Ralph Stanley in Japan [Live]

Amazon.com
A mere five years after brother Carter's death, Ralph Stanley had returned to the pinnacle of the bluegrass world. The superb quartet featured on these two awesome CDs--fiddler Curly Ray Cline, lead vocalist and guitarist Roy Lee Centers, Jack Cooke on bass, and Stanley--remains one of the most memorable incarnations of the Clinch Mountain Boys, if not the whole of bluegrass history. This collection captures a particularly riveting Tokyo performance from May 5, 1971, and finds the group rolling through traditional fiddle and banjo tunes, Bill Monroe and Stanley Brothers chestnuts, and a few other gems. The band generates an especially high level of excitement and fire behind some outstanding banjo work from Stanley and exquisitely passionate ensemble vocals, and the song selection tends toward rip-roarin' favorites rather than austere ballads. For those who wish to dig deeper, the spectacular four-CD box 1971-1973 offers a number of unreleased cuts culled from the same tour. --Marc Greilsamer

Tracks:

How Mountain Girls Can Love
Leather Britches
Sitting On Top Of The World
Love Me Darling Just Tonight
Clinch Mountain Backstep
Uncle Pen
Memories Of Mother
Little Maggie
Listen To The Mockingbird
Ridin' That Midnight Train
Baby Girl
Sourwood Mountain
I Saw The Light

Tracks:

Orange Blossom Special
Blue Moon Of Kentucky
Long Journey Home
Pretty Polly
Daybreak In Tokyo
All The Good Times Are Past And Gone
How Far To Little Rock
Mountain Dew
Rank Strangers
Walkin' In My Sleep
I'm A Man Of Constant Sorrow
I Hear Choo-Choo Coming
Old Country Church
Hard Times
The White Dove
Old-Time Pickin'

Amazon.com

A mere five years after brother Carter's death, Ralph Stanley had returned to the pinnacle of the bluegrass world. The superb quartet featured on these two awesome CDs--fiddler Curly Ray Cline, lead vocalist and guitarist Roy Lee Centers, Jack Cooke on bass, and Stanley--remains one of the most memorable incarnations of the Clinch Mountain Boys, if not the whole of bluegrass history. This collection captures a particularly riveting Tokyo performance from May 5, 1971, and finds the group rolling through traditional fiddle and banjo tunes, Bill Monroe and Stanley Brothers chestnuts, and a few other gems. The band generates an especially high level of excitement and fire behind some outstanding banjo work from Stanley and exquisitely passionate ensemble vocals, and the song selection tends toward rip-roarin' favorites rather than austere ballads. For those who wish to dig deeper, the spectacular four-CD box 1971-1973 offers a number of unreleased cuts culled from the same tour. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

Simply Awesome.......2005-10-07

This, my friends, is the real deal - straight-ahead bluegrass from a consummate master of the genre and his very able band, recorded in Tokyo in the early 1970's. The quality of the recording is outstanding - note the Neumann mics depicted on the album cover. This CD has a nice balance of "Gospel/sacred" hits like "Memories of Mother" and "Rank Stranger." They also break out with "I Saw the Light" - giving a great bluegrass arrangement to Hank Williams' classic. There are a few novelty tunes, like "Listen to the Mockingbird" and "How Far to Little Rock?" There are some instrumentals, where Ralph really pulls out the stops on the banjo. In general, this is Ralph Stanley at the peak of his musical prowess, performing before an enthusiastic audience. If you love the Stanley sound, bluegrass music, or just music, then you need to own this album.

ONE OF RALPH STANLEYS BEST!.......2000-09-15

The Stanley Brothers have continued to turn out great traditional American bluegrass albums for over 50 years, and "Live In Japan" is one of their best. Live In Japan is good old fashioned Smokey Mountain Bluegrass, a mixture of standard and gospel favorites. The older Ralph Stanley gets, the better he gets. This is a must for the collection of any bluegrass lover.

Music Album:

Music Album