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Various Artists - Friends Of Old Time Music:

The Folk Arrival, 1961-1963

(Smithsonian Folkways SFW-CD-40160) 2006

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This 3xCD set contains recordings from the 'Friends Of Old Time Music' concerts that were held in New York in the early '60s, but only duplicates three tracks from the original 1964 Friends Of Old Time Music LP.

The Stanley Brothers are featured on four cuts from their second 'FOTM' appearance in New York on 30th Nov 1962. The Dream Of The Miner's Child is notable as it features Ralph singing tenor on the chorus, whereas the other versions by the Brothers were performed as a solo vocal piece by Carter; Bill Monroe's Mansions For Me is also, I think, the only version to have resurfaced by the Stanley's; and the other two numbers are versions of the Monroe Brothers Feast Here Tonight (aka Rabbit In A Log) and Ralph's banjo instrumental Hard Times.

The set also includes seven cuts by Bill Monroe from 8 Feb 1963, with a line-up that included Jack Cooke on guitar, Del McCoury on banjo, Kenny Baker - fiddle and Bessie Lee Mauldin on bass. Jack is featured singing lead on Walkin' The Dog, which he would eventually record on his sole solo CD Sittin' On Top Of The World. Incidentally, Jack Cooke is also said to have been a cousin of Dock Boggs.^[1]

Other artists featured include, Doc Watson, Maybelle Carter, Roscoe Holcomb, Dock Bogs, Jesse Fuller, Mississippi John Hurt and Clarence Ashley - making the compilation a great introduction to the blues, folk and early country music.

The set comes in a 'long-box' with the CDs packaged in cardboard sleeves (the ones that seem purposely designed to scratch discs). As with other Folkways Smithsonian releases, there also is a booklet with copious liner notes, and photographs. This can be found as a free pdf on their website, as well as options to preview/download MP3/FLAC files.

Now that we're in the age of digital downloads, I wonder if they will ever make the full 'Freinds Of Old Time Music' concerts available? Overhead would be minimal, and it would be very nice to hear the sets in full, rather than all jumbled up.

• Carter Stanley: guitar, vocals
• Ralph Stanley: banjo, vocals
• Vernon Derrick: fiddle
• Carl Hawkins (Carl Chatzky): bass
• Curley Lambert: mandolin

For a detailed breakdown and background to the featured Stanley's recordings, check Gary B. Reid's The Music Of The Stanley Brothers book, pages 135-136 and 164.

^{[1] Neil Rosenberg and Charles Wolfe's book 'The Music Of Bill Monroe' (p.120)}