November 05, 2008

Wow, this is even a better sign that there is hope alive:

There is this
new and incredible Hank Williams collection of never-before released recordings from the Mother's Best Flour sessions of 1951. This is an excellent collection you should definitely get. I can't stop listening to it.

Hank sings some songs you've heard before on this set, which sound clear and flawless. Even better there are also a bunch he never recorded before. A cool version of "On Top of Old Smokey" (yes really, it is great) and his "When the Saints go Marching In" show that Hank could make any song better than any song has ever been. This is not a excessive statement, this is true.

And he sings here a bunch of songs better known from the early bluegrass era: such a fine song as "Gathering Flowers for the Master's Bouquet, which I think of as pure Stanley Brothers, though others did record it. "Lonely Tombs". "When the Fire Comes Down". Songs you can never hear too much like "Where the Soul Never Dies" Hank definitely was hearing the good stuff around him. I was especially stoked to see that he sings a bunch of superb Bailes Brothers songs. Oh yes, just perfect. His voice sounds as good as it ever has.

It is hard to stress sufficiently just how great this music is.

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