country music Archives - Vinyl From The Vault

Willie Nelson “Red Headed Stranger”

sfilzen — Sat, 29 Apr 2023 22:14:02 +0000

Willie Nelson “Red Headed Stranger” 1975. Today, April 29th, is Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday (b. 1933). Not much of a country fan myself, this LP is from my kid’s collection and still sports its original shrink wrap circa 1980, or at least The People’s Choice sticker states that year. Red Headed Stranger was Nelson’s 18th studio LP. A concept album about a fugitive on the run from the law after killing his wife and her lover, it is considered one of the best country albums ever recorded and its crossover appeal plus commercial success earned it a #28 spot on the Billboard pop charts and went to #1 on the country charts. The single “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” (written by Fred Rose, first recorded by Elton Britt in 1946, then made more popular by Roy Acuff in 1947) won a Grammy for Best Male Country Vocal Performance and catapulted Nelson into widespread popularity: it went to #1 on the country charts and to #21 on the Hot 100. In 1986, Nelson, along with Morgan Fairchild, starred in the movie Red Headed Stranger based on the concept album. Robert Redford was originally slated for the lead role in the late 70’s when the script was first written but he eventually turned it down. Then in the early 80’s legendary western director Sam Penkinpah was supposed to direct, but at the time HBO was going to produce it with a low budget, so Penkinpah also declined his participation. It finally began filming in ’85 and released in ’86 but didn’t fare particularly well and had a limited release. I haven’t seen it but I’m guessing the record is better than the film.

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“The Best of the Carter Family”

sfilzen — Tue, 19 Jan 2021 20:37:27 +0000

“The Best of the Carter Family” 2017. Third Man Records. A compilation of recordings from 1927-1933 (first released on 78rpm from Victor Records and Bluebird Records) by Sara and Maybelle Carter. A.P. Carter (Sara’s husband) is credited for writing the country/folk tunes writing but in reality he collected the songs from his sales travels throughout the Appalachia region (Sara and Maybelle also collected songs though they were not credited for this until much later). As always, Third Man has done a stellar job in the sound recovery of these old tracks as well as in the high quality of the album’s vinyl and packaging. Country/folk music is definitely not my go-to music, but I do have a soft spot for it…as a kid my parents would get together with their other folky/hippie friends for folk and bluegrass jam sessions and included a few Carter Family songs into the mix like “Keep on the Sunny Side,” “The Foggy Mountain Top” and “The Cannonball.” I think I also played a few of them as “fiddle tunes” as a kid on my violin. I honestly didn’t know that much about the Carter Family until we watched the Ken Burns documentary Country Music (2019), which was amazing. Featured extensively in that documentary was the history and current interviews of Dolly Parton, whose 75th birthday is today, January 19th (we don’t have any Parton on vinyl). So this Cater Family post is really a very long roundabout way of wishing Queen Dolly a happy birthday (she has, in my opinion, become a national treasure with her charity work, contributions to medical and scientific research, even Dollywood – which on its surface seems like an ego-booster – was her way of helping to bring much needed revenue to her hometown area in Tennessee). And, as noted above I am far from a country music fan, I think her song “Jolene” is one of the most haunting songs ever written.

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Willie Nelson “Pretty Paper”

sfilzen — Tue, 22 Dec 2020 22:48:58 +0000

Willie Nelson “Pretty Paper” 1979. Nelson’s first Christmas album and his 24th studio LP. Relaxed, country-tinged standards like “White Christmas,” “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Silent Night, Holy Night” as well as the rockabilly classic “Blue Christmas” made famous by Elvis. Nelson has two originals, the title track “Pretty Paper” and the instrumental “Christmas Blues.” Nelson wrote “Pretty Paper” in 1963 and it was first recorded by Roy Orbison. Orbison’s version went to #15 on the US Hot 100 chart in ‘63 and went to #6 in the UK in ‘64. Nelson first recorded it in ‘64 and then re-recorded it for Pretty Paper and again in ‘97 for Hill Country Christmas. A whole slew of other artists have covered the song over the years including Chris Isaak (2004), Reverend Horton Heat (2005) and most recently Dolly Parton (2020).

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Johnny Cash “A Night To Remember”

sfilzen — Thu, 22 Oct 2020 15:36:01 +0000

Johnny Cash “A Night To Remember” 2020. Third Man Records, Vault Package, clear vinyl. Recorded live May 5th, 1973 at the Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles. The concert was part of a series, “A Week to Remember,” spearheaded by Clive Davis (who introduces Cash at the start of the concert), highlighting Columbia Records artists. The week also included performances by Miles Davis, Bruce Springsteen and Earth, Wind and Fire. The Vault package also includes a DVD of the concert (which I haven’t watched yet). The concert is simply amazing. Classic Cash originals like “Big River,” “I Walk the Line,” “A Boy Named Sue” (written by Shel Silverstein but mostly associated with Cash) and “Folsom Prison Blues” but also Cash’s versions of other Americana greats like “The City of New Orleans,” “If I Had a Hammer” and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken.” Cash’s wife June Carter Cash joins Johnny on several songs, as does rockabilly great Carl Perkins (on “That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine,” “Will the Circle Be Unbroken” and “Daddy Sang Bass.” Like all Third Man releases, the quality of this release is impeccable. Top quality vinyl, a glossy and durable gatefold sleeve and bonus inserts (the DVD plus a 7″ split single of Cash covers: The Lumineers doing “Pretty Pictures in My Mind” and Ruston Kelly’s version of “Dark and Bloody Ground.” According to the Johnny Cash website, these are “two brand new songs from Johnny Cash: Forever Words project, a multi-year project by John Carter Cash, who has combed the Johnny Cash archive for unreleased poems, prose and lyrics.”

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