Larry Sparks - Early & Essential Vol. 2

(Old Homestead OHS-90137) 1982

---

This is a compilation of rare 45 tracks and two songs from Larry's debut LP for Old Homestead, plus two tracks from the Joe Meadows - Portait Of A Fiddler LP, and one which I presume is otherwise unreleased. In typical 'Old Homestead' style, however, there are no clues however as to where or when the recordings originate from...

The album kicks off with both sides of Larry's rare single for Jalyn, which looks like it was recorded in 1965 whilst Larry was with the Stanley Brothers and probably released in 1966.^[1] The 'A' side is a version of the Stanley Brother's early classic It's Never Too Late, with the 'B' side being an instrumental co-written by Larry Sparks and banjo player Wilber Hall. Both are agreeable slabs of bluegrass, but give limited indication of Larry's subsequent soulful vocal and bluesy guitar style.

Also included are two rare non-LP singles for Pine Tree. Loving Sweetheart and A House Divided sound like they were recorded with the Joe Isaacs / Bernice Sparks line up circa 1970, with Loving Sweetheart being written by Joe Isaacs, and A House Divided having male/female vocals & piano. The latter song was written by Lillie Marie Thorpe who also wrote Lady Of The Night for Roy McGinnis & the Sunnysiders. Larry also re-recorded Loving Sweetheart on his 1975 Pickin' & Singin' LP.

The other Pine Tree 45, Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain & Kentucky Chimes feature the later Mike Lilly / Wendy Miller / Art Wydner line-up. Blue Eyes... was later re-recorded for the 1975 LP Pickin' & Singin'; and the Wendy Miller's banjo instrumental Kentucky Chimes was re-recorded for Ramblin' Bluegrass (1973) and Footsteps Of Tradition (1974).

The old evergreen This World Is Not My Home is from a non-LP 'B' side Larry recorded for Old Homestead.

The other tracks include two tunes from the 1974 Joe Meadows LP Portait Of A Fiddler which featured backing by Larry Sparks & the Lonesome Pine Fiddlers, and the final two tracks from Bluegrass Old And New, which were omitted from Early & Essential Vol. 1.

That leaves a version of Carter's Blues, which remains a bit of a mystery. I'd guess it may be a demo recording for the 1979 Kind'a Lonesome album.

The cover photo looks like it's from the same photo shoot as the Thank You Lord album.

Other artwork / related images:

[1] Bill Vernon's interview with Larry in 'Bluegrass Unlimited', Apr 1983, mentions that it was recorded in 1965 'during his stay with the Stanleys'. Discogs, Charley Pennell's Bluegrass Discography, and 45Cat all list the 45 as released 1966.