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better sound quality. I so love story telling in a song, and this boxed set delivers the goods. But if I were to every be casted on a deserted island and allowed to pick only 5 albums, this one would certainly be sitting on the shelf made of coconuts. I would caution that this type of music is not to everyone's tastes, particularly to youngsters who have no idea what the Carter family contributed to American music. The recording quality certainly could have been better, as the beginning of almost every song has hisses and scratches of a vinyl LP played quite often. I guess it's a balance of keeping the integrity vs.
Rightfully loved, canonized and deified since my grandparents were in their teens and 20s, there's not much to say that hasn't been said. collected and rearranged a giant catalog of songs of the mountain folk. He also did some later work with Sara and Maybelle as well as Lesley Riddle on Close To Home: Old Time Music From Mike Seeger's Collection 1952-1967.This box spans the famed Bristol, TN sessions of 1927 all the way to New Jersey of '34, the TN sessions being part of what Johnny Cash would, I believe, later call "the Big Bang of country music". One thing that has always struck me about this band is how intelligent and progressive they sound in comparison to the fluffy pop drivel that modern mainstream country music has become. I consider this review to be part of my little series of rural, mountain, old-timey and pre-war country music reviews in tribute to Mike Seeger who recently died.
It's music with a pre-war spirit without being retro or museum-bound. I can't help but think that Jolie Holland's Catalpa and Escondida will speak most deeply to you if you want more music created by human hands, from the inside out. Lesley Riddle (yes, a black man was an essential part in the cornerstone country music band) and A.P. The heart and consciousness is gone from mainstream country music, replaced by as much production, polish and Image Is Everything garbage as dominates pop and hip-hop. Harmonies aside, even though the arrangements are so similar, listen to how greatly their Where We'll Never Grow Old differs from Alfred Karnes' equally wonderful version on Music Of Kentucky: Early American Rural Classics 1927-1937. Today we have dullards like Toby Keith telling people to Get Drunk and Be Somebody. Listen to those harmonies when Maybelle joins in on I Never Loved But One. Sara was a strong, vocal woman when that wasn't always appreciated.
While he didn't have anything to do with these original sessions or even this boxed set, he was indispensable in helping America rediscover America's musical heritage. Real songs by real people. If you love the autoharp aspect of this band, the Seeger-recorded Masters of Old-Time Country Autoharp is essential, having several of the best players to ever touch the instrument. Still, it must be noted that the original Carter Family was so much more than just Wildwood Flower. You'll also notice that See That My Grave is Kept Green is an entirely different song than the famed Blind Lemon Jefferson "Clean" tune one can hear on every Lemon compilation or Classic Sides.These are fine transfers.
He has since died and the item should have been rejected by the hospital but I have no clue what happened. I cannot rate this purchase since I did not receive it. For some reason my item was apparently shipped to an address I used once to send my brother an item in a hospital in Colorado.
Original recordings of great old time country/bluegrass. This is exactly what I hoped it would be.
I don't know what more one could ask than this. I can only assume that the reviewer has simply never heard older recordings before. One reviewer described the Carter Family's (musical) sound as being "as pure as a mountain stream" and JSP capture that magnificently. All the other reviewers have said more than enough to persuade any open-minded person to buy this wonderful set, but I had to take issue with the guy who disparaged the sound quality. JSP sound quality is legendary as being the best there is and this is no exception.
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