Buck Owens ruled country music in the 60s – especially on the west coast – and these seminal singles for Capitol Records are a great demonstration of his talent at its height! Buck was a hell of a talent right from the start – sharp, soulful, and graced with a good sense of wit and strong intelligence – all of which ably guided both his performance and choice of material – which is especially perfect when it comes to his 45s! And while most of Owens' albums from this time have been reissued on CD, this is the first set to really look at the special world of his singles – which includes a lot of numbers that never made the full-length sets. The package features a whopping 56 tracks on 2CDs, complete with a and b-sides of all the singles – including a few duets with Rose Maddox. Titles include "I Know What It Means", "Over & Over Again", "Sweethearts In Heaven", "Cryin Time", "Waitin In Your Welfare Line", "Heart Of Glass", "No More Me & You", "The Way That I Love You", "House Down The Block", "King OF Fools", "I Can't Stop My Lovin You", "Second Fiddle", "Walk The Floor", "We're The Talk Of The Town", "My Heart Skips A Beat", "Together Again", "Don't Let Her Know", "No One But You", "Til These Dreams Come True", "High As The Mountains", and "Loose Talk". CD

We LOVE trucker country, and Dick Curless is one of our all-time favorites – a singer with a truly amazing voice, and one who's only remembered for the odd hit or two – but who has a hell of a lot more to offer! This package features all of Dick's recordings for Capitol/Tower in the 60s – an insane amount of tracks, plus unissued material – plus early work for Standard and Event, Tiffany material, and even some unusual radio performances from Korea! CD

The Bobbie Gentry groove gets kicked up a bit more than before – thanks to some larger arrangements that almost bring a funky country approach to her music – and which seem to give her voice an even more soulful setting than before! Bobbie's still got the charms of her earlier, more acoustic material – but she also seems to have set her guitar aside, to focus more strongly on her singing – with a mix of southern currents and soul that almost remind us a bit of Dusty Springfield at Memphis or Muscle Shoals. Yet the vibe is definitely Gentry's own – as some songs are her own, and the music has that overall sense of female power that always made her such a standout from some of the weepier singers in Nashville. Arrangements are by Don Tweedy and Hank Levine – and titles include "Natural To Be Gone", "Seasons Come Seasons Go", "Touch Em With Love", "Where's The Playground Jimmy", "Greyhound Goin Somewhere", and "I Wouldn't Be Satisfied". CD

An amazing run of music from the mighty Buck Owens – one of the few country music stars of his time who never made a mis-step at all, and instead gave us nearly two decades' worth of incredible records for Capitol! Some of the best cuts from that stretch are presented here, alongside a handful of rare numbers too – including 7 tracks never issued on CD, and 9 that have never been issued in the US – all as part of a 50-song collection that even includes liner notes from Buck himself! If you only think of Owens in terms of his later fame or stereotypes, you'll be plenty surprised when you dip into these gems – as the music is tight, sharp, witty – and some of the most perfectly-presented country music of the time. Titles include a number of live tracks – including versions of "Somewhere Between You & Me", "Las Vegas Lament", "Tall Dark Stranger", "I'll Still Be Waiting For You", "I've Got You On My Mind Again", and "I've Got A Tiger By The Tail" – plus studio cuts that include "Sweet Rosie Jones", "Happy Times Are Here Again", "41st Street Lonely Hearts Club", "Weekend Daddy", "Great Expectations", "Big Game Hunter", "Monster's Holiday", "Let The World Keep On A Turnin", and "Corn Likker" – plus an outtake from a rare duet with soul singer Bettye Swann, on "Today I Started Loving You Again". CD

A great tribute to one of the unsung heroes of country music – guitarist Don Rich, whose lead work and solos were such a big part of the Buck Owens records of the 60s! This package brings together both tracks recorded with Buck, and sides that have Don working with the Buckaroos – many of which have Rich singing along with his guitar, even if Buck is on board – and all of which are sparkling with the kind of "next generation" groove that Don used to help take the Bakersfield sound out of the postwar ghetto, and into the country mainstream. There's a really sparkling feel to most of this work – and together, the tracks have Rich presenting sounds that are really more dynamic and more inspiring than any of Chet Atkins music of the time. Titles include a never-issued version of "Guitar Pickin Man", plus "Hello California", "Down At The Corner Bar", "Chaparral", "Wham Bam", "Bossa Nova Buckaroo Style", "Aw Heck", "Number One Heel", "Sally Was A Good Ol Girl", "Out Of My Mind", "Take Care Of You For Me In Kansas City", and "Happy Son Of A Gun". CD

He may have dressed like a cowboy, but the great Tex Ritter was a crucial figure in helping to expand the sound of country music in the postwar years – and there's no better document of his genius than this great series from Bear Family! The box includes important early 78rpm material, and key early sides for Capitol Records – from a time when Tex was helping the west coast country scene really get going. As usual, the packaging is great – with a hefty booklet of notes and photos – and a massive amount of music, too! CD

Rare work from the great Tex Ritter – most of it never commercially available! The package brings together performances that Tex cut for Capitol Records' Transcription Service in the mid 40s – with help from west coast giants like Merle Travis, Johnny Bond, and Cliffie Stone! There's over 100 songs in all – including some World Transcriptions material – and the set comes with a big booklet of notes and photos too! CD

A massive amount of work from a time when Tex Ritter was at the top of his game – star of stage and radio, and also an important force on the rising west coast country scene too! The package features a total of 111 recordings, 19 never issued – all recorded for Capitol when the label was doing an amazing job with material like this. Tex gets lots of great help on the sides, too – instrumentation that includes contributions from Merle Travis, Speedy West, Cliffie Stone, Harold Hensley, and even arranger Les Baxter. Comes with a big booklet of notes and images – in the usual great Bear Family style! CD

Happy and Artie Traum are even more relaxed and laidback here than on their debut album of the year before – recording in their home turf of Woodstock, with a small group of friends helping out on instrumentation from track to track – always keeping the brothers in a balance between singer/songwriter rock, folk, and country! Both Happy and Artie sing, and play acoustic guitar – sometimes with one in the lead, but often in this harmonizing style that's really wonderful – and which gives their music an expressive sound that goes past any easy country rock cliches. Titles include "Confession", "Jacksboro", "Handful Of Love", "Cross Examinator", "Mister Movie Man", and "The Ferryman". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

Happy and Artie Traum are part of the farther-flung universe around Bob Dylan and The Band at the end of the 60s – musicians who worked with Bob in New York, and who were living upstate at the time they cut this wonderful debut album – even though the whole thing was actually all recorded down in Tennessee! But maybe that factor is what makes the whole thing sound special – not just some guys trying to fake roots, but actually finding them in a way that's really unique. There's an easygoing flow to their work together – an effortless embrace of country currents and more personal folksy strains – all given a nice focus in the Nashville recording studio, as bits of dobro, fiddle, and steel guitar are used sparingly, but in just the right ways – almost making the record feel like an even more subtle version of The Burrito Brothers. Titles include "Golden Bird", "Uncle Jedd Say", "The Hungry Dogs Of New Mexico", "Rabbit's Luck", "Farmers Almanac", and "State Line". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

Tommy Collins is one of the great 50s country artists to have had a profound influence on the Bakersfield sound perfected by Buck Owens and his followers – and this 5 CD box set, compiling the entirety of Collins' Capital Records material from the time is the first appearance of this incredible body of work on CD! Tommy was a handsome, rhinestone-studded star in his moment – but his wonderful songs just don't get their critical due. Bear Family worked hard to change that with this astoundingly complete set, which includes a huge book with everything you need to know about Tommy and the recordings, plus tons of of great photos, so why not do yourself a favor and see what all the fuss is about! Over 120 tracks, including "Campus Boogie", "Fool's Gold", "Wait A Little Longer", "If I Could Just Go Back", "Smooth Sailin'", "A Love Is Born", "Every Step Of The Way", "I Got Mine", "A Million Miles", "Hearts Don't Break", "I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do", "Put Me In Irons, Lock Me Up", "Break My Mind", and tons more! CD

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The Kingston Trio at the top of their powers – working here for both Capitol and Decca Records, at a time when the group featured John Stewart! The set features all the recordings by that trio in one place for the first time ever – along with many unreleased tracks and alternative recordings too – and a 1962 Hollywood Bowl concert, and their 1966 farewell concert too! Also includes a heavy hardcover book, too! CD

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", "Knoxville Girl", and "Mary Of The Wild Moor". Great stuff, and completely essential to have back on CD! CD

A huge collection of rare material by The Kingston Trio – all their earliest work for Capitol, when Dave Guard was a member of the group – complete with rare tracks too! CD

That's no typo in the title – as the unique phrase "Swingbillies" is a perfect summation of the set – which mixes together rare postwar work from the West Coast scene – cool cuts that are partly western swing, partly early country – and which almost stand as a precursor to the Bakersfield years to come! The music is all from the catalog of Modern Records – an imprint best known for R&B and blues, but one that also really had its ear to the ground for all the new sounds bubbling up in LA after the war – sounds that included a big influx of hillbilly styles that hit the coast in the hands of folks moving westward for jobs and success. Most artists here are relatively obscure, but their work resonates with qualities that both matches the big western swing stars of the period, and some of the excellent early country on Capitol Records – which might be a good comparison to the strength of this set. CD features 28 titles in all – and cuts include "You Just Wait & See" by Chuck Guillory, "Turn That Gun Around" by Rocky Morgan, "Those Wonderful Days With You" by Joe Bean, "I Knew That You Were Foolin All Along" by Jimmie Dolan, "Holiday For Guitar" by Jimmy Bryant, "The Honey Jump (part 1)" by Jody Webb, "Operation Blues" by Homer Clemons, "Big Texas #2" by Papa Cairo, "San Antonio Blues" by Cliff Bruner, and "My Heart Lied To Me" by Ted Shelton. CD

Genius work from Skeets McDonald – an important force on the west coast country scene in the years before Buck Owens and Merle Haggard – and a hell of a talent in his own right! The box features every single track that Skeets ever recorded – including sublime 50s hillbilly work for Capitol, and lots of more obscure 60s sides for Columbia – plus an album recorded for Uni in 1968, right before his untimely early death. A great package – with 143 songs in all, and a big booklet of notes that finally gives Skeets his place in the cosmos! CD

20 years' worth of music by the great Jimmie Skinner – an artist who's been barely remembered today, and hardly touched by the reissue market – but whose work of the 50s was a great contrast to the rising sound of the Nashville scene! Jimmie's got a lot more grit in his presentation – and really takes country music back to its roots, while also delivering the music with the sort of punch it got in the postwar hillbilly years! Skinner's sound isn't rootsy – but stripped-down and sharp – captured here on recordings he did for Capitol, Mercury, Decca, and other artists – plus some rare acetate tracks, and material that Jimmie issued on his own. The package was done with extra care by Bear Family – who tell Skinner's overlooked story in the box's great booklet of notes and photos. CD

Amazing music from the great Mac Wiseman – an artist who was as important to the growth of bluegrass in the 50s as Bill Monroe or the Stanley Brothers – but who doesn't always get his due! Mac's voice is amazing – wonderfully expressive, but in a slyly subtle way – and his range of material here is wonderful, and often surpasses most of the settings in which he worked! A good deal of tracks come from Wiseman's time at Dot Records – where he also acted as their country A&R person – and the set features loads of singles that have never been reissued from the Dot years – plus later Capitol Records tracks, including a full Capitol album that was never released! We've really fallen in love with Mac's music over the years – and this collection does him justice that no other package on the market has before – complete with 164 prime recordings on 6CDs, and a massive heavy book that's filled with images, photos, and rich writings on Wiseman's career by Charles Wolfe and Eddie Stubbs! CD