Clinch Mountain Echo

CMB Birthdays this month:

04 Feb 1972 - Steve Sparkman. Harlan, Kentucky.

04 Feb 1906 - Art Wooten. Born 'Arthur James Wooten' in Alleghany, North Carolina.

11 Feb 1960 - Junior Blankenship. Born at the old Grundy Hospital, Grundy, Va.

25 Feb 1927 - Ralph Stanley. Born 'Ralph Edmund Stanley' in Big Spraddle Creek, near Stratton, McClure, Virginia.

29 Feb 1932 - Jim Williams. Born 'James Lee Williams' in Wythe County, Virginia.


In Memoriam:

05 Feb 1980 - Chubby Anthony. Gainesville, Alachua, Florida.

08 Feb 2003 - Ralph 'Joe' Meadows. Silver Spring, Montgomery County, Maryland.

08 Feb 1987 - Harold 'Red' Stanley. Fentress, Tennessee.


For the Official Ralph Stanley II and the Clinch Mountain Boys site, visit:

Ralph II ralph2.com

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A Life Of Sorrow / I'd Rather Be Forgotten
(Mercury-Starday 71258)


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Clinch Mountain Echo

Ralph II Stanley - Pretty Girls, City Lights

(Rebel REB-CD-1760) 2000


Pretty Girls, City Lights

Average Album Rating: 3
(Total votes 1)

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Please rate this album:

Ralph II's second 'solo' CD is arguably one of his finest so far. Certainly his vocals had matured nicely in the couple of years since Listen To My Hammer Ring and like that earlier album it mostly features songs from the Stanley catalogue.

Russell Moore makes a guest appearance on the Sloas Brothers' Sea Of Regret singing high baritone, and a few of the songs are new to the Stanley repertoire:- It Sure Gets Cold This Time Of Year, written by CMB fiddler James Price; Ralph II's I'll Remember You In My Dreams; and Ronnie Bowman's Pathway Of Danger.

The CMB's regular banjo player, Steve Sparkman is abscent, so banjo duties are handled by Dr. Ralph who also sings tenor on half of the songs. I think Steve took about 18 months off from his time with the band, and as this album was recorded in April / May 1999 (at Maggard Studio in Big Stone Gap), and as Ralph handled banjo on the Australian gigs in 2000,[1] this could well have been the spell when he took time out.

The title cut Pretty Girls, City Lights is shown as credited to Ralph Stanley, but Dr. Ralph's version on The Memory Of Your Smile is shown as City Lights and credited to Walden Dahl. Walden's version can be found here and on an eponymous CD.

  • Ralph II Stanley: rhythm guitar, vocals
  • Junior Blackenship: lead guitar (a)
  • Jack Cooke: bass
  • James Price: fiddle
  • James Alan Shelton: lead guitar
  • John Rigsby: mandolin
  • Ralph Stanley: banjo

NB: (a) Junior plays lead guitar on tracks (2) and (6).

 

Track:
Title:
Time:
Date:
Original Release:
A-1
Pretty Girls, City Lights
02:28
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

Walden Dahl
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Bjo Bs Fid Mnd Ld Gtr  
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price
John Rigsby
James Alan Shelton  
A-2
Home In The Mountains
03:10
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

Rick Stanley
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Bjo Bs Fid Ld Gtr    
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price
Junior Blankenship
   
A-3
All I Ever Loved Was You
03:12
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

Dorothy Skaggs
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Bjo Bt Vcl / Bs Tn Vcl / Fid Ld Gtr    
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
John Rigsby
James Alan Shelton
   
A-4
The Angels Are Singing (In Heaven Tonight)
04:13
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

C. Stanley
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Bjo Bs Fid HiBt Vcl / Mnd Ld Gtr  
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price
John Rigsby
James Alan Shelton  
A-5
It Sure Gets Cold This Time Of Year
02:22
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

James Price
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Bjo Bs Fid Mnd Ld Gtr  
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price
John Rigsby
James Alan Shelton  
A-6
I'll Remember You In My Dreams
02:09
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

Ralph II Stanley
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Mnd, Fid Bs Ld Gtr      
  Ralph II Stanley
John Rigsby
Jack Cooke
Junior Blankenship
 
   
A-7
Think Of What You've Done
02:19
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

C. Stanley
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Mnd Bjo Bs Fid Ld Gtr  
  Ralph II Stanley
John Rigsby
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price James Alan Shelton
 
A-8
Sea Of Regret
03:06
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

Kenneth Sloas / David Sloas
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Bjo Bs Fid Mnd Ld Gtr -- HiBt Vcl  
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price John Rigsby
James Alan Shelton -- Russell Moore
 
A-9
It's Raining Here This Morning
02:21
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

Louis M. Jones
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Bjo Bs Fid Mnd Ld Gtr  
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price John Rigsby
James Alan Shelton
 
A-10
I Don't Want Your Rambling Letters
03:15
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

Nathaniel Nathan / Ray Starr / Gene C. Redd
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Bjo Bs Fid Mnd Ld Gtr  
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price John Rigsby
James Alan Shelton
 
A-11
Pathway Of Danger
03:24
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

Ronnie Bowman / Craig Market
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Fid, Mnd Bt Vcl / Bs Bjo Ld Gtr    
  Ralph II Stanley
John Rigsby
Jack Cooke
Ralph Stanley
James Alan Shelton
   
A-12
I'll Just Catch A Train And Ride
02:41
Apr/May 1999
Pretty Girls, City Lights

R. Stanley
  Ld Vcl / Gtr Tn Vcl / Bjo Bs Fid Mnd Ld Gtr  
  Ralph II Stanley
Ralph Stanley
Jack Cooke
James Price John Rigsby
James Alan Shelton
 
Other artwork / related images:
Rear Cover CD Tray

[1] eg. https://youtu.be/_gO3Q2sCBeE

For the Official Ralph Stanley II and the Clinch Mountain Boys site, visit:

Ralph II ralph2.com

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(Rebel REB-CD-1687)


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