... CD

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

Music from John Prine, Henry Kaiser, Beth Nielsen Chapman, David Ball, Grey DeLisle, Mavis Staples, Ollabelle, Roger McGuinn, Suzy Bogguss, Will Barrow, Ron Sexsmith, and more. CD

Music from Alva Greene, Jerry Holland, Buddy Thomas, Jim Woodward, Jim Herd, Roger Cooper, Ray Hilt, Joe Cormier, Violet Hensley, Dwight Lamb, Ray Curbow, Alton Jones, Bob Holt and more. CD

With selections by Eddy Arnold, Lefty Frizell, Ray Price, Hank Snow, Kitty Wells, Ernest Tubb, Patsy Cline, Chet Atkins, Elvis Presley, Jim Reeves, Marty Robbins, Loretta Lynn, Johnny Cash, Buck Owens, Roger Miller, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, and Kris Kristofferson. LP, Vinyl record album

A set that's heavy on the kind of country artists who often made key appearances on TV in the 60s – artists who were as much visual showfolks as they were singers – with an illuminating quality that really holds through in their recordings, even if you can't see their images on the screen! The cuts here often have a very animated, well-presented approach – especially on some of the numbers that require a slight current of drama or wit to send the lyric home! The package features 18 titles in all – and tracks include "A Million Years Or So" by Roger Miller, "The Good Lord Giveth" by Webb Pierce, "I Am The Grass" by The Stonemans, "Wino" by Porter Wagoner, "I Wouldn't Buy A Used Car From Him" by Norma Jean, "I Could Have Gone Right" by Mel Tillis, "Oriental Twist" by Pete Drake, and "Loser's Cocktail" by Dick Curless. LP, Vinyl record album

A surprising side of the legendary Stax Records – especially if you only know the Memphis powerhouse as an outlet for funk and soul! There was always a bit of crossover between country and soul – even in the early days, a label like King Records could easily handle both – or a company like Atlantic could find a way to make its soul singers handle country tunes with ease. Yet the approach here is pure country – tracks recorded during the final few years of Stax – at a time when the company was both growing strongly, thanks to the fame of Isaac Hayes and others – and also trying out new ideas to round out the strength of their operation. Given their proximity to Nashville, and the fact that Memphis studios like Sun or Ardent had handled country-styled sounds – the move seemed to be a good one, and definitely comes across here in the quality of the tracks! The music has a nice left-of-Nashville vibe – almost like some of the growing wave from Austin soon to come, but also a bit like the cooler indie 45 country market of the 70s – which is finally getting its due these days. Either way, the sounds here are way past the hits, and way past the more standard modes of the time – and show that Stax Records could bring as much of a magic touch to country as they could to other sounds they recorded. Titles include "Hippie From The Hills" by Roland Eaton, "The River's Too Wide" by Karen Casey, "That Glass" by Eddie Bond, "Sweet Country Music" by Becki Bluefield, "My Girl" by Danny Bryan, "Satisfied Woman" by Paige O'Brian, "All The Love You'll Ever Need" by Cliff Cochran, "A Mom & A Dad For Christmas" by Lee Denson, and "Truck Driver's Heaven" by Roger Hallmark. LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... CD

Includes selections by Lorne Greene, Sons Of The Pioneers, Dottie West, Hank Snow, Roy Rogers, Jim Reeves, Eddy Arnold, Willie Nelson, Nashville String Band, and others. LP, Vinyl record album

Bear Family does it again – coming up with a sublime selection of vocal tunes from 50s and 60s westerns – mostly films, but with a few TV tunes thrown in for good measure! We're surprised at how much we like this stuff – and it segues nicely not only with our love of soundtracks, but also our appreciation of classic American singers – because when you see who's on the set, you'll be surprised at the voices they get! Titles include "The Hanging Tree" by Marty Robbins, "I'm A Runaway" by Tab Hunter, "Ballad Of Paladin" by Johnny Western, "The Searchers" by Sons Of The Pioneers, "The Legend Of Shenandoah" by Jimmy Stewart, "My Rifle My Pony & Me" by Dean Martin & Ricky Nelson, "North To Alaska" by Johnny Horton, "Bonanza" by Lorne Greene, "Cowboy" by Dickson Hall, "Roll On Texas Moon" by Roy Rogers, "The Rebel Johnny Yuma" by Johnny Cash, and "Nevada Smith" by Merle Kilgore. (Soundtracks, Folk/Country) CD

A wonderfully obscure set of work from Gary Williams – not the blues singers you might expect from the title, but a northwest Pacific country singer who drew plenty of inspiration from the Jimmie Rogers blues folk legacy – which he then served up with a tighter postwar flair! Williams recorded for a number of small labels in the late 50s and 60s – Verve Records is the best known, and the most unusual, given that they mostly issued jazz – and this collection brings together 34 tracks from the short but strong legacy of his singles, with a surprising depth that really contrasts with his obscurity. Titles include "Death Row", "Alaska", "Manhunt", "Heartbreak Special", "My Restless Rollin Mind", "The Great Northwest", "Walla Walla State Prison", "Such A Good Good Girl", "Branded An Outlaw", "Dueling Green", "Rule Number One", and "In The Prison Cell". CD