Ralph Stanley - Saturday Night / Sunday Morning

(Freeland Recording Co. CD-9001 A/B) 1992

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Recorded at sessions in May and October 1992 at Music Row Audio, Nashville, Tn. This is the first of a several of albums Ralph recorded featuring guest musicians, and largely features versions of old Stanley classics.

One disc, Saturday Night, features secular material. The other, Sunday Morning, Gospel and sacred songs. Both were available individually, and together as this 2xCD set.

As might be expected given the different vocalists, the albums are a bit uneven, but no doubt were commercially successful.

Incidentally Dudley Connell (Johnson Mountain Boys / Seldom Scene) plays guitar on a couple of tracks too.

Each CD opens with the Clinch Mountain Boys. On the secular disc, Mountain Folks by Roy McMillan 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.

On The Gospel/sacred CD, the Clinch Mountain Boys open the disc with an a cappella hymn I'll Pass Over Thee.

The Albert E. Brumley classic Rank Stranger had been recorded several times including The Stanley Brothers for Starday. Ralph had also cut a studio version on his I Want To Preach The Gospel LP.

Let Me Walk Lord By Your Side had been previously cut by The Stanley Brothers for both Mercury and King, and by Ralph for his Gospel Echoes Of The Stanley Brothers, plus with Jimmy Martin at the 1980 First Time Together sessions.

Bill Monroe's I'll Meet You In Church Sunday Morning had been recorded by The Stanley Brothers for King and in 1965 for Rimrock (appearing on the posthumous Empty Mansion, In Memory Of Carter Stanley LP).

Dwight Yoakam's Miner's Prayer was also later featured with Ralph on The Ralph Stanley Story DVD.

The Fields Have Turned Brown had been recorded by The Stanley Brothers at Columbia and also by Ralph on his I Want To Preach The Gospel LP.

Great High Mountain had been featured on Ralph's I Want To Preach The Gospel.

On Heaven's Bright Shore had been recorded by Ralph on his Snow Covered Mound LP and by The Marshall Family on Ralph's Live At The Old Homeplace LP.

Going Up Home To Live In Green Pastures had been cut on Ralph's Over The Sunset Hill and I Want To Preach The Gospel albums.

First Step To Heaven by Jim Rushing and Emory Gordy, and Sailing Home by Ralph don't appear to have been recorded before...

Angel Band had been cut by The Stanley Brothers for Mercury and Wango and by Ralph on I Want To Preach The Gospel. Ralph also re-recorded it later for Clinch Mountain Sweethearts. A live version by The Stanley Brothers appears on the Folk Festival 2xCD set.

Vision Of Mother had been cut by The Stanley Brothers during their tenure at Columbia.

Bill Monroe's The Old Cross Road had also been recorded by Ralph and Jimmy Martin in 1980 for their First Time Together album and by The Stanley Brothers for Wango.

Little Bessie had been cut by The Stanley Brothers for King, and a live-in-studio version can be found on the Old-Time Songs/An Evening Long Time Ago CDs. A live version by Ralph can also be found on the Live At Watermelon Park CD.

• 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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