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Ralph Stanley - The Legacy Continues

(Neon 0081-71298) 1998

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This is the second of three videos which came out on Dwight O. Bailey's "Neon" label and features recordings from Ralph's 28th Annual Memorial Bluegrass Festival at McClure between 21st-23rd May 1998.

Running time (from the DVD version) is approx 1 hour 23 mins, which includes 21 mins or so of interviews. Ralph and the CMB's perform twelve tracks (about 34 mins), with the remainder made up by other acts comprising:- Larry Sparks (one track), The Goins Brothers (two tracks) and The Isaacs Family (five tracks). A review in 'Bluegrass Unlimited' from June 1999 also makes reference to "a trio of songs from Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver" and gave the running time as "an hour and a half", so maybe these were cut from later versions?

Several of the songs by Ralph are marred a little by the off-key singing by two of Ralph's grandchildren, which gets a bit irritating. I kind of wonder whether their 'singing' is the reason why the CMB's only appear on roughly half of the video?

The material also isn't edited very well. The sound volume fluctuates with the interview sections often being louder than the live performances, and occasional abrupt edits are made when songs start or end prematurely. For instance, the video begins with 26 seconds of audio-only with the fiddle intro to Room At The Top Of The Stairs, but then cuts to a nearly a minute of Ralph's stage introduction with Ralph II bragging on his achievements, before cutting to the first interview segment...

The video was later reissued on DVD-R and the picture quality of this is generally good, though some of the long range shots of the stage on the night show are a bit fuzzy. The camera work is less varied than on the first Neon tape, the Ralph Stanley's 50 Year Reunion release, with I think just two cameras being used.

Ralph's performances include extracts from their 22nd May night performance, and another daytime show. The first number, Choo Choo Coming, has The Isaacs fiddle player filling in for James Price. From the later stage introduction of Jim Lauderdale, this seems to have come about due to James having to pick up Jim from the airport & his flight being delayed.

This guest spot with Jim Lauderdale singing If I Lose, is one of the highlights of the video, the other being the two Goins Brothers songs with John Rigsby on mandolin. It's also nice to see James Price's comedy / imitation versions of Johnny Cash & Elvis, the latter with 5 year old Nathan Stanley in a fit of hysterics.

The 1998 festival doesn't appear to have been advertised in 'Bluegrass Unlimited', but their gig guide listed the performers as: Ralph Stanley, Bluegrass Strangers, James King Band, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Warrior River Boys, Goins Brothers, Larry Sparks and The Isaacs Family.

Overall, despite it's weak points, this is still worth seeking out, although the Ralph Stanley's 50 Year Reunion is far superior.

• Ralph Stanley: banjo, vocals
• Jack Cooke: bass
• James Price: fiddle
• James Alan Shelton: lead guitar
• Steve Sparkman: banjo
• Ralph II Stanley: guitar, vocals

PS: Look out for the bit at the end of the banjo break to Katy Daly. Ralph forgets to back away from the mic, prompting James Alan Shelton to point, Steve Sparkman to give him a slight nudge, and finally only after James Price yells at him, does Ralph realise that the next verse is starting.

^{Tracks: (5, 7, 9, 23, 24, 31, 33) - May 22nd Evening show.
(3, 11, 13, 16, 18) Afternoon show.}