Folk/Country — All Formats  

Pivotal singles from the amazing Wanda Jackson – one of the greatest female rock and country voices from the 50s onward – who mixes a cutesy coo and a feral growl for a sound that was pretty much unprecedented at the time! The material bridges proto rock and country music in a way that confused the heck outta radio programmers and the label's hope to break her into superstardom back in the day – and Wanda had a voice that could've (and should've) made her a star on par with the Sun Studios boys club. She's tough and tender at the same time – and Capitol producer Ken Nelson is near the top of his game here, too. This really is the best of her Capitol singles – 29 in all – including "I Gotta Know", "Fujiyama Mama", "Honey Bop", "Did You Miss Me?", "Right Or Wrong", "Sinful Heart", "In The Middle Of A Heartbreak", "Mean Mean Man', "Sympathy", You Bug Me Bad", "Silver Threads And Golden Needles", "Rock Your Baby", "(Every Time They Play) Our Song", "Little Charm Bracelet", "No Wedding Bells For Joe", "Honey Bop" and more.

The complete collection of Hag's 60s singles at Capitol – with some of his most legendary songs – along with some equal treasures that just didn't hit as big on the charts! It's a pretty tightly-focused set that starts with the formative, Bakersfield honky tonk-honed style of the earlier singles and segues pretty early to his popular and creative peaks as both a performer and songwriter! That smoky smooth voice is as great as it would ever be during this period, and he really starts showing his storytelling excellence on these songs, too. To this day, Haggard doesn't get the credit he deserves for his empathetic songcraft – and many of his best songs are in this set! 28 tracks in all: "I'm Gonna Break Every Heart In Can", "Falling For You", "Swinging Doors", "The Bottle Let Me Down", "Silver Wings", "Branded Man", "Sing Me Back Home", "The Fugitive", "You'll Never Love Me Now", "If I Had Left It Up To You", "Someone Told My Story", "I Take A Lot Of Pride In What I Am",

An earnest, often largely orchestrated gospel-ish album This Lusty Land is his earliest inspirational foray. If you only know ol' Ern from "Sixteen Tons" and the Davy Crockett theme, or from his appearance as a Branson, MO dwelling ghost on the Simpsons, you're really missing out on a singular vocal talent – a man who cut some of the greatest hillbilly pop and proto-rockabilly vocal tunes ever! 12 tracks in all: "John Henry", "Trouble In Mind", "Chicken Road", "The Rovin' Gambler", "In The Pines", "Nine Pound Hammer", "The Last Letter", and more.

Let's get this straight. Merle Haggard SINGS "Okie From Muskogee" but he is not THE "Okie From Muskogee". Nevertheless, this is the record that put the honky in honky tonk. Merle sure pretended to not like hippies back in '69, and story has it he even refused an invitation to produce Gram Parson's GP album on the basis that Gram was just another damn dirty hippie. Of course that's just a story – Merle simply didn't fancy himself a producer. Okie From Muskogee is pretty much the definitive portrait of the Hag at his most reactionary, and if the ignorant politics of the title track gives us a few goosebumps along the way, it's well worth it to hear him perform some of his best tracks at the very peak of his career. Besides, what's an outlaw if he doesn't scare you a little? Many of the great ones are here, including "Mama Tried", "No Hard Times", "In the Arms Of Love", "If I Had Left It Up To You", "White Line Fever", "Blue Rock", "Okie From Muskogee", and a medley of "Swinging Doors", "I'm A Lonesome Fugitive", "Sing Me Back Home", and "Branded Man".

A fantastic record of country harmony spirituals, cut by the legendary Ira and Charlie Louvin, during the height of their years at Capitol! The record's a treasure all the way through – from great cuts like "Satan is Real", "The Drunkard's Room", and "Dying From Home, And Lost" – to the groovy cover that has the Louvins standing next to a flaming pile of garbage with a statue of Satan! Forget all that modern insurgent country bullcracky – this is the real deal!

The soul saving, Satan deterring classic by The Louvin Brothers – plus the excellent Handpicked Songs compilation of Louvin tracks lovingly selected by an eclectic group of indebted artists – in this great 2CD set from Light In The Attic! Satan Is Real is a fantastic record of country harmony spirituals, cut by the legendary Ira and Charlie Louvin, during the height of their years at Capitol. The record's a treasure all the way through – from great cuts like "Satan is Real", "The Drunkard's Room", and "Dying From Home, And Lost" – to the groovy cover that has the Louvins standing next to a flaming pile of garbage with a statue of Satan! The real deal! Handpicked Songs is amazing music from the greatest chapter of the legendary Louvin Brothers – the kind of work that's made them a legend for generations! The set features Louvin classics chosen by a reverent group of singers and songwriters that really run the gamut – Dolly Parton, Beck, Kris Kristofferson, Chris Hilman, Emmylou Harris, Will Oldham, Zooey Deschanel, The Black Angels, Mark Lanegan, M Ward, and Jim James – but all artists who have been undeniably influenced by Ira and Charlie Louvin, and their way of melding melancholy harmonies into something that goes way beyond everyday country music! The packaging is great – very much up to the Light In The Attic standard – and titles include "Almost Persuaded", "My Baby's Gone", "I See A Bridge", "Knoxville Girl", "Great Atomic Power", and "Alabama".

One of the rawest recordings made by Fred Neil – and a record we really love – featuring one side of live tracks, and another of unusual studio material! The first half of the album has Fred playing in a spare setting up in Woodstock – working in a small club, and doing great versions of tracks that include "The Dolphins", "Other Side Of This Life", "Roll On Rosie", "Everybody's Talkin", and "Sweet Cocaine". The sound is nice and rootsy, with some 12 string guitar work that's totally great. The other half features an assortment of studio tracks that have Fred working with some diverse guests that include Les McCann, Vince Martin, and Gram Parsons – on titles that include "Felicity", "Badi Da", "Come Back Baby", and "Ya Don't Miss Your Water".

A cool record by ne of our favorite artists of the mid 60s to early 70s! Fred Neil is best known to the world as the man who wrote "Everybody's Talkin'", which was used excessively in the film Midnight Cowboy, but since the version in the film was sung by Nilsson, Fred's talents werelargely eclipsed. This Capitol album has the singer/songwriter playing in a very relaxed studio vibe – with some spare backing, and edgey playing that opens up a side of him that we've rarely heard elsewhere. Supposedly, the session was largely improvised, and designed to recreate the feel of his legendary live shows. The tracks are fairly long, and include titles like "Felicity", "Send Me Somebody To Love", "Looks Like Rain", and "Fools Are A Long Time Coming".

Not sure how many new dimensions these guys actually hit in their music – but the record is a rare early David Axelrod production!

The cover says this is "an album if great rockin songs by Wanda Jackson" and they are indeed pretty rockin! Rather than rock, these tunes are more rockabilly, of course – and Wanda's amazing, raspy yet pretty voice is definitely rooted in classic honky tonk, too. It's a really fun record from her prime at Capitol. Tracks include "Lonely Week-Ends", "Kansas City", "Fallin", "Hard Headed Woman", "Tongue Tied", "Sparkling Brown Eyes", and "Man We Had A Party". One of the highlights of the record is the killer guitar playing – with credit to Roy Clark!

One of the great early Merle Haggard records with The Strangers – and a classic that swung open all kinds of doors for Hag and all honky tonk legends to follow! The barroom laments come into full bloom on this record, with the unvarnished honky tonk style that Hag helped define, though done with just enough Capitol polish, courtesy of the great and legendary producers Ken Nelson and Fuzzy Owen. It contains uber-classic "The Bottle Let Me Down" plus the equally great title track, plus comparably overlooked album classics like "I'll Look You Over", "The Girl Turned Ripe", "No More You & Me", "I Can't Stand Me", "No More You And Me" a great version of the Tommy Collins classic and Bakersfield Sound bedrock "High On A Hilltop","Shade Tree (Fix-It Man)".

The cover says this is "an album if great rockin songs by Wanda Jackson" and they are indeed pretty rockin! Rather than rock, these tunes are more rockabilly, of course – and Wanda's amazing, raspy yet pretty voice is definitely rooted in classic honky tonk, too. It's a really fun record from her prime at Capitol. Tracks include "Lonely Week-Ends", "Kansas City", "Fallin", "Hard Headed Woman", "Tongue Tied", "Sparkling Brown Eyes", and "Man We Had A Party". One of the highlights of the record is the killer guitar playing – with credit to Roy Clark!

The first couple of Fred Neil records for Capitol from 1966 to 1967 – the classic self-titled and the lesser remembered, but still quite strong Sessions – back-to-back and as great as ever! Fred is one of the 60s most underrated singer/songwriters – and his early Capital work is among the best places to start with his work – as it's got a rough folksy quality that's really wonderful, and very much in the spirit of Tim Hardin, with whom we'd draw the closest comparison to Neil at the time. This set kicks off with the sublime "The Dolphins" – one of those tracks that's lived far longer than his own music, and which has had the benefit of a number of more famous recordings, but which sounds no better than in Neil's own hands. Other tracks from the the self-titled album include the original version of "Everybody's Talkin" – again far superior to the later one – plus the cuts "Sweet Cocaine", "Green Rocky Road", "Everything Happens", and "Badi-Da". The Sessions album is also a treat, and has the singer/songwriter playing in a very relaxed studio vibe – with some spare backing, and edgy playing that opens up a side of him that we've rarely heard elsewhere. Supposedly, the session was largely improvised, and designed to recreate the feel of his legendary live shows. The tracks are fairly long, and include titles like "Felicity", "Please Send Me Somebody To Love", "Looks Like Rain", and "Fools Are A Long Time Coming". 17 tracks and 80 minutes of music in all on this CD from Rev-Ola!

A nice late 50s record Skeets McDonald cut for Capitol that probably left a few heads spinning back in its day for its mix of twangy vocals, bluesy song choices, guitar & rhythms more often than not steeped in rockabilly – and probably would annoy hard honky tonk purists to this day – but damn it all, it sounds pretty great to us! Stylistic lines were drawn pretty clearly in the late 50s in the hillbilly music racket, and the records that crossed them either failed commercially or made legends. Some did both. This one finds middle ground, hardly iconic, but still wholly pleasing proto-rock informed late 50s country. Titles include "Goin Steady With The Blues", "Gone And Left Blues", "Yard And A Half Blues", "Hawaiian Sea Breeze", "Fort Worth Jail" and more. This Righteous UK CD includes early singles that are mostly straight up rockabilly, including "You Oughta See Grandma Rock", "Heart-Breaking Mama", "Mean & Evil Blues" and more.

Probably the greatest record that the Louvin Brothers ever made – and a haunting batch of songs filled with death and disaster, sung in a crystalline harmony style by Ira and Charlie! Includes the oft-quoted "Kentucky", plus loads of other great ones, including "Take The News To Mother", "What Is Home Without Love", the ever-scary and beautiful "Knoxville Girl", and "Mary Of The Wild Moor". Country harmony grandeur and entirely essential!

A cool record by ne of our favorite artists of the mid 60s to early 70s! Fred Neil is best known to the world as the man who wrote "Everybody's Talkin'", which was used excessively in the film Midnight Cowboy, but since the version in the film was sung by Nilsson, Fred's talents werelargely eclipsed. This Capitol album has the singer/songwriter playing in a very relaxed studio vibe – with some spare backing, and edgey playing that opens up a side of him that we've rarely heard elsewhere. Supposedly, the session was largely improvised, and designed to recreate the feel of his legendary live shows. The tracks are fairly long, and include titles like "Felicity", "Send Me Somebody To Love", "Looks Like Rain", and "Fools Are A Long Time Coming".