Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Alabama
2. Alabama
3. Seven Year Blues
4. (I'm Changing the Words To) My Love Song of You
5. Get Acquainted Waltz
6. Weapon of Prayer
7. They've Got the Church Outnumbered
8. Do You Live What You Preach
9. You'll Be Rewarded Over There
10. I'll Live With God (To Die No More)
11. Robe of White
12. Great Atomic Power
13. Insured Beyond the Grave
14. Gospel Way
15. Sons and Daughters of God
16. Broad Minded
17. Family Who Prays
18. I Know What You're Talking About
19. Let Us Travel On
20. I Love God's Way of Living
21. Born Again
22. Preach the Gospel
23. From Mother's Arms to Korea
24. If We Forget God
25. Satan and the Saint
26. Satan Lied to Me
27. God Bless Her ('Cause She's My Mother)
28. Last Chance to Pray

Disc 2:

1. No One to Sing for Me
2. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
3. Nearer, My God, To Thee
4. Make Him a Soldier
5. I Can't Say No
6. Just Rehearsing
7. Love Thy Neighbor as Thy Self
8. Where Will You Build
9. Pray for Me
10. When I Stop Dreaming
11. Pitfall
12. Alabama
13. Memories and Tears
14. Don't Laugh
15. I Don't Believe You've Met My Baby
16. Childish Love
17. In the Middle of Nowhere
18. Hoping That You're Hoping
19. First One to Love You
20. I Cried After You Left
21. That's All He's Asking of Me
22. I'll Be All Smiles Tonight
23. In the Pines
24. What Is Home Without Love
25. Mary of the Wild Moor
26. Knoxville Girl
27. Kentucky
28. Katie Dear

Disc 3:

1. My Brother's Will
2. Take the News to Mother
3. Let Her Go, God Bless Her
4. Tiny Broken Heart
5. Plenty of Everything But You
6. Cash on the Barrelhead
7. You're Running Wild
8. New Partner Waltz
9. I Won't Have to Cross Jordan Alone
10. Praying
11. Wait a Little Longer, Please Jesus
12. This Little Light of Mine
13. I Steal Away and Pray
14. There's No Excuse
15. Are You Washed in the Blood
16. Lord, I'm Coming Home
17. Thankful
18. Take Me Back into Your Heart
19. Here Today and Gone Tomorrow
20. We Could
21. Tennessee Waltz
22. Too Late
23. Are You Teasing Me
24. Nobody's Darling But Mine
25. Don't Let Your Sweet Love Die
26. I Wonder Where You Are Tonight
27. Why Not Confess
28. Making Believe

Disc 4:

1. Have I Stayed Away Too Long
2. Call Me
3. I Wish You Knew
4. Dog Sled
5. When I Loved You
6. My Baby's Gone
7. She Didn't Even Know I Was Gone
8. My Baby Came Back
9. Are You Wasting My Time
10. My Curly Headed Baby
11. Lorene
12. I Wish It Had Been a Dream
13. While You're Cheating on Me
14. If I Could Only Win Your Love
15. You're Learning
16. Blue from Now On
17. Today
18. My Heart Was Trampled on the Street
19. Send Me the Pillow That You Dream On
20. On My Way to the Show
21. Read What's in My Heart
22. Red Hen Hop
23. She Will Get Lonesome
24. I Wonder If You Know
25. Blue
26. Angels Rejoiced Last Night
27. Dying from Home, and Lost
28. Satan's Jeweled Crown
29. River of Jordan

Disc 5:

1. I'm Ready to Go Home
2. Kneeling Drunkard's Plea
3. Satan Is Real
4. Christian Life
5. Are You Afraid to Die
6. He Can Be Found
7. There's a Higher Power
8. Drunkard's Doom
9. I See a Bridge
10. Just Suppose
11. Stagger
12. Nellie Moved to Town
13. What a Change One Day Can Make
14. Ruby's Song
15. Last Old Shovel
16. Midnight Special
17. Brown's Ferry Blues
18. Southern Moon
19. Sand Mountain Blues
20. Nashville Blues
21. Blues Stay Away from Me
22. When It's Time for the Whippoorwill to Sing
23. Put Me on the Train to Carolina
24. Freight Train Blues
25. Weary Lonesome Blues
26. Gonna Lay Down My Old Guitar
27. It's Christmas Time
28. Santa's Big Parade

Disc 6:

1. Love Is a Lonely Street
2. If You Love Me Stay Away
3. I Ain't Gonna Work Tomorrow
4. I Love You Best of All
5. I Can't Keep You in Love With Me
6. Scared of the Blues
7. I Have Found the Way
8. He Set Me Free
9. Kneel at the Cross
10. Leaning on the Everlasting Arms
11. O Why Not Tonight?
12. You Can't Find the Lord Too Soon
13. Keep Your Eyes on Jesus
14. Almost Persuaded
15. I Feel Better Now
16. O Who Shall Be Able to Stand
17. If Today Was the Day
18. You'll Meet Him in the Clouds
19. You'll Meet Him in the Clouds
20. Away in a Manger
21. Friendly Beasts
22. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
23. Good Christian Men, Rejoice
24. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks
25. First Noel
26. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear

Disc 7:

1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. O Little Town of Bethlehem
3. Silent Night
4. Deck the Halls
5. Joy to the World
6. It Hurts Me More (The Second Time Around)
7. How's the World Treating You
8. Every Time You Leave
9. Time Goes So Slow
10. I Died for the Red, White and Blue
11. From Mother's Arms to Korea
12. Searching for a Soldier's Grave
13. At Mail Call Today
14. Soldier's Last Letter
15. There's a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere
16. There's a Grave in the Wave of the Ocean
17. Mother I Thank You for the Bible You Gave Me
18. Great Atomic Power
19. Seaman's Girl
20. Robe of White
21. Weapon of Prayer
22. Broken Engagement
23. First Time in Life
24. There Is No Easy Way
25. Love Turned to Hate
26. Must You Throw Dirt in My Face

Disc 8:

1. Great Speckled Bird
2. Wabash Cannonball
3. Lonely Mound of Clay
4. Wreck on the Highway
5. Wait for the Light to Shine
6. Low and Lonely
7. We Live in Two Different Worlds
8. Precious Jewel
9. Great Judgement Morning
10. Branded Wherever I Go
11. Not a Word from Home
12. Stuck Up Blues
13. Don't Let Them Take the Bible Out of Our School Rooms
14. I'm Glad That I'm Not Him
15. Message to Your Heart
16. Thank God for My Christian Home
17. I'll Never Die
18. Price of the Bottle
19. I've Known a Lady
20. He Included Me
21. Keep Watching the Sky
22. Now Lord, What Can I Do for You
23. Way Up On the Mountain
24. Gonna Shake Hands With Mother Over There
25. He Was Waiting at the Altar
26. Oh Lord, My God
27. What Would You Give in Exchange for My Soul

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #27683 in Music
• Released on: 1994-05-26
• Format: Box set

Amazon.com
Of all the great harmonies in country music, the greatest belong to Ira and Charlie Louvin. Born three years apart on a red-clay Alabama farm, the Louvin Brothers took the sisterly harmonies of the Carter Family and the brotherly tightness of the Monroe and Callahan brothers to new, chilling heights. They redefined duo harmony by interweaving and switching tenor and alto parts, finding fresh, undiscovered colors along the way. The German label Bear Family has compiled an unprecedented history of the Louvins, the only thorough source for the brothers' early, hard-to-find, but exquisite Apollo and MGM recordings. The sonic quality, gorgeous color photography, precise and extensive discography, and notes by country music scholar Charles Wolfe set a new standard for the meticulous Bear boxes. Even at 220 songs, Close Harmony is essential, start to finish. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews

A Bargain at any price!
This collection of 8 cd's is the entire studio recordings of the Louvin Brothers. This set also includes an album sized book which lists each recording session and gives a deep history on the brothers. Most of these great recordings can be found no where else. If you love close harmony sung with true feelings,you can't go wrong with this set. A MUST HAVE SET. GET IT WHILE YOU CAN. A Similar set by JOHNNIE and JACK is already out of print.

Simply the best boxed set available
If you only buy one boxed set-this is the one to buy. Despite the rather high price, you get a tremendous amount of excellent music. Ira Louvin was probably the best mandolin player ever (that includes Bill Monroe) The harmonies are perfect-with Ira reaching nearly impossible "highs" to counterbalance Charlie.
If there is a weakness to these cds at all-it is probably Ira's spoken sermonizing-but in limited quantities-it has a certain appeal! The gospel and secular songs are equally great-however, if you don't like gospel music-be warned--there is a lot of it here! If you like gospel, bluegrass and country music-I give this boxed set my highest recommendation. (In fairness-my wife who doesn't like gospel or bluegrass-dislikes this boxed set--it's not her type of country music-so it may not be for modern country fans-I, on the other hand, dislike nearly everything Nashville calls "country" today)

Unmatched harmonies, talented songwriting!
No one's harmonies compare to the Louvin Brothers. Ask anyone who has listened widely to ALL forms of music to name the finest harmonies ever recorded and I guarantee that Charlie and Ira Louvin's names will be at the top of the list. The recent tribute CD, "Livin' Lovin' Losin': The Songs of the Louvin Brothers" was a well-made CD but not one of the duos on the CD can begin to compare its harmonies and range to what the Louvins did. That CD was shadow; on this box set is the substance. Moving easily between gospel and secular country, Ira's songwriting skill is comparable to Hank Williams' (though his occasional stab at rock'n'roll was misguided to put it kindly), while there is a sweetness and clarity in Charlie's voice matched only by its warmth. The brothers were each talented but together, just as with the Beatles, they were greater than the sum of their parts. If I could only ever own one box set in my life this is the one I would choose.