Charlie Sizemore - Congratulations

(Acoustic Revival AR-33011) 1985

---

Charlie's debut solo album was recorded 26-27th Feb 1985 at Maggard Sound Studio, Big Stone Gap Va., about eighteen months or so before he left the CMB's and put his own band together / started his University Law studies.

Ralph and Curly Ray Cline both guest on four tracks and many of the others were originally cut by The Stanley Brothers or Ralph.

Two of the songs were written by Charlie: Melody Of Love which Ralph had recorded on his The Memory Of Your Smile LP in '81; and There's Nothing Between Us, a lovely melancholic tale of a failed relationship.

Another highlight is John B. Preston's Congratulations, which is full of self-pity as the proponent congratulates the happy couple for stealing his gal. Ralph recorded several songs by John B. Preston, including I've Just Seen The Rock Of Ages, but Charlie's version of Congratulations is the only one I know of.^[1] Charlie also later featured the song on his final Rutabaga LP I've Got A Good Memory.

The sound on the album is obviously different to the CMB's, but it follows the 'stanley' doctrine of sticking to the melody and despite the use of light drums is pretty pleasant listening. Charlie Sizemore's vocal work is impeccable throughout and on half of the tracks, his wife at the time Robin Tackett adds harmony vocals.

The 'Acoustic Revival' label was a subsidiary of Tin Ear, which was run by Bill and Claudia Landow in the early '80s.^[2] They also released the Curly Ray Cline classic Smarter Than The Average Idiot, and Larry Sparks' 1981 LP Ramblin Letters. The rights to some of the labels releases were later sold off, and this LP was later reissued as Call Of The Honky Tonk (Rutabaga RR-3014) 1989, with a new sleeve and the track order resequenced.

One of Charlie's songs from the album, There's Nothing Between Us, was also picked up by Dry Branch Fire Squad who recorded it on their 'Fertile Ground' album (Rounder 0258) 1989.

• Charlie Sizemore: guitar, lead vocals
• Curly Ray Cline: fiddle (a)
• Stuart Duncan: mandolin / fiddle
• Guy Evans: banjo
• John Evans: drums
• Glen Gibson: dobro (b)
• David Skeens: bass
• Ralph Stanley: harmony vocals (a)
• Robin Tackett-Sizemore: harmony vocals (c)

NB: (a) Ralph and Curly appear on Wild Side Of Life, I Can See Through You, Long Gone and A Little At A Time. (b) Glen plays on all tracks except those featuring Ralph and Curly. (c) Robin sings on String, Eraser And Blotter, Call Of The Honky Tonk, Melody Of Love, Standing Room Only, Mountain High, Valley Low and There's Nothing Between Us.

Other artwork / related images:

[1] For more on John B. Preston see the Lonesome And Blue entry.
[2] Ken Voss - Facebook post 10 Jan 2024 https://www.facebook.com/groups/illinoisrockandrollmusicarchives/posts/1829532714165775/
Acoustic Revival Records - Tin Ear Records
Tin Ear Music
1437 Howard St., Chicago, Illinois
Owners: Bill and Claudia Landow
From 1979-1985 Bill and Claudia Landow operated the Tin Ear collective in an effort to be a central outpost for the bluegrass music genre in Chicago. Operating out of an apartment building on Chicago's North Side the operation was an amalgam that included a bluegrass magazine, recording studio and two record labels - Acoustic Revival and Tin Ear.
In the late '70s a bluegrass scene was flourishing in Chicago. Grass Clippings, a monthly magazine launched in 1978 to cover the bluegrass festivals, jams, club dates and band in town. The Chicago Area Bluegrass Music and Pickin' Society, which ran the magazine for six years, was based at 1437 Howard Street, in a three-unit apartment building that also housed Tin Ear, a recording studio and label dedicated to bluegrass and folk music.
Ralph Stanley recorded there after a concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music, on sessions that ended up on Smarter Than the Average Idiot, the 1984 album by West Virginia fiddler and longtime Stanley sideman Curly Ray Kline. Special Consensus, singer and guitarist Larry Sparks, the Great Chicago Bluegrass Band, North Carolina banjoist Don Reno, and other artists recorded albums there, and the studio also held sessions for Steve Goodman and Bob Gibson.
The operation was a labor of love for Bill and Claudia Landow. Coming out of DeVry University, Bill was a recording engineer who said his life "took a paradigm shift" after he attended classes at the Old Town School of Folk Music. "Bluegrass was not on the radio," he said. Tin Ear "tried to promote the music and let people know what was going on. We were a hub." (from the book Country and Midwestern by Marc Guarino) Discography

• 1979 The Greater Chicago Bluegrass Band - The Greater Chicago Bluegrass Band Est. 1973 (Tin Ear 1327)
• 1979 Brad Wise and the Bluegrass Guys - Sugarfoot Rag b/w Bluegrass Breakdown (Tin Ear 45000)
• 1979 Special Consensus - Big City Ramble b/w Black Mountain Rag (Tin Ear 45001)
• 1979 Special Consensus - Special Consensus Bluegrass Band (Tin Ear 33002)
• 1981 Larry Sparks - Ramblin' Letters (Acoustic Revival 33004)
• 1981 Wade Hampton Millar - In the Days I Went A-Courtin' (Acoustic Revival 33005)
• 1983 The Tennessee Rail Splitters - The Tennessee Rail Splitters (Tin Ear 33006)
• 1983 Johnny Gray - Great Movin' Day b/w Old Old House (Acoustic Revival 45006)
• 1983 Johnny Gray - A Little Boy Called Joe b/w Will the Circle Be Unbroken (Acoustic Revival 45007)
• 1983 Special Consensus Bluegrass Band - Blue Northerns (Acoustic Revival 33009)
• 1984 Curly Ray Cline - Smarter Than the Average Idiot (Tin Ear 33010)
• 1985 Charlie Sizemore - Congratulations (Acoustic Revival 33011)