Ralph Stanley - Clinch Mountain Boys Reunion
(Stanleytone ST-CD-5000) 1996
Average Album Rating: 4.5
(Total votes 4)
- 5 star
- 4 star
- 3 star
- 2 star
- 1 star
This is a live recording made on Saturday 25th May 1996 at Ralph's 'Hills Of Home' festival in McClure, Va.
Ralph began performing professionally, after being discharged from the army in October 1946, so 1996 marked his 50th year in 'old time mountain what they called bluegrass music'. As part of the celebrations, the 'Clinch Mountain Boys Reunion' portion of his festival was filmed and recorded for release on Video and this 2xCD set.
The DVD reissue features slightly different material, with Ralph joining Dwight Yoakam and Ricky Skaggs for a couple of numbers, and segments of fans / musicians wishing Ralph all the best... The 2xCD set includes a few songs which aren't on the DVD. No line-ups are given on the disc, so I've used the DVD to identify the musicians & 'a best guess' for those songs not on the DVD.
Not surprisingly the performance is a bit rough around the edges at times, but given the nature of live unrehearsed recordings and considering Ralph was 69 at the time, it's still pretty good stuff.
I don't think Joey McCormick was a regular CMB, but he had earlier written three songs on Ralph's Hymn Time LP.
The 'core' Clinch Mountain Boy line-up at the time, was also pretty strong with John Rigsby and Steve Sparkman reinvigorating the band.
- Ralph Stanley: banjo, vocals
- Jack Cooke: bass
- James Price: fiddle
- John Rigsby: mandolin
- James Alan Shelton: lead guitar
- Steve Sparkman: banjo
- Ralph II Stanley: guitar, vocals
| Track: |
Title: |
|---|---|
| CD One: |
(42:58) |
| 1 |
Theme Song |
| C. Stanley / R. Stanley |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; Steve Sparkman - banjo; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; Lester Woodie - fiddle; |
|
| 2 |
Black Mountain Blues - Lester Woodie |
| Leslie Keith |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; Lester Woodie - fiddle; |
|
| 3 |
Man Of Constant Sorrow - Lester Woodie |
| R.D. Burnett |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; Lester Woodie - fiddle; |
|
| 4 |
Kansas City Railroad Blues - Art Stamper |
| P.D. (?) |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; Art Stamper - fiddle; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 5 |
Hey, Hey, Hey - Art Stamper |
| C. Stanley |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; Art Stamper - fiddle; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 6 |
Orange Blossom Special - Joe Meadows |
| Ervin T. Rouse |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; Joe Meadows - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 7 |
Will You Miss Me? - George Shuffler / Larry Sparks |
| A.P. Carter |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; George Shuffler - guitar; Larry Sparks - guitar |
|
| 8 |
Will The Circle Be Unbroken - George Shuffler |
| A.P. Carter |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; George Shuffler - guitar; |
|
| 9 |
Comedy Routine - Melvin Goins |
| N/A |
|
| Melvin Goins / Ralph Stanley |
|
| 10 |
The Hills Of Roane County - Joe Issacs |
| William Maberry |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; Joe Issacs - guitar; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; |
|
| 11 |
We Shall Meet - Joe Isaacs & Family |
| P.D. (?) |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Ben Isaacs - bass; Joe Isaacs - guitar; Sonya Isaacs - vocal; Rebecca Isaacs - vocal; James Price - fiddle; James Alan Shelton - guitar; |
|
| 12 |
Long Black Veil |
| Danny Dill / Marijohn Wilkin |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| CD Two: |
(57:14) |
| 1 |
Bill Cheatum -Ricky Lee |
| P.D. |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; Ricky Lee - guitar; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 2 |
Lonesome Old Home - Junior Blankenship / Charlie Sizemore |
| Curnie Wilson / Russell Wilson / Ed Hamilton |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Junior Blankenship - guitar; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; Charlie Sizemore - guitar; |
|
| 3 |
The Letter I Never Mailed - Junior Blankenship / Charlie Sizemore |
| Candace K. Randolph / R. Stanley |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Junior Blankenship - guitar; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; Charlie Sizemore - guitar; |
|
| 4 |
Cannonball Blues - Junior Blankenship |
| A.P. Carter |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Junior Blankenship - guitar; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; Charlie Sizemore - guitar; |
|
| 5 |
Way Down Deep - Sammy Adkins |
| Charles W. Vaughn |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Sammy Adkins - guitar; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; |
|
| 6 |
I Need Jesus - The Marshall Family |
| P.D. arr Judy Marshall |
|
| Chester 'Pop' Marshall; Danny Marshall; David Marshall; Judy Marshall; |
|
| 7 |
Meet Me By The Moonlight - James King |
| Joseph Augustine Wade |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; James King - guitar; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 8 |
Long Gone - Ernie Thacker / Ralph 'Hank' Smith |
| Don Reno / Red Smiley |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; Ralph 'Hank' Smith - guitar; Ernie Thacker - guitar; |
|
| 9 |
Another Night - Kenneth Davies / James Alan Shelton |
| Jack Adkins |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke / George Shuffler - bass; Kenneth Davis - guitar; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; |
|
| 10 |
Let Me Love You One More Time |
| R. Stanley |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; George Shuffler - bass; Steve Sparkman - banjo; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 11 |
White Dove -Joey McCormick |
| C. Stanley |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Joey McCormick - vocal; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; George Shuffler - bass; Steve Sparkman - banjo; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 12 |
Fling Ding |
| R. Stanley |
|
| James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; George Shuffler - bass; Steve Sparkman - banjo; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 13 |
Ninety-Nine Years - Dave Evans / Larry Sparks |
| ?? |
|
| Dave Evans - banjo; James Price - fiddle; George Shuffler - bass; Larry Sparks - guitar; |
|
| 14 |
I Don't Want Your Rambling Letters - Dave Evans / Larry Sparks |
| Nathaniel Nathan / Gene C. Red / Ray Starr |
|
| Dave Evans - banjo; James Price - fiddle; George Shuffler / Jack Cooke - bass; Larry Sparks - guitar; |
|
| 15 |
The Lonesome River |
| C. Stanley |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Jack Cooke - bass; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
|
| 16 |
The Hills Of Home |
| Wendy Smith / R. Stanley |
|
| Ralph Stanley - banjo; Junior Blankenship - guitar; Jack Cooke - bass; Dave Evans - guitar; James Price - fiddle; John Rigsby - mandolin; James Alan Shelton - guitar; Charlie Sizemore - guitar; Ralph 'Hank' Smith - guitar; Steve Sparkman - banjo; Larry Sparks - guitar; Art Stamper - fiddle; Ralph II Stanley - guitar; |
