Search - Various Artists :: The Best Of King And Starday Bluegrass

Wonderful Box Set Of Classic Bluegrass (Features 40 Artists)

Todd A. Gracyk | Petaluma, CA USA | 01/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"For fans of hardcore, traditional bluegrass music this box set is a must! Bluegrass recordings on the King and Starday labels from the early 1950s and on through the early 1970s are among the very best of the era and this box set provides an outstanding overview of the music that appeared on these 2 labels during that time period.



The King and Starday labels have a complex history that doesn't need to be explored in depth here (there is a good description of their history in this box set's booklet). The labels were acquired by the Gusto label in the 1970s. The Gusto family also includes budget labels like Hollywood and Deluxe.



This box set contains 100 sides by 40 artists. No artist is featured on less than 2 titles or on more than 6 titles. The 28 page booklet has excellent notes by Gary B. Reid regarding the labels, the artists, and the song sources. It is nicely laid out with many fine photographs. Recording dates and listing of musicians are included.



The folks at King/Starday/Gusto have been issuing many of the better King and Starday bluegrass recordings in both budget releases and comprehensive packages. The comprehensive packages include the complete King and Starday recordings of the Stanley Brothers (a total of 8 CDs in 2 box sets), Don Reno & Red Smiley's earliest King sides from 1952 to 1959 (a 4 CD box set that also includes 4 Federal label sides waxed with Tommy Magness in 1950), Ralph Stanley's complete output on King (3 CDs), Jim Eanes' complete Starday work (2 CDs), the Country Gentlemen's complete Starday work (2 CDs), Buzz Busby's complete Starday work (a single CD that also contains tracks by Bill Harrell and by Bill Emerson), Jim & Jesse's complete Starday work (a single CD), Don Reno & Red Smiley's great 1960 album "Wanted" (a single CD), a nice Hylo Brown anthology of 1960s Starday sides (a single CD), and a great compilation of 3 King/Starday artists titled "Cabin On A Mountain" (a single CD featuring Jimmy Martin & Bob Osborne; Vern & Ray; and the Stoneman Family). This box set contains selections from all of he above releases plus much, much more.



For those who have already bought the above mentioned collections there is still plenty of new material here. Of that, I am especially pleased with sides by Charlie Moore (as a soloist), Charlie Moore & Bill Napier; Red Allen & Frank Wakefield; Connie & Joe; Leon Jackson & Johnny Bryant; the Flat Mountain Boys, the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, the Kentucky Travelers, the Wright Brothers, Jimmie Williams & Red Ellis; Bill Harrell (as a soloist), Don Reno & Bill Harrell; and Larry Sparks. Not quite as enjoyable to me, but interesting all the same, are sides by Wade Mainer, J.E. Mainer, Mac O'Dell, The Lewis Family, Bill & Mary Reid; Carl Story, Bill Duncan & The Harmony Mountain Boys; Bill Clifton, The Easter Brother & The Green Valley Quartet; Shannon Grayson & His Golden Valley Boys; J.D. Crowe & The New South; II Generation, and New Grass Revival.



Now, I'm a fan of the Mainers and of Carl Story but the sides included here by them are from late in their respective careers and are not their best. I love much of J.D. Crowe & The New South's work on the Rounder label but these seminal sides by this influential band don't work for me. Mac O'Dell and Bill Clifton are important figures in the history of bluegrass music but I don't care much for either's singing. Even then, the tracks I am less than thrilled with here are in the minority; much of this box set is simply wonderful.



Favorite songs? Too many to list! But "desert island" picks include "A Heart Never Knows," "Backslider," "Blue Eyed Darling," "Cabin On A Mountain," "Carolina Mountain Home," "Choo Choo Coming," "Cold And Windy Night," "Down Where The Still Waters Flow," "Dreaming," "Going Up Home To Live In Green Pastures," "Goodbye And So Long To You," "Goodbye Little Darlin'," "Home Is Where The Heart Is," "How Mountain Girls Can Love," "I Only Exist," "I Wouldn't Change You If I Could," "Love Please Come Home" (2 versions), "My Lonely Heart," "Reno Bound," "Think Of What You've Done," "Toils, Tears, And Trouble," "Trouble Round My Door," "Welcome Home," "What Can I Do," and "When I Safely Reach That Other Shore."



There are a few little problems with the packaging here. The booklet doesn't include session information for the 2 Starday sides recorded by the Stanley Brothers in 1959 ("Highway Of Regret" and "A Little At A Time"). Babe Lofton's name is misspelled as Loftin. Recordings made by Bill & Mary Reid in 1957 show Roy Huskey, Jr. playing bass and that's highly unlikely; I suspect it was his father, Junior Huskey. The Flat Mountain Boys are called the Flatt Mountain Boys. "Choo Choo Coming" is incorrectly titled "Choo Choo" in 3 places.



More upsetting than these errors/omissions is the simplification of artist names with the track listings. Band names are not included, which is unfortunate, and in a couple of cases an individual artist's names has been excluded. "Trouble Round My Door" was originally released on a 45 by Red Allen & Frank Wakefield but this box set lists only Red Allen as the artist. Sides by Leon Jackson, Johnny Bryant & The White Oak Mountain Boys are shown here as being by only Leon Jackson.



In summary, this box set is essential for fans of classic bluegrass music. For those new to bluegrass music, it serves as an excellent, affordable introduction to many great artists in their prime."