An amazing portrait of America between the wars – served up over dozens of vintage 78rpm recordings – all based around themes of daily life mentioned in the title! The collection is an incredible historical document – pulled mostly from the collection of Louisville 78 collector Don Wahle, and remastered and re-presented beautifully by the folks at Tompkins Square – who not only sort the songs into key categories, but also provide a wealth of notes and images to further illuminate the tunes! There's a number of tracks on here that have never been reissued before, mixed with others that are still plenty darn rare – and the package features 42 tracks that include "Climbing The Golden Stairs" by Happy Four, "Oh Declare His Glory" by McDonald Quartette, "Fourth Of July At The County Fair" by Bill Chitwood, "Tennessee Coon Hunt" by Whit Gaydon, "Hide Away" by Oscar Ford, "Poor Man Rich Man" by David McCarn, "Driving Saw Logs On The Plover" by Pierre La Dieu, and "Flat Wheel Train Blues (parts 1 & 2)" by Red Gay & Jack Wellman. CD

An amazing tribute to the Bakersfield scene – one that finally gives the California city the same sort of attention that we usually see in sets dedicated to Nashville! Bakersfield is well-known as the home of Merle Haggard and Buck Owens, but the city's got a long legacy of influencing country music for decades – a good deal of which is presented here, in a package that brings together loads of rare Cali country singles that we never would have heard otherwise, along with well-chosen cuts from some of its stars, and a fair bit of rare and unissued material too! At the center of the set is a huge hardcover book by Scott Bomar – hardcover, 12" square, and with 224 full color pages of notes and images on the genius of Bakersfield, and what made it such a unique country music spot. The 10 CDs feature nearly 300 songs in all – one disc of which is all rare live and unissued material – and in addition to work by Buck and Merle, the set features tracks by Wayne Morris, Jerry Cornelius, Vancie & Rita, Georgia Lynn, Kenny Hays, Tommy Lewis, Rollie Webber, Johnny Barnette, Bonnie Owens, Bobby Durham, George Latta, Owen Charles, Larry Daniels, Gene Moles, Al Brumley, Bill Handy, Leo Stephens, Faye Hardin, Tom Tall, Cliff Crofford, Kenny Vernon, Rose Lee Maphis, Oscar Whittington, Foyle Holley, Dick Curless, Red Simpson, Gary Paxton, Jim Ward, and many many more! CD

Lots of nice ones from the Musicor years – including "Even The Bad Times Are Good", "I Can't Get Used To Being Lonely", "The Selfishness In Man", "The Sea Between Our Hearts", "What's Bad For You Is Good For Me", "Flowers For Mama", and "Gonan Take Me Away From You". LP, Vinyl record album

A great little set, even if it's not what you might expect – not the kind of cuts that heralded the early years of country soul – and instead an even cooler batch of tracks from those years when R&B and hillbilly records often crossed paths on the postwar scene! Many of the small indie labels of the 50s recorded both country and blues, sometimes even having different artists take on the same songs, but in different ways – which meant that there was often a lot of cross-pollination going on in the farther reaches of the music business! The cuts here definitely show that approach – as a good many of them were originally country hits for other singers, but sound great and very different in the hands of R&B artists – and are mixed with a few others that follow similar themes, and really fit into the set in a great way. As always with Bear Family, the whole thing is presented with great notes and details on the music – in a set list of 29 tracks that include "Steel Guitar Rag" by Earl Hooker, "Sixteen Tons" by BB King, "Lovesick Blues" by Sonny Knight, "Big Mamou" by Smiley Lewis, "Ghost Riders In The Sky" by Scatman Crothers, "It'd Surprise You" by The Griffin Brothers with Margie Day, "Indian Love Call" by Hal Singer, "No Help Wanted" by Bob Gaddy & His Alley cats, "Cherokee Boogie" by Moose Jackson, "It Makes No Difference Now" by Piano Red, and "You Can't Stay Here" by Pearl Reaves & The Concords. (Soul, Folk/Country) CD

The legendary Chess Records is best known as a home to important blues, soul, and gospel records from the postwar years – but back in the 50s, the label also did a pretty great job with the harder side of the rock and roll spectrum too! Maybe that's no surprise, given that the Chess Brothers always had a great ear for new and unusual music – to a point where they sometimes issued work that wasn't recorded in their Chicago studios, which is the case with a fair bit of the cuts on this collection – many of which hail from points farther south, from territory that was bristling with new energy from rockabilly pioneers at the time! There's a few more familiar Chess artists mixed in here with more obscure artists who only issued singles for the label – and the massive 33 track package comes with very detailed notes on all the tracks within. Titles include "Run Rose" by Billy Miranda, Good Morning Little Schoolgirl" by Don & Bob, "The Story Of My Life" by Big Al Downing, "So Long Goodbye" by JC Hill, "Baby Bye Bye" by Dickie & The Gees, "Make Believe Wedding Bells" by Dick Glasser, "I Found My Girl" by The Kents, "6:15" by The Galaxies, "I Am Ready" by Bobby Dean, "See You Soon Baboon" by Dale Hawkins, "No More" by Bobby Charles, and That's All You Gotta Do" by Jack Ford. (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

Pretty great later work from Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks – not the immediately-retro style of their earlier albums, but instead this wonderful blend of so many different jazz and acoustic elements – set forward with a style that's wonderfully groovy overall! There's a hip, scatting vibe to the music that almost puts Hicks in the same 70s territory as Ben Sidran – although maybe a few notches earlier in terms of his inspirations – yet coming across with a breezy warmth that's really beautiful, almost like the shift that Maria Muldaur had made from her trad styles of the 60s to the groove of "Midnight At The Oasis". Fender Rhodes warms the record up at all the right moments – and titles include "Boogaloo Jones", "Cruzin", "Garden In The Rain", "Dizzy Dogs", "Vinnie's Lookin Good", "Lovers For Life", and "Collared Blues". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

A classic run of records from Waylon Jennings – brought together in a single package! First up is Lonesome Onry & Mean – a pivotal album for Waylon Jennings – the record where he really found the new direction that would finally get him the fame he deserved – delivered in a way that's free from all the later cliches, and which also ties Waylon pretty strongly to the hipper currents of the underground – especially that point where singer/songwriter genius intersected with country! The production is his own, and vastly different than the late 60s records – even though we love those to death too – and that magical Jennings vocal approach does fantastic things to tunes by Steve Young, Mickey Newbury, Kris Kristofferson, and others! Titles include the fantastic "Lonesome Onry & Mean", plus "Good Time Charlie's Got The Blues", "Freedom To Stay", "Lay It Down", "You Can Have Her", "Pretend I Never Happened", "San Francisco Mabel Joy", "Sandy Sends Her Best", and a great take on "Me &Bobby McGee". Honky Tonk Heroes is genius material from Waylon Jennings – one of those career-defining records from the early 70s that completely put him on top, and heralded a whole new generation in country music! The set's maybe equally noteworthy as a showcase for the up-and-coming Billy Joe Shaver, who wrote much of the songs on the record – and it's also a great showcase for the important production talents of Tompall Glaser, who really gets the spirit of the music right! Titles include great versions of "Honky Tonk Heroes", "Old Five & Dimers Like Me", "Ride Me Down Easy", "Black Rose", "Willy The Wandering Gypsy & Me", "Omaha", and "Ain't No God In Mexico". This Time is one of those Waylon Jennings records from a time when he could do no wrong – fighting the stronger powers at RCA to really find his voice – recording at the studio of Tompall Glaser, with great production help from Willie Nelson – who was enjoying his own transformation at the time too! As with the previous two gems from this period, the choice of material and presentation is great – songs by Willie, JJ Cale, and Billy Joe Shavers – in a set of titles that include "Heaven Or Hell", "It's Not Supposed To Be That Way", "This Time", "Pick Up The Tempo", "If You Could Touch Her At All", "Walkin", "Slow Rollin Low", "Louisiana Woman", and "Slow Movin Outlaw". Ramblin Man is Waylon Jennings at peak mid 70s perfection! Ramblin' Man fits in stylistically with the gruff honky tonk hero mode he first fully realized a couple albums earlier, but he's still fiercely blazing trails here, pairing his gruff lead vocals with sweeter female harmonies on some tracks, changing the groove from laidback swagger to fast-paced honky tonk, working in some tender ballads with the gruffer numbers...Waylon at his best. Starts up with the eternal title track and equally classic "Rainy Day Woman" and hardly lets up in greatness from there, with "Cloudy Days", "The Hunger", "It'll Be Her", a great cover of the Allman Brothers' "Midnight Rider", "Memories Of You And Me", "Amanda" and more. Features bonus tracks too – "Laid Back Country Picker", "The Last One To Leave Seattle", "Big Big Love", "Got A Lot Going For Me", "The Last Letter", and "The One I Sing My Love Songs To". CD

Amazing music from the depths of the Great Depression, but it's hardly a downer – this is a deeply felt collection of tunes by black & white singers and combos of the 20s & 30s that's cathartic, emotional, and a complete treasure trove! The songs are full of brutal beauty, tragedy, and some dark humor, especially when it gets to the murder ballads – and more than 30 of the 70 songs haven't been reissued before now! This is simply one of the very best sets of archival Americana since the epic CD releases of the Anthology Of American Folk Music. It's really that good! The discs are separated thematically – Man V Machine, Man V Nature, and Man V Man (And Woman, Too) – and titles include "Titanic Blues" by Hi Henry Brown & Charlie Jordan, "The Crash Of The Akron" by Bob Miller, "Wreck Of Old 97" by Skillet Lickers, "The Fatal Wreck Of The Blus" bu Mainer's Mountaineers, "The Story Of The Mighty Mississippi" by Ernest Stoneman, "When The Levee Breaks" by Kansas Joe & Memphis Minnie, "The Death Of Floyd Collins" by Vernon Dalhart, "Peddler And His Wife" by Hayes Shepherd, "Frankie" by Dykes Magic City Trio, "Dupree Blues" by Willie Walker. 70 tracks on 3CDs! CD

The legendary King Records is known as an important label for R&B and hillbilly music – but the label also has a surprisingly strong legacy in the early years of rock as well – maybe in part because it did such a good job of keeping its ear to the ground with those other important styles! King never got the chart-topping hits of a label like Sun Records, but it did manage to draw together an equally impressive array of talents – some still underground names after all these years, others now elevated in the secret history of rock and roll through their work for the label! The set brings together 30 tracks from King and related Federal and DeLuxe labels, all with the detailed notes and well-chosen cuts that continue to make this series so important, even after many years and dozens of releases – a legacy that's really supported here by cuts that include "Say So" and "If I Had A Woman" by Mac Curtis, "Stop The World" by The Bon Aires, "You're Gonna Like My Baby" by Bill Beach, "Haulin Freight" by Bob Newman, "Jungle Rock" by Hank Mizell, "Top Ten Rock" by Fuller Todd, "Put The Chain On The Door" by Boyd Bennett & His Rockets, "No Good Robin Hood" by Delbert Barker, "One Hand Loose" by Charlie Feathers, "Your Kind Of Lovin" by Donnie White, "Bip A Little Bop A Lot" by Joe Penny, "I'm Mad With You" by Moon Mullican, "Midnight Blues" by The Town Three, and "Good Good Good" by Ken McDonald. (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

The second fantastic album from Tim Hardin – a singer/songwriter classic that's gone on to have a tremendous amount of pull and power over the years – and for good reason too! With songs like these, Hardin set the stage for so many other singers to come – bringing in a lot of his own personal sense of history and failings, but never in a way that was wallowing in its own weakness – and instead used just the right balance in the lyrics to help these songs instantly transcend Tim's own handling of the words! And yet, despite so many versions of so many of these tunes by others, we still love Hardin's readings the best – augmented here by some light arrangements that set things up personally, yet still retain all the intimacy of the music – on tunes that include the classic "If I Were A Carpenter" , plus "Red Balloon", "Black Sheep Boy", "It's Hard To Believe", "Lady Came From Baltimore", and "You Upset The Grace Of Living When You Lie". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

The second fantastic album from Tim Hardin – a singer/songwriter classic that's gone on to have a tremendous amount of pull and power over the years – and for good reason too! With songs like these, Hardin set the stage for so many other singers to come – bringing in a lot of his own personal sense of history and failings, but never in a way that was wallowing in its own weakness – and instead used just the right balance in the lyrics to help these songs instantly transcend Tim's own handling of the words! And yet, despite so many versions of so many of these tunes by others, we still love Hardin's readings the best – augmented here by some light arrangements that set things up personally, yet still retain all the intimacy of the music – on tunes that include the classic "If I Were A Carpenter" , plus "Red Balloon", "Black Sheep Boy", "It's Hard To Believe", "Lady Came From Baltimore", and "You Upset The Grace Of Living When You Lie". (Rock, Folk/Country) LP, Vinyl record album

A groundbreaking album from the young John Hartford – not really folk, not really country – but a unique hybrid of both, and done with a good ear for unique sounds as well! Hartford's a really unique artist, especially at this key point in his career – and he's working here with producer David Bromberg, who himself was also helping to reinvent acoustic music at the time. The Warner Brothers placement of the record is key – as Hartford's got this sense of the past, mixed with the irony of the present – one which strongly echoes some of the hip rock contemporaries on the label, particularly the up and coming brand of post-Sunset LA talents. Titles include "Turn Your Radio On", "Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie", "First Girl I Loved", "With A Vamp In The Middle", and "Tear Down The Grand Ole Opry". LP, Vinyl record album

A great criss-crossing of modes at the end of the 60s – music that has roots in country, but which comes off with plenty of funk and soul as well – in styles that were burning strong from LA on eastward, all the way across the south at the time! Some of the grooves here might fall into the "swamp rock" mode of the time – while others showcase hip LA artists mixing rootsy elements with tighter studio production – and a few more have genre-crossing country artists trying on some more soulful modes for good measure. The range of work is really great – and quite surprising, too – and the whole thing's got a great look that really illuminates the music within. Titles include "Northeast Texas Women" by Willis Allan Ramsey, "Nobody" by Larry Williams & Johnny Watson, "Collection Box" by Thomas Jefferson Kaye, "Me & Mr Hohner" by Bobby Darin, "Hunger Child Blues" by Townes Van Zant, "California Women" by Hoyt Axton, "Pay Day Give Away" by Bill Wilson, "Shotgun Willie" by Willie Nelson, "Cajun Moon" by JJ Cale, "Sumpin Funky Going On" by Donnie Fritts, and "Don't Let Me Down" by Dillard & Clark. (Funky Compilations, Folk/Country) CD

Includes 6 discs and a 200-page book in a hand-crafted cedar box! Music from the Alabama Sacred Harp Singers, the Chuck Wagon Gang, Arizona Dranes, the Carter Family, the Stanley Brothers, Skip James, the Virginia Dandies, Louis Washington, Thomas A Dorsey, Laura Henton, Blind Willie McTell, Deacon Leon Davis & more. (Gospel, Folk/Country) CD

About as close as you'll get to a debut album from the great Dave Dudley – as the set takes his classic title track, mixes it with a few other indie singles – and adds in a few other truck-themed tunes from the Starday catalog for good measure! Dudley's got one of our favorite voices ever in country music – and his landmark "Six Days On The Road" set a whole new standard for road-based tunes – a winning track about a pill-popping, cop-dodging trucker heading home at the end of a long run! Dave sings some other great ones here – including "Last Day In The Mines", "Where Do I Go From Here", "It's Gotta Be That Way", "Cry Baby", and "Taxi Cab Driver" – and the set also features the instrumentals "Lee Highway Swing" by Chubby Wise, and "Hot Rod Guitar" and "Big Rig Guitar" by Joe Maphis. CD

About as close as you'll get to a debut album from the great Dave Dudley – as the set takes his classic title track, mixes it with a few other indie singles – and adds in a few other truck-themed tunes from the Starday catalog for good measure! Dudley's got one of our favorite voices ever in country music – and his landmark "Six Days On The Road" set a whole new standard for road-based tunes – a winning track about a pill-popping, cop-dodging trucker heading home at the end of a long run! Dave sings some other great ones here – including "Last Day In The Mines", "Where Do I Go From Here", "It's Gotta Be That Way", "Cry Baby", and "Taxi Cab Driver" – and the set also features the instrumentals "Lee Highway Swing" by Chubby Wise, and "Hot Rod Guitar" and "Big Rig Guitar" by Joe Maphis. CD

Memphis music legend Charlie Feathers may not have hit the heights back in the day – but in the late 50s he cut some of the heaviest tracks on his scene, then kept going as kind of a "secret hero" of rock and roll for the decades to come! Feathers is one of those cats that only the coolest of the cool really dug at the time – and one who's gotten great attention from the hipper music writers in more recent generations – so much so that his legacy is likely a lot better known now than it was in the 60s! We can't think of a better artist to pick for one of the "Rocks" titles in this great Bear Family series – and like the other volumes, the well-chosen array of music is presented along with very detailed notes on the man and his contributions. The package features 31 tracks in all – mostly rarities from Feathers' earliest years – and titles include "Tongue Tied Jill", "Rain", "Too Much Alike", "Bottle To The Baby", "One Good Gal", "Wild Wild Party", "Oklahoma Hills", "Love Never Treated Me Right", "Cootzie Coo", "Wild Side Of Life", "Can't Hardly Stand It", and "Get With It". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A groundbreaking album from the young John Hartford – not really folk, not really country – but a unique hybrid of both, and done with a good ear for unique sounds as well! Hartford's a really unique artist, especially at this key point in his career – and he's working here with producer David Bromberg, who himself was also helping to reinvent acoustic music at the time. The Warner Brothers placement of the record is key – as Hartford's got this sense of the past, mixed with the irony of the present – one which strongly echoes some of the hip rock contemporaries on the label, particularly the up and coming brand of post-Sunset LA talents. Titles include "Turn Your Radio On", "Up On The Hill Where They Do The Boogie", "First Girl I Loved", "With A Vamp In The Middle", and "Tear Down The Grand Ole Opry". CD

Genius early work from Kris Kristofferson – four great albums in a single package, with SACD mastering too! First up is The Silver Tongued Devil & I – a masterful tribute to the genius of Kris Kristofferson, and a record that perfectly illustrates that unique place he held in music at the start of the 70s! The album's Kris' second, and has maybe a more unified vibe than his debut – filled with original material that has that open, honest quality that Kristofferson brought to country music – and which also had a surprisingly strong impact on mainstream rock and singer/songwriter material too! There's both a frankness of feeling and sharpness of wit that make the whole thing wonderful – and the album's overflowing with original gems that include "Jody & The Kid", "Billy Dee", "Loving Her Was Easier", "The Taker", "When I Loved Her", "The Pilgrim Chapter 33" and "Epitaph" – plus a great reading of the Bobby Bare/Billy Joe Shaver tune "Good Christian Soldier". Border Lord is a wonderful album, and one that's full of lesser-known gems from Kris Kristofferson – from a time when he'd started sharing his songs with other singers first, and started to hold back all the good stuff for himself! The album's got help from some country music studio greats, but it's clearly Kristofferson's show, right from the start – overflowing with tunes that get delivery from Kris that nobody else can match – with a special understanding of the choice of words, balance of wit, and depth of feeling that makes him so great on record. Titles include "Burden Of Freedom", "Border Lord", "When She's Wrong", "Kiss The World Goodbye", "Getting By High & Strange", "Somebody Nobody Knows", and "Josie". Jesus Was A Capricorn is one of those records in which Kris Kristofferson takes on the 70s, and comes up with a sound and style that's completely his own – even when working within the mainstream of the time! His label, Monument, could do plenty of hokey stuff – and even arranger Bill Justis wasn't always the hippest of cats – nor producer Fred Foster. Yet working here, they all rise to the occasion under the majesty of the man's music – a soaring batch of original tunes, of that special sort that Kris was always keeping to himself after his early years writing hits for others. Titles include "Why Me", "Give It Time To Be Tender", "It Sure Was Love", "Nobody Wins", "Enough For You", and the title cut "Jesus Was A Capricorn", owed to John Prine! Spooky Lady's Sideshow is a record that has Kris Kristofferson loosening up his mix of styles slightly, almost a nod back to his debut – but all in a way that only seems to bring an even greater range of feeling to his songwriting! Kristofferson maybe looks a bit more casual and laidback on the cover than some previous sets, but he's still got all the sharpness of delivery that makes him so great, and which really matches his magical words – on titles that include "Broken Freedom Song", "Star Spangled Bummer", "Smile At Me Again", "I May Smoke Too Much", "Stairway To The Bottom", and "Rescue Mission". CD