Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(10 customer reviews) 110 of 114 people found the following review helpful
Excellent Career Overview of A Bluegrass Legend,
December 13, 2000 Ron Frankl (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Man of Constant Sorrow (Audio CD)
Ralph Stanley is one of the living masters of American music. This release contains music apparently featured in the new Coen Brothers film "O Brother Where Art Thous?", but it also serves as an excellent career overview to Stanley's unique style of Bluegrass.Banjoist Ralph and his guitar playing brother, Carter, were the Stanley Brothers, a pioneering act in bluegrass music. Heavily influenced by traditional string band music, the Blue Sky Boys and bluegrass creator Bill Monroe, the Carters recorded and performed together from the late '40's until Carter's premature death in 1966, creating some of the most original and lasting work in the bluegrass field. Carter was the lead singer and showman of the group, and there were real questions whether Ralph Stanley could pursue a successful solo career.Fortunately for fans of bluegrass, Ralph Stanley was more than up to the challenge. Raplh Stanley and the Clinch Mountain Boys have been at the forefront of bluegrass for...Read more
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
This is your chance to get to know the Great Ralph Stanley,
August 11, 2001 Tribe (Toledo, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Man of Constant Sorrow (Audio CD)
As a result of "O Brother Where Art Thou?", Ralph Stanley is finally reaching reknown beyond bluegrass fans. Hard core bluegrass fans have known for decades that Ralph Stanley is the premier male mountain singer....this collection will let everyone else know that Stanely is a great singer...period! This collection is a mini-retrospective of Stanley's solo work during the seventies. I'm sorry I missed these songs when they were originally issued because this is bone-chilling, hair-raising mountain singing. Every cut on this CD is a gem; the standout being "Old Richmond Prison," a paen to regret, loneliness and isolation that'll convert you for sure.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Scary Good,
May 16, 2002 David Bradley "David Bradley" (Sterling, VA USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Man of Constant Sorrow (Audio CD)
It was only a matter of time before greater America woke up to Bluegrass music, the big-beat music with no drums that's been in our backyard for generations.Ralph Stanley sings songs of sorrow and he means it; I think the scary feeling many listeners talk about comes from Stanley hitting home, a deadeye bullseye on some archetypical fears.Great fiddle playing, too.
