Ralph Stanley - Saturday Night

(Freeland Recording Co. FRC-CD643) 1992

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Recorded at sessions in May and October 1992 at Music Row Audio, Nashville, Tn. This is the secular half of the Saturday Night / Sunday Morning 2xCD set.

As might be expected given the different guest vocalists, the album is a bit uneven, but no doubt was commercially successful.

The CD opens with the Clinch Mountain Boys performing Mountain Folks by Roy McMillan. This was originally recorded on his 'Time To Think' (Rebel SLP 1540) LP in 1975. Ralph's version is a bit different and much faster, with Ernie Thacker on lead vocal. Roy was responsible from some great songs including Cold Wind and Wanderin' In The Darkness aka When You Go Walkin' After Midnight.

Old Man's Tears by A.J. Mickey Burke is one of three tracks featuring Judy Marshall from The Marshall Family. Ralph had previously recorded two of her songs: Waitin' For The Master To Come on Back To The Cross; and Beautiful (Is The Land Where I'm Going) on Pray For The Boys. The Marshall Family were a family Gospel band that Ralph discovered in 1974 and which played at several of his festivals. Judy's brother David Marshall also had songs recorded by Ralph, and he played some clawhammer on David Marshall's Song Of Poverty LP. Another sibling, Dan Marshall, had two tenures as a CMB appearing on Ralph's Old Home Place, Clinch Mountain Gospel and Down Where The River Bends albums.

Down Where The River Bends had previously been cut on Down Where The River Bends...

All I Ever Loved Was You by Dorothy Skaggs was previously recorded on the Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs - Second Generation Bluegrass and Ralph's Play Requests LPs.

Midnight Storm, an old Stanley Brothers number was first recorded on Ralph's Hills Of Home LP.

All The Good Times Are Past And Gone had been featured on the Live In Japan set.

I Never Will Marry hadn't been recorded by Ralph before, but The Stanley Brothers did participate in singing it with Pete Seeger on his 'Rainbow Quest' TV show in early 1966.

Banks Of The Ohio had been in The Stanley Brothers repertoire and appears on some of their live recordings.

I Love No One But You was from The Stanley Brothers Columbia period, and had been re-recorded for the Keith Whitely & Ricky Skaggs - Tribute To The Stanley Brothers LP.

Sea Of Regret by The Sloas Brothers had been recorded for the Keith Whitley & Ricky Skaggs - Second Generation Bluegrass LP.

Tom T. Hall's The Water Lily was later featured on Don Rigsby's 'Doctor's Orders (A Tribute to Ralph Stanley)' CD.

I'll Never Grow Tired Of You was from The Stanley Brothers period at Mercury and was recorded again for the Clinch Mountain Sweethearts set.

Roy Lee Centers' and Archie Jones' All The Love I Had Is Gone had been recorded by Ralph for his Play Requests LP.

• Ralph Stanley: banjo, vocals
• Junior Blankenship: lead guitar
• Curly Ray Cline: fiddle
• Jack Cooke: bass
• Shelton Feazell: bass vocal
• Art Stamper: fiddle
• Ernie Thacker: guitar, mandolin vocals

NB: Liner notes don't specify instruments/vocal parts for individual tracks.

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