The long lost late 60s album by the Gosdin Brothers – FINALLY issued on CD! This Gosdin Brothers album were spawned from the same seeds as seminal, stargazing country rock icons like Gene Clark and the Byrds. If the Gosdin's compartatively scant recorded history and unfortunately rare reissues pretty much guarantee that they'll never be as widely remembered and name-dropped as their martyred peers, it certainly doesn't reflect on their music! Sounds Of Goodbye is very much cut from the same cloth as period Byrds recordings, with a bit more of a focus on the gorgeous, Louvin and Everly influenced harmonies. The production also has a punchy, Bakersfield honky tonk feel that simply never gets old. Vern Gosdin went on to have some solid success much later with some neotraditional honky tonk albums, but this early work with his brother sunny country excellence. Tracks include "Sounds Of Goodbye", "Tell Me", "Woman's Disgrace", "The Victim", "Love At First Sight", "Wishing", "Louisiana Man". 24 tracks – lots of bonus material. CD

(Rock, Folk/Country) 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

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

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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

A killer collection that brings together nearly all of Wanda Jackson's rock and roll tracks in one great set – a non-stop party that spans the space of 30 tracks from her early years at Capitol Records, along with detailed notes and a great package too! Jackson's work in these years is the stuff of legend – as the singer was one of the first truly strong female rockers, with an influence that's still being felt all these many years later – thanks to these super-raw rockabilly tracks that really blow away any of her later country records from the 60s and 70s. Jackson's got this shouting style of singing that's as bold as the best R&B singers of the time – artists who were an undeniable influence on Wanda's sound – and, male or female, you'd be hard-pressed to find another single artist rockabilly collection this great! Titles include "Tongue Tied", "Honey Don't", "Man We Had A Party", "Rock Your Baby", "Rip It Up", "Baby Loves Him", "Mean Mean Man", "Fujiyama Mama", "Brown Eyed Handsome Man", "Fallin", "Slippin & Slidin", "Sticks & Stones", "Hot Dog That Made Him Mad", and lots lots more! CD

Mike Deasy looks plenty country on the cover of this Capitol Records set – but he comes across in a way that's more rock overall – yet still touched with plenty of the southern roots that were showing up in the hipper currents of the American underground at the time! You might think of this record as being in that great late Byrds/early Eagles moment when an artist could freely mix together elements of Los Angeles and Nashville, but without coming across like some sort of commercial crook or pretender – and Deasy is definitely his own man in the setting – handling plenty of guitars, mandolin, banjo, and other stringed instruments alongside his vocals – but also getting some warm west coast backing in the process. Titles include "Beauty", "If You Pick Her Too Hard", "The Peace Song", "Flutterby", "Letters To My Head", and "Little Water". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A nicely focused little collection on the great Ferlin Husky – one that brings together some of his more upbeat tunes from the early generation of rock and roll – although the music is still pretty darn country overall! Or rather, hillbilly – said in the most respectful way of the time – as the cuts often have some bumping basslines that are clearly borrowed a bit from rockabilly, and have that wonderfully full Capitol Records production style of the late 50s – which can illuminate even a casual moment in a tune, and make Ferlin's wit and personality really come through in the vocals! The CD's one of the best collections we've ever seen to focus on this side of Husky's great, and overlooked talent – and titles include "I Feel Better All Over", "Slow Down Brother", "Cross Eyed Gal From The Ozarks", "Detour", "Prize Possession", "Black Sheep", "Eli The Camel", "Excuse Me Stranger", "Wang Dang Doo", "I Will", and "Muki Ruki". 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