Also ordered Bear Family's (2004) version of Tennessee Ernie Ford's two albums of Civil War songs to see how it stacks up against the Capitol CD version that was issued in 1991. I you haven't heard either of those 1961 albums; you should. In my opinion Ford delivers some of his best vocal performances outside of his religious material. My top picks from both albums; Sings Civil War Songs Of The North "Virginia's Bloody Soil" "The Vacant Chair" "The Faded Coat Of Blue" Sings Civil War Songs Of The South "Lorena" "Maryland, My Maryland" "The Rebel Soldier"
Which one? I only have "Chained to a memory" and love it. I didn't get "The price of Fame" because I have all the Sandoval 2 fers plus the rarities disc. I am sure i might be missing some cool songs perhaps.
Definitely. From what I can see on the product descriptions, this new title only includes the 10" and no CD as they did with the enjoyable Carl Perkins set more recently.
The 3CD box set is a decent yet short sampling of his work while the first Bear Family set is frustrating because it cuts off around 1960. We need for Bear Family to issue one or possibly two more comprehensive box sets in order for those later output periods to be properly represented.
The Roulette twofers were on Westside (licensed from Rhino). He used to sell CDRs of his Dot and A&M recordings on his (no longer available) website.
Were these album rip's? What's the quality like? Did he own his own masters? Interesting and odd releases.... Yeah, The Roulette and Dot collection would be a neat set.
Oh, I have a 2 cd set called "Complete Cadence recordings" for this material. I know there are a few oddities missing but it covers the era very well.
Quality is OK until something better comes along. Mostly vinyl rips (with some clicks and pops for the true vinyl experience). They also included the non-lp Dot and A&M singles, an Epic single from 1972, and a 1978 Album "Today". There was also a DVD with clips from his TV show. I don't know if he owned his masters. I bought these CDs about 15 years ago. Bear Family might be interested in the P.D. Roulette years but I doubt if there's a big enough market for them to pay to license the post-1962 Dot and A&M recordings from Universal.
@Tribute may be interested to hear BF is starting a "new gospel CD series" beginning with one Rev. Robert Ballinger. Sounds very promising. Reverend Robert Ballinger CD: The King's Highway (2-CD) - Bear Family Records
They hold out for the big payday that will never come. Meanwhile, they charge big fees to the surviving family for all of their hard work to prevent the public from enjoying an artist's work.
And Richard Weize will issue three CDs with Chuck Wagon Gang recordings from 1959/1960 later this spring.
Quite often, estate lawyers have also shut down fan websites devoted to an artist. The fan websites tended to be full of information, artist history, and discussion, whereas the "official" websites tend to be exclusively marketing of such things as T-Shirts and coffee mugs, along with just a few examples of their work for sale. The estate managers want the only websites to be their merchandise marketing sites. They use any legal device to shut down the websites, but most often all they have to do is send a threatening letter or post. As the fans are all volunteers and do not profit, they rarely fight it. An enormous number of comprehensive fan sites have disappeared over the past 20 years, for all styles of music.
I really hoped that Bear Family would follow up the great Blackwood Brothers Quartet box set with a similar set of The Statesmen Quartet. Most of their output should be available. I preferred them to The Blackwood Brothers. Jake Hess was an incredible singer, and Hovie Lister was wonderful on the piano. Maybe there is still hope.
Also on the horizon, an odds-and-ends collection of tracks related to Ray Vernon, brother of Link Wray. Most of these are available on Norton's Missing Links series, but a few are unique, and this is the first time all six sides by Bunker Hill have appeared on the same release. Ray Vernon CD: All Wrays Lead To Rock - The Link Wray Connection (CD) - Bear Family Records
I would enjoy a Bear Family box of Mahalia's complete Columbia recordings. Though the Apollo recordings may be better, they have already ben covered in their entirety. But add them to the box as well for perfection. Here is the box cover
If I may sidetrack for a moment.... You guys may be the experts here about Vinnie Rogers... Obscure 1950's Guitarist Vinnie Rogers aka Mandrake
