Bluegrass

1981/2016 - Enquiries about a Larry Sparks album from any era is certain to be met with a response indicating that it is certainly of very good vintage. Now Sparks has released on his own Sparks label an album entitled Vintage, a 10 song collection from a recording session in Chicago, Illinois, way back in 1981. Vintage by name and vintage by nature. 

2019 - The album commemorates fifty years of Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers’ enduring legacy on traditional bluegrass music and features many of the attributes such as soulful singing, riveting guitar work, an engaging selection of songs that earned him induction into the IBMA Hall of Fame….  New Moon Over My Shoulder highlights Sparks’ ability to put his own spin on classic songs as well as find quality new material that complements his one-of-a-kind style…

2005 - Larry Sparks—in a distinguished 40-year career—has put out many excellent albums in the past, but none is better than this superb 16-song collection produced with a majestic touch by Don Rigsby. No other active Bluegrass artist has as many “signature” songs as Sparks, and this record includes new versions of several of these, all at least as successful as the originals: JOHN DEERE TRACTOR (with Alison Krauss & Dan Tyminski), WHERE THE SWEET WATERS FLOW (with The Isaacs), TENNESSEE 1949 (with Kevin Denny), and an amazing CARTER’S BLUES (with Sparks, Kenny Smith, Vince Gill, Tim Stafford and Jim Hurst alternating guitar breaks). But this is not a retrospective: Larry adds some fine new songs to his repertoire.....more info see "Detailansicht"

Album von 2011- Alison Krauss sagt: "Larry Sparks is bluegrass music´s Ray Charles, no one can touch him. He is an absolute original." ... dies beweist er hier wieder mit 12 Titeln wie GUNFIGHTER´S REVENGE oder LINES ON THE HIGHWAY...  Sparks, who will soon be celebrating 50 years in Bluegrass music, has another excellent album here, highlighted by the very fine title track, which is right up his alley.  With Ron Stewart on fiddle and Don Rigsby helping on tenor harmony parts on 5 songs, it is a disc that will please any Sparks fan!!!

2008 - "The Definitive Larry Sparks Collection" mit 14 Titeln wie JOHN DEERE TRACTOR - TENNESSEE 1949 oder SMOKEY MOUNTAIN MEMORIES

Das 2023er Album stellt einen deutlichen Aufbruch dar. Er beschäftigt sich weiterhin mit den Wurzeln zahlreicher hochgeschätzter Country-Klassiker, diesmal jedoch ganz auf eigene Faust, mit Ausnahme des gelegentlichen Beitrags seines Sohnes Larry „D“ Sparks am Bass. Das Album bietet eine gesunde Mischung aus Country-Klassikern und zeitgenössischen Bluegrass-Songs: Sparks lässt Haudegen aus dem Repertoire von Lefty Frizzell, George Jones und Hank Williams wieder aufleben und ergänzt sie mit Material von zeitgenössischen Autoren wie Wyatt McCubbin und Daniel Crabtree.

Available only on cassette for many years, this is a very welcome CD re-issue of an album that is a classic and may be the very best of Sparks’ many recordings in a long & distinguished career. Though there are only 10 songs, every one of them is top-notch, from Larry’s distinctive guitar piece CARTER’S BLUES to his wonderful moody gospel classic GREAT HIGH MOUNTAIN, GIRL AT THE CROSSROADS BAR, I’D RATHER BE ALONE and Alan Mills wonderful LOVE OF THE MOUNTAINS are traditional Bluegrass at its best. Spark’s band at the time included Tommy Boyd on dobro & banjo, and Kirk Brandenberger on fiddle. With a fine new set of notes by Chris Skinker. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.MAKING BELIEVE, NOBODY’S BUSINESS. WHEN I LAY MY BURDENS DOWN etc.

2011er Album mit 14 klassischen Gospel Titeln, darunter 8 bis dato unveröffentlichte Titel; u.a. GONNA BE MOVIN' - GREAT HIGH MOUNTAIN und BATTLE OF ARMEGEDDON

2016 -  It is simply overwhelming to look back over the dozens of songs that this elder statesman of traditional Bluegrass has recorded over the years—they bespeak an amazing repertoire in which everything is of a very high quality. With that in mind, the Rebel label has pulled a wonderful array of songs that were hand picked from various older records going all the way back to the LPs that were inherited from the old King Bluegrass label. Every one of the 14 tracks here demonstrates the taste and skill level that Sparks has maintained right from his earliest recorded work.

2014 - 'A Classic 50th Celebration' - "On this recording that marks a milestone in Larry's career, he is joined by a number of wonderful artists who are all keystone members of the Bluegrass community: Alison Krauss and Judy Marshall, Curly Seckler, Bobby Osborne, Jesse McReynolds, and of course Ralph Stanley. And closing out the album is a special previously unissued live recording featuring Larry with none other than the Father of Bluegrass himself, Bill Monroe. It's a fitting tribute to Larry Sparks, one of the true greats of Bluegrass music." (David Freeman)...12 Songs wie LOVING YOU TOO WELL mit Ralph Stanley oder das starke BITTERWEEDS....!!!

Album aus dem Jahr 2003 mit 12 Titeln wie THIS OLD ROAD - LET'S TURN BACK THE CLOCK - KENTUCKY MOON und SHENANDOAH MOON

2001 - Zusammenstellung von 12 Titeln aus seinen inzwischen raren Alben: "The Testing Times (Rebel 1611), "Gonna Be Movin'" (Rebel 1644) sowie "Travelin' (Rebel 1799) aus den Jahren 1973 - 1986 des Ausnahme Sängers wie WANDERING SOUL - EVERYTHING'S ALRIGHT - THE OLD CHURCH YARD oder FAMILY BIBLE

2014er Album produziert von Alison Brown und eingespielt mit "Friends" wie Dale Ann Bradley, John Cowan, Rob Ickes, Jim Lauderdale, Claire Lynch, Peter Rowan u.a....10 ganz starke Interpretationen wie WILD MOUNTAIN SKIES - TAKE ME HOME, COUNTRY ROADS oder ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH

2020 - Special Consensus is celebrating its 45th anniversary as a band this year, and the group truly just keeps getting better. Cahill’s banjo is as solid and as imaginative as ever, while Faris (guitar), Dan Eubanks (bass), and Nate Burie (mandolin) round out the lineup with excellent playing and singing. The band’s sound and arrangements are distinctive in a modern bluegrass scene that sometimes over-relies on a traditional country feel. Guests include Becky Buller, Alison Brown, Michael Cleveland, Robbie Fulks, and Rob Ickes.

2023 - auf diesem Album richtet Special Consensus, die Bluegrass Band um Gründer Banjoist Greg Cahill, den Blick nach Norden, über die großen Seen, nach Kanada. Das Album bietet eine sorgfältig zusammengestellte Sammlung bekannter und unbekannter Lieder kanadischer Autoren, wie Dave Francey und Gordon Lightfoot, und beinhaltet Kooperationen mit einigen der bedeutendsten Bluegrass- und Folk-Musiker Kanadas, darunter Ray Legere, Patrick Sauber, Trisha Gagnon und John Reischman ( The Jaybird Trio). Die 10 Titel des Albums enthalten Special Consensus in Zusammenarbeit mit einer Reihe kanadischer und US-amerikanischer Gäste, darunter April Verch, Claire Lynch, Rob Ickes, Darol Anger, Dale Ann Bradley, Amanda Smith und der Produzentin des Albums, Alison Brown.

2016er Album eingespielt u.a. mit den Gästen Della Mae, Rob Ickes, Trey Hensley, Buddy Spicher und Alison Brown, die das Album auch produziert hat; u.a. NEW SHENANDOAH - LONG I RIDE - FIREBALL - BABY I'M BLUE oder TIME FO MOVIN' ON

2018 - On 'Rivers and Roads', Special Consensus shines on a well-curated set of top notch bluegrass songs. The core band - Greg Cahill (banjo, vocals), Rick Faris (guitar, vocals), Nick Dumas (mandolin, vocals) and Dan Eubanks (bass, vocals) - has never sounded better and shows the depth of their vocal and instrumental mastery on the album's lead off track "Way Down the River Road", a John Hartford original, augmented by the dancing feet of former John Hartford Stringband member Mark Schatz.

Album aus dem Jahr 2012 von Alison Brown produziert und eingespielt u.a. mit den Gästen Stuart Duncan, Chris Jones und Josh Williams; 12 Titel wie MONROE - OLD NEW STRAITSVILLE MOONSHINE RUN und JACKLENE

Album aus dem Jahr 2009 mit 12 Titeln, darunter ANOTHER LONESOME NIGHT MY DEAR - DRIVIN' ME CRAZY - LONESOME TOWN und UNDER THE GUN

2014 - Here is a very nicely produced album by Stafford, guitarist and one of the lead singers of the fine Blue Highway Band. Stafford shows his ability as songwriter, singer, and guitarist in this 14 track recording, on which all but one of the songs and tunes are Stafford originals (a solid version of RED WING being the only exception). He has enlisted a standout group of musicians to back him, including Stuart Duncan (Fiddle), Ron Stewart, Steve Gulley, and two old pals from his Dusty Miller days, Adam Steffey on mandolin and Barry Bales on bass... 

2011 - enthalten sind 25 Titel wie LITTLE GLASS OF WINE - THE LONESOME RIVER - BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY und RANK STRANGER

rare 4 CD Box - "digitally remastered and enhanced for superior quality" - enthalten sind die Titel von 8 Original Alben: "Country Pickin' And Singin'" (1958), "The Stanley Brothers And The Clinch Mountain Boys" (1958), "Hymns And Sacred Songs" (1959), "Mountain Song Favourites" (1959), "Sacred Songs From The Hills" (1960), "Everybody's Country Favorites" (1960), "The Good People" (1960) und "The Stanley's In Person" (1960)...insgesamt 93 Songs wie ANGEL BAND - CAROLINA MOUNTAIN HOME oder I'M A MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW

2021 - Musical brothers and Bluegrass music are almost synonymous with each other. Many of the greats of the genre were siblings - Bill and Charlie Monroe, Jim and Jesse McReynolds, Bobby and Sonny Osborne being three of the most famous family names of this rural variant of hillbilly music. Among the most famous of all the actual brother acts in bluegrass, Carter and Ralph Stanley are without peer…. As always, remastered from the best possible sources and featuring a comprehensive biography, this superb selection of premium bluegrass is but a small part of a very big catalogue that may well be explored further.

2019 - 93 Songs - includes the classic albums “Country Pickin And Singin”, “The Stanly Brothers And Clinch Mountain Boys”, “Hymns And Sacred Songs”, “Mountain Song Favorites”, “Sacred Songs Of The Hills”, “Sing Everybody’s Country Favorites”, “For The Good People” and “The Stanleys In Person”…(Mercury, King & Starday recordings 1958-1961)

2007 - "A selection of classic 1960's performances by the most popular brothers duo in bluegrass"; 24 Titel wie DRUNKARD'S DREAM - LITTLE BESSIE - OLD AND IN THE WAY oder TRAIN 45

2019 - Long venerated by country music aficionados, the music of the Stanley Brothers has delighted generations since they began recording in the 1940s. The legacy of the Stanley Brothers is now widely appreciated. Even though there are 50 tracks here, they are culled from some of the 150 plus LPs the Stanley Brothers released. It was Hal Ketchum who summed it up when he said: “Singing with Ralph Stanley is like painting with Picasso”.

Album aus dem Jahr 2008 mit 11 Titeln, darunter THEY SAY I'LL NEVER GO HOME - CARTER - IF THIS OLD GUITAR COULD TALK und L.A. COUNTY mit Jim Lauderdale

legendäre Doppel CD aus dem Jahr 1998; 36 Titeln wie HOW MOUNTAIN GIRLS CAN LOVE oder LONESOME BANJO MAN mit den "Friends" Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, George Jones, Laurie Lewis, Junior Brown u.v.a.

2001 - this 16-track album that features duets with 15 female artists is every bit as impressive and enjoyable thanks to a varied and stellar cast, the wonderful backing provided by the Clinch Mountain Boys, and Dr. Stanley's ever-enthralling tenor vocals… the all female cast consisted of: Joan Baez, Gail Davies, Iris DeMent, Sara Evans, Patty Mitchell, Melba Montgomery, Maria Muldaur, Dolly Parton, Jeannie Seely, Valerie Smith, Kristi Stanley, Pam Tillis, Gillian Welch, Lucinda Williams and Chely Wright… the CD features a 24-page booklet, with details of the featured guest artists and article by Eddie Stubbs….

fantastisches 2014er Album eingespielt mit vielen Freunden wie Josh Turner, Ricky Skaggs, Robert Plant, Old Crow Medicine Show oder Buddy Miller & Jim Lauderdale; 13 Songs...WE SHALL RISE - WHITE DOVE oder HILLS OF HOME...