Blazing, hardcore bluegrass from 1967, including covers of the Stanley Brothers, the Louvin Brothers, the Delmore Brothers, and the Carter Family. Written for the duo by the father of bluegrass legend Bill Monroe, and saturated in blues music, closer The One I Love Is Gone is the killer blow.
Their monumental 1965 debut. Driving, full-strength bluegrass, with magnificent accompaniment by fiddler Chubby Wise, David Grisman on mandolin, and Lamar Grier from the Blue Grass Boys playing banjo.
Their first two, groundbreaking Folkways LPs, plus a previously-unreleased go at the Louvins’ Childish Love. Decent booklet, with various essays and great photos.
‘When those albums first came out, I was disappointed with the quality of the sound,’ writes engineer Peter Siegel. ‘I think the new masters better capture the essence of Hazel and Alice’s music, and sound more like the traditional bluegrass style that these performances represent.’