Roy Acuff - Songs of the Smoky Mountains

 

Per the (fairly brief) line notes on this CD release, these songs were 1955 re-recordings of tunes that Acuff had previously released from the mid-30's through the early 50's. These were done with his then-current touring band and they are strong'n'timeless performances of these early country/folk/bluegrass/ unclassifiable songs, both traditional and original. Backed by the Smoky Mountain Boys on dobro, banjo, fiddle, harmonica, piano, acoustic guitar and upright bass, these are classic examples of this style.

A simple 12 track album, we get some of his best-known songs, starting with the time-honored "Wabash Cannonball" and "The Great Speckled Bird" through the spiritual "I'm Building a Home (In the Sky)" and "The Great Judgement Morning", along with the secular heartbreak of "Pins and Needles (In My Heart)", the fast-paced, danceable "Fire Ball Mail" and "Night Train to Memphis", the truly morbid "The Wreck on the Highway", the story-telling tale of "The Great Titanic" and the quiet sad country of "The Precious Jewel", "Lonely Mound of Clay", and "Come Back Little Pal".

There's definitely plenty of overlap of numbers with The Essential Roy Acuff, but these versions all stay on their own, as well. This is the really early Americana/country/folk/bluegrass before there really were labels on this kind of music, but if you're a fan of the style, this is well worthwhile.