... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

A really cool collection of vintage country music Christmas tunes – not just hits, but some excellent obscure material – all pulled together in a way that really lives up to the high standards we expect from the Bear Family label! These tracks are pulled together from a variety of labels and sources, and don't just include cowboy numbers you might guess from the "range" in the title – but also western swing, honky tonk, and maybe a few countrypolitan gems as well! The set features 26 titles in all – with great graphics and notes throughout – to accompany titles that include "Santa Claus Is Coming" by Skeeter Davis, "Santa's On His Way" by Bob Wills, "North Pole Boogie" by Billy Briggs, "Christmas Can't Be Far Away" by Eddie Arnold, "Christmas Time's A-Coming" by Bill Monroe, "Jolly Old St Nicholas" by Wilf Carter, "I Wish Everyday Was Christmas" by Ray Salter, "New Baby For Christmas" by George Jones, "Blue Snowfall" by George Morgan, "White Christmas" by Ernest Tubb, "Christmas Carols By The Old Corral" by Tex Ritter, "No Place Like Home On Christmas" by Little Jimmy Dickens, "It's Christmas Time" by The Louvin Brothers, "Home At Christmas" by Nelson Young, "I'm Gonna Lasso Santa" by Brenda Lee, and "We Wanna See Santa Do The Mambo" by Terry Fell. (Holiday Music, Folk/Country) CD

A stunning tribute to the great Alan Lomax – the legendary musicologist, historian, and recording engineer who captured so many wonderful American sounds in the 20th Century! Lomax's work has been crucial to both the Library Of Congress and Smithsonian/Folkways Records – yet there's also a fair bit that has never seen the light of day before – amazing recordings that make up a surprisingly large part of this box set – which compiles work in many different styles recorded by Alan in the field – blues, folk, gospel, and global modes, plus compelling regional genres – all presented here in a special 6LP set. The box features 55 never-issued tracks, and lots more great ones too – with music by Shirley Collins, Fiddlin Joe Martin, Compagna Sacco, Calvin Frazier, Sonny Boy Williamson, Jelly Roll Morton, Ernest Williams, Neal Morris, Skip James, Son House, Elmer Barton, Brendan Behan, George Sea Island Singers, Big Bill Broonzy, Elizabeth Austin, Jean Ritchie, Bascomb Lamar Lunsford, Bessie Jones, Duke Of Iron, Charles Barnett, and many others. The box features a nice booklet of notes, too – and some rare photos from the archive! LP, Vinyl record album