Plum Pitiful: 20 Sad and Tragic Bluegrass Songs

1. Pretty Polly - The Stanley Brothers

2. Down in the Willow Garden - Warrior River Boys

3. Little Glass of Wine - George Shuffler, Ralph Stanley

4. Little Maggie - Bill Harrell, Don Reno

5. Old Shep - Scott Brannon

6. Darlin' Little Joe - Bill Harrell, Don Reno

7. Long Black Veil - Warrior River Boys

8. Memories of Mother and Dad - David Davis,

9. Silver Haired Daddy of Mine - Scott Brannon, David Davis

10. Baggage Coach Ahead - Bill Harrell

11. Evening Train - Bob Paisley,

12. Six More Miles

13. Speak to Me Little Darlin' - Don Reno, Red Smiley

14. Mother's Not Dead (She's Only Sleeping) - The Stanley Brothers

15. Rebel Soldier - Charlie Moore

16. Hero's Death - Mac Wiseman

17. Shackles and Chains - Charlie Moore

18. Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone - The Stanley Brothers

19. Orphan Joe - Raymond Davis

20. Man of Constant Sorrow - The Stanley Brothers

Tracks:

Pretty Polly - The Stanley Brothers
Down in the Willow Garden - Warrior River Boys
Little Glass of Wine - George Shuffler, Ralph Stanley
Little Maggie - Bill Harrell, Don Reno
Old Shep - Scott Brannon
Darlin' Little Joe - Bill Harrell, Don Reno
Long Black Veil - Warrior River Boys
Memories of Mother and Dad - David Davis,
Silver Haired Daddy of Mine - Scott Brannon, David Davis
Baggage Coach Ahead - Bill Harrell
Evening Train - Bob Paisley,
Six More Miles
Speak to Me Little Darlin' - Don Reno, Red Smiley
Mother's Not Dead (She's Only Sleeping) - The Stanley Brothers
Rebel Soldier - Charlie Moore
Hero's Death - Mac Wiseman
Shackles and Chains - Charlie Moore
Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone - The Stanley Brothers
Orphan Joe - Raymond Davis
Man of Constant Sorrow - The Stanley Brothers

Customer Reviews:

Mostly Great Collection Of Rare, Traditional Bluegrass.......2004-12-09

This is a surprising and welcome collection from Time-Life Music. The spotlight here is on Ray Davis. Davis is well known to many bluegrass fans for his excellent disc-jockey work (these days on WAMU FM Washington D.C. and on bluegrasscountry.org). On his radio shows, Davis often features the many recordings that he has produced/engineered for his small Wango label, including those featured on this collection, which spans about 40 years of traditional bluegrass music.

In the 1960s Ray Davis recorded bluegrass legends Clyde Moody, the Stanley Brothers, and Don Reno (with and without Bill Harrell). In the 1970s Davis recorded Don Reno & Charlie Moore (sometimes together and sometimes apart) plus Don Reno & Red Smiley (a great reunion; Don Reno & Red Smiley were one of the top bluegrass acts in the 1950s and 1960s). In the 1980s Davis paired a young James King with Ralph Stanley (of the Stanley Brothers). In the 1990s Davis brought us the Gillis Brothers, the Warrior River Boys (lead by the under-heralded David Davis), the James King Band, Scott Brannon & Paul Williams (sometimes together and sometimes on their own); Bob Paisley & the Southern Grass; Bill Harrell as a soloist, the venerable Mac Wiseman, and perhaps best of all, the Basement Band (James King, Danny Paisley, Michael Paisley, Bobby Lundy, T.J. Lundy and Jon Glik).

This 20 song collection focuses on sad, pitiful songs; songs that tell a story. Many of the songs are all-time favorites of mine and these versions mostly please. There is a nice 6 page booklet here with notes by Eddie Dean. Recordings dates are given and song credits are listed, but musician information is missing.

The Warrior River Boys' mid 1990s live radio performance of the murder ballad "Down In The Willow Garden" has long been my favorite version of this troubling song so I'm certainly thrilled to find it here. The Warrior River Boys also sound great on the well-known 1950s ballad "The Long Black Veil." James King joins the Warrior River Boys for a nice duet with David Davis on Bill Monroe's autobiographical song "Memories Of Mother And Dad."

"Baggage Coach Ahead" (aka "In The Baggage Coach Ahead") is a warm, stripped down rendition by Bill Harrell. Mac Wiseman takes a similar, basic approach to "A Hero's Death" (aka "He's Coming To Us Dead"). Bob Paisley & The Southern Grass (with Danny Paisley singing lead) do a great job with Hank Williams' "The Evening Train." The Basement Band are outstanding on Williams' "Six More Miles." (Molly O'Day recorded "A Hero's Death," "The Evening Train," and "Six More Miles" in the 1940s.)

Charlie Moore was one of the greatest bluegrass singers ever and he is in fine form here on 2 tracks. I suspect "Shackles And Chains" is an outtake from a killer Wango album that Moore recorded with Don Reno in 1973 titled "Bluegrass Legends Together" (it features a solo lead vocal by Charlie Moore and lead guitar work by Don Reno). The other Moore song presented is "Rebel Soldier" (aka "The Legend Of The Rebel Soldier"). "Rebel Soldier" is Moore's reworking of the old Irish ballad "In The Libby Prison Sadly;" this is from a great Wango album that Charlie Moore waxed in 1971 with Butch Robins on banjo and Chubby Wise on fiddle (later reissued on Rebel but now out of print). (Also In 1971 the Country Gentlemen popularized "The Legend Of The Rebel Soldier" with an equally great cover, which can be found on the Time-Life Music collection titled "High On A Mountain.")

Don Reno & Red Smiley are represented here with a lovely 1971 duet on the incredibly mournful "Speak To Me Little Darlin'" (aka "Please Come Back To Me Little Darling"). Don Reno & Bill Harrell don't disappoint on the evergreens "Little Maggie" and "Darlin' Little Joe" from the mid 1960s.

Now, every single cut of this collection does not wow me. I'm not a big fan of Scott Brannon's singing; Brannon is featured on the nostalgic, dying dog piece "Old Shep" and in a duet with David Davis on "Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine." The 4 selections here by the Stanley Brothers are unremarkable (unremarkable considering the greatness of the Stanley Brothers). Ralph Stanley sings lead on 3 Stanley Brothers recordings from 1963: "Pretty Polly," "Man Of Constant Sorrow," and "Mother's Not Dead (She's Only Sleeping)" (aka "Mother's Only Sleeping"). From 1964 is "Will You Miss Me When I'm Gone" with a weakened Carter Stanley singing lead (a different version than the Wango version found on the Rebel CD "Long Journey Home"). Better is the 1987 recording here by Ralph Stanley, James King, and George Shuffler of the 1950s Stanley Brothers hit "Little Glass Of Wine," taken from their fine 1987 Wango album "Reunion With Ralph Stanley."

Ray Davis is more than a disc-jockey, as he has cut his own Wango sides. On this collection is Davis' 1975 recitation "Orphan Joe." It involves a 6 year old boy's Christmas Eve lament. The best way to describe "Orphan Joe" is to simply call it "plum pitiful."

Music Album:

Music Album