ONE OF RALPH STANLEYS BEST!
Roger Cook | Gardena, Ca. USA | 09/15/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."
Simply Awesome
Benjamin Crowe | Utah | 10/07/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"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."