Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #281093 in Digital Music Album
• Published on: 2008-04-28
• Released on: 2008-04-29
• Running time: 0 seconds

Customer Reviews

Wonderful Anthology Of Brilliant, Lesser Heard Bluegrass Act
Mac Martin formed the Dixie Travelers in the mid 1950s. This album features 24 sides made for Rural Rhythm between 1968 and 1971 with the classic Dixie Travelers lineup of guitarist Mac Martin, fiddler Mike Carson, banjoist and lead guitarist Billy Bryant, mandolinist Bob Artis, and bassist Frank Basista.

Mac Martin is a fine lead singer and has built quite a reputation for his rock solid, booming rhythm guitar work. Mac Martin has unearthed many early country music songs and reworked them into bluegrass classics, such as "Southern Moon."

This is a wonderful collection of songs and tunes, all brilliantly performed. The recording quality isn't to modern standards, but it is perfectly acceptable. This CD features 3 pages of liner notes by Barry R. Willis describing the band's history and touching on a couple of the fiddle pieces featured. Regrettably there are no song credits listed. Here are notes on some of the more obscure songs.

"A Faded Rose" is from Buddy Starcher.

"After Dark" is an old Kitty Wells hit.

"This World Can't Stand Long" is a Roy Acuff song. It was recorded by the King Sacred Quartet (a King Records group similar to the Brown's Ferry Four).

"Nobody Cares" was recorded by Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys in 1946 as "Nobody Loves Me." It was written by Zeke Clements.

"Going Home This Evening" is a Karl and Harty song that was recorded by the Blue Sky Boys.

"Southern Moon" is a reworking of a 1930s Billy Cox piece titled "Drift Along Pretty Moon."

"The Last Request" is a Jake Landers song.

"Why Do You Weep" was recorded by Molly O'Day in the 1940s.

"A Silent Place" was recorded by the Carlisle Brothers as "She Waits For Me There."

"Gold Watch And Chain" is from the Carter Family. The alternate third verse was written by Mac Martin (and has become the standard third verse in bluegrass circles).

"I'll Live On" was recorded by the Monroe Brothers in the mid 1930s.

"Is She Praying There" was recorded by Charlie Monroe in the late 1930s.

Classic Bluegrass
Collection of lesser known and original songs evoking the "classic" bluegrass band. Not a later stretch back to imitate but rather an essential vein of core Bluegrass music.

Mac searched out fresh, original and exciting material in the 60s
With over 50 years in business, Rural Rhythm Records has built a catalog that connects many dots from past to present. Since its 1955 creation, Rural Rhythm has released hundreds of classic performances by many legendary bluegrass and old-time musicians such as J.E. Mainer, Don Reno, Red Smiley, Mac Wiseman, Vassar Clements, Hylo Brown, Bill Harrell, Jim Eanes, and many others. This album is part of that archival catalog. The label owes its Arcadia, California start to Uncle Jim O'Neal. whose vision was to release the music of many top bluegrass and old-time musicians in the 1950-70s, seeking success where Starday had failed by producing records of limited appeal by lesser known, albeit talented, musicians. Tom Knight, long-time friend and fan of Mac Martin in Pittsburgh, engineered and produced Mac's records.

On Uncle Jim O'Neal's original 20-song album format, Mac Martin generally liked offering two-thirds of the set consisting of vocals and a third instrumental. While some of the instrumentals were a bit brief, they gave record purchasers a very good deal. Mac Martin and the Dixie Travelers' second album "The Travelin' Blues" (RR-201) was a well thought out traditional and original collection of unusual instrumentals, handled with skill and deftness. Fiddler Mike Carson and banjo-player Billy Bryant provided good solos. The band's "Going Down the Country" LP (RR-214) provided a prime example of how to keep bluegrass fresh, original and exciting by searching out useful material. I wish this resissued "Best of ... " compilation would've included Mac's renditions of the Delmores' "Blue Railroad Train" and George Morris/Leonard Stokes' "We Can't Be Darlings Anymore." Still plenty of good stuff here, tho.

Martin's next album for Rural Rhythm entitled "Just Like Old Times" (RR-232) provided another fine set of both well-known and obscure material. In 1971, their "Backtrackin'" album (RR-237) included forgotten classics like Molly O'Day's "If You See My Saviour" (unfortunately not included here) and Carlisle Brothers' "She Waits For Me There" (as "A Silent Place") and Melissa Monroe's "Guilty Tears" (again not included on this reissue). Some of Mac's LPs had uncredited liner notes by Bob Artis (a Santa Monica, Ca. native who, at age 22, had started playing mandolin with the band about 1969 and wrote a book "Bluegrass" in 1975.)

Although some of the more obscure and interesting songs recorded by Mac are not included on this CD, it's still a very nice introduction to him. Definitely worth checking out. Plus Mac shares the same birthday as me (only 39 years earlier). (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)