Four rare albums from the great Moe Bandy – maybe not the biggest country star of the 70s, but one who cut a fantastic run of records like these! Bandy's got a very classic honky tonk style – down-home, blue-tinged tunes that often have Moe himself as the punching bag – with an honest look at the struggles of life and love, all served up with lean instrumentation that feels a lot more like some barroom performance than the arena-filling work of some of his superstar contemporaries! All four albums are produced by Ray Baker in a nicely understated mode – almost more 60s in style than you'd guess – with Bandy's wonderful vocals ringing out over some really well-chosen tunes, and classic instrumentation on steel guitar to echo the bluer currents in the lyrics. The set is long overdue, and features the CD debut of these four great records – 40 tracks in all, with titles that include "Does Fort Worth Ever Cross Your Mind", "A Baby & A Sewing Machine", "A Wound Time Can't Erase", "Are We Making Love Or Just Making Friends", "Up To Now I've Wanted Everything But You", "A Four Letter Fool", "No Deal", "Bic Flicking Baby", and "I Guess I Had A Real Good Time Last Night". CD

Four of the more obscure RCA albums from the great Bobby Bare – all brought together here in a single set! First up is the very unusual English Countryside album – a special set that has the vocals of Bobby Bare paired with a group from the UK – Liverpool's Hillsiders, who sing with a style that's a bit folk, and a bit rock – but which takes on a very distinct country vibe amidst the RCA production of Chet Atkins! Both Bare and The Hillsiders sing solo on the record – but most of the set has them paired together, and the presence of all those voices on the tracks create a nice sense of spontaneity – maybe a hint at the more relaxed recording approach that Bobby would use on his big albums of the mid 70s! Titles include "Sweet Dreams", "Six Days On The Road", "Find Out What's Happening", "Love's Gonna Live Here", "Goin Home", "Blue Is My Lonely Room", and "I Washed My Face In The Mountain Dew". Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn is a seminal album in the career of Bobby Bare – and the record that really has him turning from a young smiling country singer to the kind of more adult, mature talent that would really send him over the top! The album's promise of "controversial country songs" is certainly apt – as in addition to the great Tom T Hall title cut, the album also features Bare taking on great material from Kris Kristoffersen, Mel Tillis, and even the team of Spooner Oldham and Dan Penn – all set to arrangements that are nicely more sophisticated than those used on the more pop productions of some of Bobby's earlier albums. Titles include "Margie's At The Lincoln Park Inn,", "The Law Is For The Protection Of The People", "Watching The Trains Go By", "Skip A Rope", "Rainy Day In Richmond", "Cincinnati Jail", "Wild As The Wind", and "Drink Up & Go Home". I Hate Goodbyes is the record that marked the return of Bobby Bare to RCA Records in the early 70s – and one that also marks the start of a very different phase in Bare's career! This time around, Bobby's handling the production himself – working with the kind of thoughtful, mature material that would really let him open up – songs from Billy Joe Shaver, Mickey Newbury, the team of Bill Rice and Jerry Foster, and even an early tune from Shel Silverstein – who would soon become one of the biggest contributors to Bobby's records. The vibe is very different than his RCA material of the mid 60s, and in a great way – on titles that include "I Hate Goodbyes", "Restless Wind", "Ride Me Down Easy", "Send Tomorrow To The Moon", "You Know Who", "An Offer She Couldn't Refuse", "What's Your Mama's Name Child", and "Poison Red Berries". Last up is Cowboys & Daddys – an overlooked gem in the mid 70s RCA years of the great Bobby Bare – and a set that really shows the dedication that Bare had during these years to finding the most sophisticated material of the new country generation! The list of songwriters alone is great – as the set features tracks from Terry Allen, Shel Silverstein, David Hickey, and Tom T Hall – plus an early contribution from Bob McDill, with whom Bare would soon record a lot more material on albums to come. There's a mature, laidback vibe to the whole set – different than some of the more playful Bobby Bare albums of the time – and titles include "Chester", "The Cowboy & The Poet", "Amarillo Highway", "Speckled Pony", "Calgary Snow", "Last Dance At The Old Texas Moon", "Pretty Painted Ladies", and "The Stranger". CD

A set that's way more than just a "best of" sort of anthology – as the package features three full albums by the group, plus other material too! The set begins with the classic debut, Gilded Palace Of Sin – a true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". Burrito Deluxe is the second of only two albums recorded by Gram Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers – and a masterpiece that pushes the group's sound even farther than their debut! The set is filled with special moments – songs that show just why these guys were such a special bridge between late 60s country and rock music – and why all of the other groups they inspired just never came close to serving things up this well! Gram Parsons is fantastic on vocals, of course – but the whole group is great, especially Sneaky Pete on steel guitar. Titles include the fantastic romper "Man In The Fog", the very groovy "Lazy Days", the haunting "God's Own Singer", and the group's Jagger/Richards' approved take on "Wild Horses – plus other cuts that include "High Fashion Queen", "Image Of Me", "Older Guys", and "If You Gotta Go". Flying Burrito Brothers is The Burritos first LP, post-Parsons – and a pretty strong statement for the merits of the now unquestioned leader, Rick Roberts, and multi-instrumentalist new guy Bernie Leadon, who would later turn to the dark side and join the Eagles! Roberts penned or co-penned seven of the album's ten tunes, including "Colorado", "Hand To Mouth", "Just Can't Be", and "Four Days Of Rain". His contributions are for the most part nicely fragile, with just the right doses of sweetness and sadness. The group also covers Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever", Gene Clark's "Tried So Hard", and Dylan's "To Ramona". This is one of the band's rarer LPs, probably because of the absence of hipster hero Gram Parsons – truly a worthy piece of work! CD also features some other tracks recorded by Parsons with the group – including "Six Days On The Road", "Break My Mind", "Sing Me Back Home", and "Close Up The Honky Tonks" – and live tracks "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" and "Losing Game" – plus Gene Clark singing on "Here Tonight". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A set that's way more than just a "best of" sort of anthology – as the package features three full albums by the group, plus other material too! The set begins with the classic debut, Gilded Palace Of Sin – a true late 60s rock masterpiece – and like albums by Love and The Velvet Underground, a set that barely made a mainstream impact at the time – but which has gone on to be the stuff of influence and legend over the decades! The album's the first from Gram Parsons and the group – one of only two they would cut together – and the whole thing is a perfect blend of rough-edged rock and country influences rising up from the LA scene – all those glimmers of brilliance that Parsons had brought to the Byrds and other projects, maybe given their full flowering here in a mode that's unabashed about its country music influences – maybe even more so than some of Gram's later solo work. Sneeky Pete Kleinow's steel guitar really adds a lot – but so does the presence of Chris Hillman on guitar and mandolin, and Chris Ethridge on bass and piano. Titles include the brilliant "Sin City" – a track we'll love until we die – plus "Christine's Tune", "Do Right Woman", "Dark End Of The Street", "My Uncle", "Wheels", "Juanita", "Hot Burrito No 1", "Hot Burrito No 2", "Do You Know How It Feels", and "Hippy Boy". Burrito Deluxe is the second of only two albums recorded by Gram Parsons with the Flying Burrito Brothers – and a masterpiece that pushes the group's sound even farther than their debut! The set is filled with special moments – songs that show just why these guys were such a special bridge between late 60s country and rock music – and why all of the other groups they inspired just never came close to serving things up this well! Gram Parsons is fantastic on vocals, of course – but the whole group is great, especially Sneaky Pete on steel guitar. Titles include the fantastic romper "Man In The Fog", the very groovy "Lazy Days", the haunting "God's Own Singer", and the group's Jagger/Richards' approved take on "Wild Horses – plus other cuts that include "High Fashion Queen", "Image Of Me", "Older Guys", and "If You Gotta Go". Flying Burrito Brothers is The Burritos first LP, post-Parsons – and a pretty strong statement for the merits of the now unquestioned leader, Rick Roberts, and multi-instrumentalist new guy Bernie Leadon, who would later turn to the dark side and join the Eagles! Roberts penned or co-penned seven of the album's ten tunes, including "Colorado", "Hand To Mouth", "Just Can't Be", and "Four Days Of Rain". His contributions are for the most part nicely fragile, with just the right doses of sweetness and sadness. The group also covers Merle Haggard's "White Line Fever", Gene Clark's "Tried So Hard", and Dylan's "To Ramona". This is one of the band's rarer LPs, probably because of the absence of hipster hero Gram Parsons – truly a worthy piece of work! CD also features some other tracks recorded by Parsons with the group – including "Six Days On The Road", "Break My Mind", "Sing Me Back Home", and "Close Up The Honky Tonks" – and live tracks "Ain't That A Lot Of Love" and "Losing Game" – plus Gene Clark singing on "Here Tonight". (Rock, Folk/Country) CD

A startlingly great mid 70s loner folk record by Scott Key – with some of the finest, most artful fingerstyle guitar we've heard on a self-recorded album from the period – and a really strong record that would be right at home on the Takoma label! Recorded in Colorado by Key himself, who plays acoustic guitar and bottleneck slide on songs that reveal a masterful acoustic guitar player, as well as creative ear for drones and post-psych effects. Occasionally has vocals, but it's a largely instrumental effort – and a brilliant one! Titles include "Cat Soup", "Buzzard Blues", "The Laughing Cowboy", "The Moonshiners Are Gone", "Goon Lagoon", "This Forest And The Sea" and more. 5 bonus tracks on this great CD version from Lion: "Hungry Joe's Birds", "One Great Sin", "Just A Song For You", "The Farm Report" and "Jabberwocky". CD

You might know Ace Records as home to a fair bit of jazz, funk, and soul reissues over the years – but right from the start, the label's also had a keen ear for rockabilly – and can boast a decades-long devotion to the music, with releases that have really blown us away! This set digs back over material that Ace has reissued in previous decades – cuts that are both rare original singles, or unissued tracks – from important labels like Starday, Chess, Goldband, and Meteor – all hand-picked by Keb Darge – another British force in turning us on to great music over the years! The vinyl-only collection is full of gems – and titles include "All Dressed Up" by Jimmy Johnson, "Let's Go Bopping Tonight" by Al Ferrier & His Bopping Billies, "Nuthin But A Nuthin" by Jimmy Stewart & His Nighthawks, "Blue Jeans & A Boy's Shirt" by Glen Glenn, "The Woman I Love" by Gene Terry & His Kook Kats, "Jello Sal" by Benny Ingram, "Lonesome Baby Blues" by David Ray, and "Do Me No Wrong" by Pat Cupp & The Flying Saucers. (Rock, Folk/Country) 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

Lots of older record companies got in on the action during the early days of rock and roll – but few folks did it as well as RCA Records – home, of course, to Elvis Presley – and also to all the great lesser-known gems featured in this set! Some tracks are by artists who would break big on later labels, or others who might have stepped over a bit from country – but the bulk of the collection represents all the great singles that RCA cut during the late 50s and early 60s – including some on its sub-labels, where the company was going strong in the worlds of underground styles! Given that this excellent series already looked at RCA once before, it's a further testament that there's an additional 35 rocking gems to be pulled from the label's catalog – as you'll hear on cuts that include "Wild Child" by David Hill, "Get On The Right Track" by Joe Clay, "Rainbow Doll" by Jimmy Dell, "Welcome To The Club" by Jean Chapel, "Wolf Boy" by Sammy Salvo, "Hoebe Snow" by Benny Martin, "Never Been Kissed" by Marlin Greene, "Chicken House" by Dave Rich, "Heart Of A Fool" by Lee Denson, "Almost Eighteen" by Roy Orbison, "That Weepin Willow Tree" by Ray Griff, and "Dumb Bunny" by Bill Carlis. (Rock, Folk/Country) CD