The Carter Family

The very first traditional-music LP I ever bought, and still one of the best. The effect on me decades ago was shattering. Sadly, there is a generation (now almost two) who think of this little family band in ways which have little except genetics to do with the original group. That group, from 1927 to 1940, set a standard for energy (yet simplicty), breadth of repertory (yet traditional base), and flat-out good entertainment rarely equaled by any performers in the broad country genre. This show more album contains only ten cuts, from early May 1935, but they're all real dillies, indeed they define the core of what most people consider their repertory: "Lula Walls", "My Clinch Mountain home", "Wildwood flower", "Worried man blues", and six more. It makes me pause and ponder when I realize that there have been more years between my first hearing of this album and today than there have been between those original recording sessions and that first first enthralled audition on an early Spring day in 1961. show less

Of the many re-issues of The Carter Family, this is paradoxically one of the shortest, the poorest-organized, and yet most satisfying. Of particular delight are the title-song (a paror balled by Ohio's Will Thompson), and "On the sea of Galilee" (to text by Isaac Watts). A delight, for sure.

Tracklist
Hide Credits
1 Wildwood Flower
Written-By – Traditional
Written-By – Traditional
3:14
2 My Clinch Mountain Home
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
3:12
3 The Foggy Mountain Top
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
3:00
4 Keep On The Sunnyside
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
2:54
5 I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blues Eyes
Written-By – Carter*
Written-By – Carter*
3:03
6 Jimmy Brown The Newsboy
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. show more P. Carter
2:34
7 John Hardy Was A Desperate Little Man
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
2:57
8 Lula Wall
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
2:53
9 Wabash Cannonball
Written-By – Traditional
Written-By – Traditional
3:00
10 Worried Man Blues
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
2:46
11 Carters Blues
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
3:00
12 Diamonds In The Rough
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
3:25
13 Church In The Wildwood
Written-By – Carter*
Written-By – Carter*
3:15
14 Lonesome Pine Special
Written-By – Sara Carter (2)
Written-By – Sara Carter (2)
3:00
15 The Cannonball
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
3:00
16 I Never Will Marry
Written-By – A. P. Carter
Written-By – A. P. Carter
2:38
17 Lonesome Valley
Written-By – Traditional
Written-By – Traditional
2:42
18 Sweet Fern (Sweet Fern)
Written-By – Carter*
Written-By – Carter*
3:09 show less

1 Can The Circle Be Unbroken (Bye And Bye) 3:06
2 Lulu Wallis 2:52
3 My Clinch Mountain Home 2:52
4 Wildwood Flower 3:15
5 Worried Man Blues 2:59
6 Keep On The Sunny Side 2:49
7 Gospel Ship 2:55
8 My Texas Girl 3:04
9 Sinking In The Lonesome Sea 3:14
10 Cannon Ball Blues 2:53
11 I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes 2:52
12 River Of Jordan 2:43
13 The Storms Are On The Ocean 3:05
14 On The Rock Where Moses Stood 3:02
15 The Little Black Train 2:52
16 Single Girl, Married Girl 3:03
17 Kissing Is A show more Crime 2:33
18 Blackie's Gunman 2:41
19 My Home Among The Hills 2:38
20 Black Jack David 2:39
Credits:
Guitar, Vocals – Maybelle Carter
Liner Notes – Ed Kahn
Vocals – A.P. Carter*, Sara Carter (2)
Written-By – A.P. Carter* (tracks: 1 to 6, 8 to 20), M. Carter* (tracks: 5, 8, 10, 14, 15, 19), S. Carter* (tracks: 5, 8, 10, 14, 15, 19) show less