The Carter Family - Country Folk
The Carter FamilyCountry Folk
Proper Box 127 [4CD SET]
*****A priceless collection of music from country’s first family
Over 100 songs figure on this wondrous collection of work from country music’s first family, the Carters—consisting of cousins Sara (Dougherty) and Maybelle (Addington) who were born to sing and play, and Sara’s husband, Alvin Pleasant (AP) Carter they cultivated songs of their forebears. Songs from the neighbouring mountains and valleys in and around Poor Valley, Virginia and through AP’s great thirst and love of folk music (plus a desire to further their musical reputation) the trio were guided to New York’s Ralph Peer’s famed recording sessions in Bristol, Virginia in 1928, where, over two days in early August they recorded six songs.
Country music was given a kick-start—since not only were the Carter Family present but Jimmie Rodgers! AP will be best remembered by many for gathering songs, adding verses (how many and which he wrote himself will forever remain a mystery) and working up music from traditional sources. It was from his arranging and dedication that the Carter Family sound formed. A distinctive, relaxed feel oozing from every angle. Whether it be the playing of Sara (autoharp) and Maybelle (guitar/slide) or the respective lead vocals of the girls and pure harmonies—AP was content to play the role of arranger. He also booked them into school houses, churches and little theatres in Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina, and he was still with them when, due to the Depression, live music struggled to gain a paying audience, and an unexpected channel had them end up living in Del Rio, Texas, where they performed twice-daily on the powerful Mexican radio station XERA. Ten times more powerful than its American neighbours, it saw their music heard in all 48 American States plus Canada.
Back to the music and how wonderful a selection of fare decorates this album. None coming any finer than Hello Stranger, done as a duet like so many more, it lay down a guide line for such acts as Hazel (Dickens) & Alice (Gerrard) and with wonderful guitar and vocal harmonies—My Home’s Across The Blue Ridge Mountains, a quirky You Better Let That Liar Alone, Fifty Miles Of Elbow Room (though good, this 1941 version sounds less dramatic and appealing than latter day covers), The Cannonball, where AP sings a rare lead vocal and such Carter Family standards as Keep On The Sunny Side, When The Roses Bloom In Dixieland and Wabash Cannonball. But how could one overlook bright breezy delights like Rambling Boy and of course Wildwood Flower, and. with Maybelle on slide, Little Darling Pal Of Mine. If it weren’t for the catalogue of songs from the Carter Family, we may not have enjoyed the wealth of music from Woody Guthrie, Joan Baez, Tom Paxton, Bill Clifton, Iris DeMent, the aforementioned Hazel & Alice and country duos like Tim & Mollie O’Brien—the list is endless. With the accompanying notes to this box set and the role played by the Carters in developing country/folk music this is a priceless collection. MH