Product Description

6-CD LP-sixed box set with illustrated 88-page book. From 1936-1949, Bill Monroe made a series of recordings that laid the foundation for what is today called bluegrass. This collection brings together, for the first time, the complete works from that seminal era. It includes all 60 of the Monroe Bros. duets from 1936-38, all 16 of the 1940-41 performances that marked the very first appearance of Monroe's recordings under his own name, and all of the Columbia sessions from 1945-49, including the revolutionary sides with Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, and Chubby Wise. An added bonus is the inclusion of every alternate take from the Columbia sessions, a total of 50 previously unheard and unreleased out-takes, including an un-numbered master of a gospel song that was not even known to exist.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. My Long Journey Home
2. What Is Home Without Love
3. What Would You Give in Exchange
4. Little Red Shoes
5. Nine Pound Hammer
6. On Some Foggy Mountain Top
7. Drifting Too Far from the Shore
8. In My Dear Old Southern Home
9. New River Train
10. This Is Not My Home
11. Watermelon Hanging on the Vine
12. On the Banks of the Ohio
13. Do You Call That Religion?
14. God Holds the Future in His Hands
15. You've Got to Walk That Lonesome Valley
16. Six Months Ain't Long
17. Just a Song of Old Kentucky
18. Don't Forget Me
19. I'm Going
20. Darling Corey
21. My Savior's Train
22. I Am Thinking Tonight of the Old Folks
23. Dreamed I Searched Heaven for You
24. Old Cross Road
25. Forgotten Soldier Boy
26. We Read of a Place That's Called Heaven
27. Will the Circle Be Unbroken
28. Saints Go Marching In
29. Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms

Disc 2:

1. Where Is My Sailor Boy?
2. I Am Ready to Go
3. What Would the Profit Be
4. Some Glad Day
5. I Have Found the Way
6. I Am Going That Way
7. Kate Cline
8. Roll on Buddy, Roll On
9. Weeping Willow Tree
10. I'll Live On
11. Oh, Hide You in the Blood
12. What Would You Give in Exchange, Pt. 2
13. Oh That Gospel Ship
14. What Would You Give in Exchange, Pt. 3
15. Let Us Be Lovers Again
16. All the Good Times Are Passed and Gone
17. What Would You Give in Exchange, Pt. 4
18. On My Way to Glory
19. My Last Moving Day
20. He Will Set Your Fields on Fire
21. Sinner You Better Get Ready
22. Have a Feast Here Tonight
23. Goodbye Maggie
24. Rollin' On
25. Old Man's Story
26. I've Still Got Ninety-Nine
27. Little Joe
28. Beautiful Life
29. Pearly Gates
30. On My Way Back Home

Disc 3:

1. When Our Lord Shall Come Again
2. Mule Skinner Blues
3. No Letter in the Mail
4. Cryin' Holy Unto the Lord
5. Six White Horses
6. Dog House Blues
7. I Wonder If You Feel the Way I Do
8. Katy Hill [Instrumental]
9. Tennessee Blues
10. Shake My Mother's Hand for Me
11. Were You There When They Crucified My Lord
12. Anniversary Blue Yodel [Blue Yodel No. 7]
13. Coupon Song
14. Orange Blossom Special
15. Honky Tonk Swing [Instrumental]
16. In the Pines
17. Back Up and Push [Instrumental]
18. Rocky Road Blues
19. Kentucky Waltz
20. True Life Blues
21. Nobody Loves Me
22. Goodbye Old Pal
23. Footprints in the Snow
24. I'll Have a New Life
25. Blue Grass Special [Instrumental]
26. Come Back to Me in My Dreams
27. Heavy Traffic Ahead
28. Why Did You Wander
29. Blue Moon of Kentucky

Disc 4:

1. Blue Moon of Kentucky
2. Toy Heart
3. Summertime Is Past and Gone
4. Mansions for Me
5. Mother's Only Sleeping
6. California Blues [Blue Yodel No. 4]
7. Will You Be Loving Another Man?
8. How Will I Explain About You?
9. Shining Path
10. Wicked Path of Sin
11. I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky
12. It's Mighty Dark to Travel
13. I Hear a Sweet Voice Calling
14. Little Cabin on the Hill
15. My Rose of Old Kentucky
16. Bluegrass Breakdown [Instrumental]
17. Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong
18. Old Cross Road
19. That Home Above
20. Remember the Cross
21. Little Community Church
22. Along About Daybreak
23. When You Are Lonely
24. Molly and Tenbrooks
25. Shine Hallelujah, Shine
26. I'm Travelin' on and On
27. Can't You Hear Me Callin'

Disc 5:

1. Travelin' This Lonesome Road
2. Blue Grass Stomp
3. Girl in the Blue Velvet Band
4. Kentucky Waltz [Take 2]
5. True Life Blues [Take 4]
6. True Life Blues [Take 3]
7. True Life Blues [Take 2]
8. Nobody Loves Me
9. Nobody Loves Me [Take 3]
10. Nobody Loves Me [Take 1]
11. Goodbye Old Pal [Take 2]
12. Footprints in the Snow [Take 2]
13. Blue Grass Special [Take 2][Instrumental]
14. Blue Grass Special [Take 3]
15. Heavy Traffic Ahead [Take 2]
16. Why Did You Wander [Take 2]
17. Summertime Is Past and Gone [Take BD1]
18. Summertime Is Past and Gone [Take BD2]
19. Summertime Is Past and Gone [Take 2]
20. Summertime Is Past and Gone [Take BD3]
21. California Blues [Blue Yodel No. 4][Take]
22. Will You Be Loving Another Man? [Take 2]
23. How Will I Explain About You? [Take 2]
24. How Will I Explain About You? [Take 3]
25. Wicked Path of Sin [Take 2]
26. It's Mighty Dark to Travel [Take 2]
27. I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky [Take BD]
28. I'm Going Back to Old Kentucky [Take 2]
29. It's Mighty Dark to Travel [Take 3]
30. Little Cabin Home on the Hill [Take 2]

Disc 6:

1. My Rose of Old Kentucky [Take 2]
2. Bluegrass Breakdown [Take 2][Instrumental]
3. Bluegrass Breakdown [Take 3]
4. Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong [Take 2]
5. Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong [Take BD1]
6. Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong [Take BD2]
7. Sweetheart You Done Me Wrong [Take 3]
8. Old Cross Road [Take 2]
9. Old Cross Road [Take BD2]
10. Old Cross Road [Take BD3]
11. Old Cross Road [Take 3]
12. Old Cross Road [Take BD1]
13. That Home Above [Take BD]
14. Remember the Cross [Take 2]
15. Along About Daybreak [Take 2]
16. Little Community Church [Take 2]
17. Little Community Church [Take 2]
18. Along About Daybreak [Take BD]
19. Molly and Tenbrooks [Take 2]
20. Shine Hallelujah, Shine [Take 2]
21. I'm Travelin' on and On [Take 2]
22. Can't You Hear Me Callin' [Take 4]
23. Can't You Hear Me Callin' [Take 3]
24. Can't You Hear Me Callin' [Take BD]
25. Can't You Hear Me Callin' [Take 2]
26. Travelin' This Lonesome Road [Take 2]
27. Blue Grass Stomp [Take 3][Instrumental]
28. Blue Grass Stomp [Take BD]
29. Blue Grass Stomp [Take 2]
30. Girl in the Blue Velvet Band [Take 3]
31. Girl in the Blue Velvet Band [Take 2]

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #312157 in Music
• Released on: 2002-12-27
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Box set, Import

Customer Reviews

Essential Collection For Serious Bill Monroe Collectors
This massive, 6 CD box set contains all of Bill Monroe's studio recordings through 1949. It contains 60 sides recorded by the Monroe Brothers for Bluebird between 1936 and 1938 and 57 sides recorded by Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys for Victor and Columbia between 1940 and 1949 (8 sides recorded for Victor in 1940, 8 sides recorded for Victor in 1941, 9 sides recorded for Columbia in 1945, 12 sides recorded for Columbia in 1946, 16 sides recorded for Columbia in 1947, and 4 sides recorded for Columbia in 1949). This box set also contains 59 alternate takes of Columbia sides.

Recordings made in September of 1946 with Monroe, Lester Flatt, Earl Scruggs, Chubby Wise, and Howard Watts (Cedric Rainwater) are generally considered to be the first bluegrass recordings. If one agrees with this start date they'll find here 80 bluegrass versions of 32 different songs and instrumentals (the instrumentals being "Blue Grass Breakdown" and "Blue Grass Stomp").

This box set contains a 38 page, hard-bound booklet with about 50 photographs and several reproductions of record labels, album covers, and other artifacts. Text is by Charles K. Wolfe and there is a detailed discography by Neil V. Rosenberg. The booklet is really lovely but I am disappointed that black and white photographs are printed in brown hues (some browner than others). I find the text somewhat difficult to read in places due to fancy background design and inconsistent font sizes (font sizes are changed so that text can fit onto pages, which I find unacceptable). The text itself is extremely interesting and useful; many of the song histories are not available elsewhere.

In two instances song labeling is inconsistent. Alternate takes are usually labeled as such, but not always (the first appearance of "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" is an alternate take but isn't labeled as one). Instrumental tracks are usually labeled as such, but not always (the originally released version of "Blue Grass Stomp" is not labeled as an instrumental).

This box set contains an "un-numbered master of a gospel song that was not even known to exist," which is "I'll Have A New Life." This cut is less than 2 minutes long and appears on the 3rd CD, following "Footprints in the Snow" and prior to "Blue Grass Special" (it was recorded in February of 1945). There is a description in the booklet about why this recording was not previously known to exist. "I'll Have A New Life" was written by Luther G. Presley and was first published in 1940; many bluegrass fans are familiar with the song thanks to a version that Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver recorded in the early 1980s.

As far as I can tell, this box set contains the first CD reissue of the originally released version of "Little Cabin Home On The Hill" (the version that appears in a 2 CD Columbia/Legacy box set is an alternate take but is not listed as such in that box set).

Arguably the most important aspect of this box set is the sound quality and I'm thrilled to report that it is excellent, considering the available sources!

While this box set may be overkill for some listeners, many bluegrass fans will consider it essential. Personally, my Monroe collection wouldn't be complete without the 3 Bear Family box sets covering 1936 to 1949, 1950 to 1958, and 1959 to 1969; the 4 CD MCA set "The Music Of Bill Monroe From 1936 To 1994," the 2 live albums on Smithsonian Folkways, and the Kenny Baker album "Plays Bill Monroe" (which features Monroe on mandolin).

There's a more reasonable package of the same material!
I like Bear Family a lot, but unless you really really want to have 2 CDs full of outtakes you're much better off getting the JSP release, "All The Classic Releases 1937-1949". Rejected alternate takes aside, this Bear Family set includes only 4 tracks that are not included in the JSP set: 'I'll Have A New Life', 'Come Back To Me In My Dreams', 'Why Did You Wander', and 'Shining Path'. Other than that, the tracklisting is exactly the same and in the same order. The big difference between the 2 sets is the price tag (as of the time of this writing); $200 for the Bear Family set and $30 for the JSP set.

awesome!
I just got this through the mail just the other day and all I gotta tell you is, if you love Bill Monroe's music the way I do, you've got to get this set!! You'll never find a more complete set of Bill Monroes first 13 years as a recording artist. That is what I love about this Bear Family record series, they are always very through and they never miss a track which is just perfect for serious collectors of classic music such as myself. Although [money] might sound expensive I believe you get your moneys worth and more. I highly recommond this!!!