY RAYBON & FULL CIRCLE "This, That & The Other" good Bluegrass BEEBALM-307 KESSINGER BROTHERS "Fiddle Classics 1928-30" Great old time fiddle! BEEBALM-311 BARTOW RILEY "Panhandle Texas Fiddling" contest style fiddling COOT-2009 NORTH TO ONTARIO2009 Best of Canadian Bluegrass (18 songs., 18 artists) RR-05335 ROB ICKES "Road Song" newest CD by great dobro player AM-5125 PHIL ROSENTHAL "Treasury of Bluegrass & Country Songs" ex-Seldom Scene singer UDD-2009 UNCLE DAVE DAUGHERTY'S RADIO HOUR (This is a DVD) Dave Macon style ($ 20.00) BACM-247 KENNETH HOUCHINS "Old Time Singing & Playing" Yodeler & guitar 1933-1934 ($ 15.00) BACM-275 THE BROWNS 28 songs from Fabor & RCA Victor labels (mid 1950s) ($ 15.00) TMS-1326 LIZZY LONG & LITTLE ROY LEWIS "Breaking Like Dawn" CHARIOT-005 JIM HAGAN "Storytime" Songwriter/singer from East Tenn. With. Steffey, Hunter Berry, etc. Rebel Hats & T-Shirts! HATS $10.00 Hat Colors- Black, Tan, Lt Blue & Navy Blue SHIRTS $12.00 Shirt Colors Navy Blue, White, dk. Green Sizes M, L, XL & XXL
