1. Kentucky
2. I'll Be All Smiles Tonight
3. Let Her Go, God Bless Her
4. What Is Home Without Love
5. Tiny Broken Heart
6. In the Pines
7. Alabama
8. Katie Dear
9. My Brother's Will
10. Knoxville Girl
11. Take the News to Mother
12. Mary of the Wild Moor
This is one helluva literal title! All but two of the songs here are just as the title says, dealing with loss and heartbreak. Consisting of 12 traditional songs that were already old when this album was released, this album is pure, unabashed country. Fortunately, it has very little to do with the confused pop/rock grandstanding that so often plagues the genre nowadays. This is hardcore, old-timey country, mandolins and Appalachian accents intact. One doubts that they put down the jug of moonshine to record.
But anyways, back to the songs themselves. For someone who was disdainful of country for years and years, partly due to the lyrics of the songs I heard, these stark and unforgiving songs came as quite the shock to me. People have been complaining about the depraved lyrics of "modern" music ever since rock raised its rebellious head, but when I listen to this (as well as other trad folk songs) I'm convinced that a good portion of 19th century folk singers must've been fucking psychopaths. Take, for example, these lyrics from 'Knoxville Girl':
She fell down on her bended knees
For mercy she did cry
Oh, Willie dear, don't kill me here
I'm unprepared to die
She never spoke another word
I only beat her more
Until the ground around me
Within her blood did flow.
Mind you, I'm not posting that out of context. They sing about this as calmly as they would anything else, and it makes for a very unusual experience. Their close harmonies lend the record a bleak and forlorn air that fits these songs perfectly. Ironically, considering this album's rather high death count compared the last two, the rendition of 'In The Pines' (which you may know better as 'Where Did You Sleep Last Night?' as done by Nirvana) is missing the part about decapitation. Can't have 'em all, I suppose!
Only 3 albums in and my musical horizons have already expanded! I've never listened to a country album all the way through before, and I was fortunate that it wasn't crap. In some spots it actually rocks out a bit (by 1956 standards). A thoroughly listenable release, and far, far better than that stupid Elvis album. 8/10
Only 3 albums in and my musical horizons have already expanded! I've never listened to a country album all the way through before, and I was fortunate that it wasn't crap. In some spots it actually rocks out a bit (by 1956 standards). A thoroughly listenable release, and far, far better than that stupid Elvis album. 8/10
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