Two full albums from the many who was an important influence on California country giants Merle Haggard and Buck Owens! The first album is pure genius from the young Tommy Collins – an early figure on the Bakersfield scene, and an artist who almost single-handedly shaped the sound of the west coast scene with his Capitol Records material included here! Collins had a wonderful way of updating older hillbilly modes – traces of Texas and Arkansas, moved over to postwar Cali – where things got tightened up, became a bit more confident, and were given a razor-sharp sound by the excellent Capitol production. Every tune here is a classic – and many have a sense of double-entendre that rivals the hippest R&B work of the period, but with a very different sound overall – on titles that include "You Better Not Do That", "How Do I Say Goodbye", "It Tickles", "You Gotta Have A License", "Smooth Sailin", and "Whatcha Gonna Do Now". Words & Music Country Style features the wit, wisdom, and wild twang of the great Tommy Collins – brought together in a killer collection of early work for Capitol! The music here is the ultimate peak of the hillbilly generation – not the codified country of the Nashville scene to come, but much more rough-edged and wooley – with more than a few elements that could influence the sound of rock and roll as well! Titles include "The Feet Of The Traveler", "How Do I Say Goodbye", "Think It Over Boys", "Are You Ready To Go", and "All Of The Monkeys Ain't In The Zoo". 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

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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

A pair of obscure albums by Wanda Jackson – back to back on a single CD! Wonderful Wanda is a great little country album from Wanda Jackson – not the raw rockabilly of her first years at Capitol Records, but a more mature mode that has the singer taking on some material that really points the way towards the direction she'd take in the 60s! Wanda's surprisingly heartbreaking here at times – almost in a Patsy Cline mode – which is a great use of her wonderfully expressive voice. Backings are a mix of gentler country modes and some occasional fuller strings – and titles include "If I Cried Every Time You Hurt Me", "In The Middle Of A Heartache", "I'd Be Ashamed", "I Need You Now", "A Little Bitty Tear", and "Let My Love Walk In". Lovin Country Style is fantastic – and a rare early chapter of Wanda Jackson's career – featuring early singles she recorded for the Decca label before rising to later fame at Capitol! The style is great – in that best Decca hillbilly mode of the time – with uncluttered arrangements that really have the youthful voice of Wanda bursting out beautifully – really hitting some raw moments, even on the mellower or sadder tunes. Titles include "Tears At The Grand Ole Opry", "Lovin Country Style", "Wasted", "The Right To Love", "It's The Same World", and "I Cried Again". CD

Sublime sounds from the legendary Louvin Brothers – heard here on a collection of tracks recorded before their more famous years at Capitol Records – for labels that include Decca, Apollo, and MGM! Yet even at this early point, the brothers are fantastic – graced with a harmony sound that was both rooted in the hills, and which would become a huge influence on rock and folk generations to come – often just backed by simple guitar and mandolin backings, which usually don't offer the pyrotechnics of contemporaries like Bill Monroe – lest they get in the way of the vocals – yet still have a way of ringing out with a fantastic sort of depth. Titles include "Weapon Of Prayer", "Alabama", "Seven Year Blues", "The Get Acquainted Waltz", "You'll Be Rewarded Over There", "Robe Of White", "The Sons & Daughters Of God", "Childish Love", and "The Great Atomic Power". CD

Most folks associate Buck Owens with Capitol Records – the label that catapulted him to fame in the 60s – but after that initial run with the company, Owens recorded briefly for Warner Brothers in the mid 70s – with really great results that made for some mighty special music! That famous Owens voice is still in fantastic form – but given maybe a more mature direction on some of the material – maybe informed a bit by changes in country music that were being wrought by singers like Waylon Jennings or David Allen Coe – who seem to inspire Buck to take on a bit more honky tonk at times, and move away from more familiar Bakersfield modes. This great set brings together all the work that Owens did for the label – the albums Buck Em and Our Old Mansion – plus a fair bit of singles that he issued at the same time too. 41 tracks in all – with titles that include "Hollywood Waltz", "We're Gonna Build A Fire", "Child Support", "When I Need You", "Hangin In & Hangin On", "Love Is A Warm Cowboy", "How Come My Dog Don't Bark", "Texas Tornado", "He Don't Deserve You Anymore", "You're Gonna Need A Doctor", "Streets Of Bakersfield", and "When I Need You". 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

Billy Walker may have had a cowboy image at times, but he was also one hell of a straight country singer too – abit to hit some great honky tonk modes here – in a set that brings together all of his Columbia Records material, plus some rare sides for Capitol too! CD