Larry Sparks - The Lonesome Sounds Of...

(Old Homestead OHS-90041) 1974
Reissued on CD (Old Homestead OHCD-90041) 1998.

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This album consists of re-recordings of songs Larry had cut on earlier albums, but which were either hard to find at the time, or where fidelity on the original releases wasn't as good as they could have been. The fact that it was re-issued on CD, suggests that it a popular collection at the time.

Three tracks on Side One (Brand New Broken Heart, Long Journey Home and This Lonesome Old Feeling) had previously been recorded for the 1973 Starday Ramblin' Bluegrass LP, which was unavailable at the time. Two more (These Old Blues and Memories Of The Past) had also been recorded on Bluegrass Old And New. Then there's a version of Going Up Home (To Live In Green Pastures) which Larry had previously recorded with Ralph Stanley on Over The Sunset Hill.

Side Two is comprised of a version of Billy In The Lowground (which Larry previously recorded on Bluegrass Old And New) plus material by artists which had influenced him. i.e. Bill Monroe (Why Did You Wander & How Will I Explain); Hank Williams (Faded Love And Winter Roses & Mother Is Gone); and Roy Acuff (As Long As I Live).

The liner notes for this album don't give any clues as to the personnel featured, or when it was recorded, other than mentioning that Side One was recorded at Lemco Studios, and Side Two at Old Homestead. The line-up is likely to have been as listed below...

As with the Footsteps Of Tradition LP I tend to prefer the earlier versions of the re-recorded songs... but the album is still worth checking out.

I only have the CD version of this one, so can't say if the vinyl is affected by surface noise...

• Larry Sparks: guitar, lead vocal
• Dave Evans: banjo, harmony vocal
• Ralph 'Joe' Meadows: fiddle
• Wendy Miller: mandolin, harmony vocal
• Art Wydner: bass

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