category: country / blues / folk

Album review:
"Merle Travis was born in Kentucky in 1917 and grew up with coal miners. He got a hand-me-down guitar from an older brother, left school to play music, and at the age of 20 had a radio show on WLW in Cincinnati, with a group called the Drifting Pioneers. His smiling young face from a 1938 publicity shot of that group is on the front of this wonderful 2-CD set.

The 50 songs included trace the soaring early career of this many-talented musician from his first recording with Grandpa Jones (performing as the Sheppard Brothers) in 1943 to 1952, after six years with Capitol Records in California. The range of styles captured in these recordings includes several coal-mining songs, with his own introductions, including the great traditional song "Nine Pound Hammer" and one of his best-known compositions, "Sixteen Tons," made famous by Tennessee Ernie Ford, who sings with him here on two 1949 recordings, "Blues Stay Away From Me" and "Philosophy."

There's also plenty of blues, boogie-woogie, rags, old-fashioned gospel, and down-home country, with some western swing for good measure. Married several times, Travis' songs about women and relationships are sometimes bright and upbeat ("Sioux City Sue" and "Lawdy What a Gal"), or suggestive ("So Round So Firm So Fully Packed" and "Fat Gal"), but most often complaining about love gone wrong ("Divorce Me C.O.D." and "I'm Sick and Tired of You Little Darling"). The whole set closes with two lovely solo picking songs that reveal his influence on Chet Atkins: "I'll See You In My Dreams" and "Cannonball Rag."

By the early 1950s, this great country performer had already made his mark in music history. Sadly, drinking and drugging wrecked his career afterward, although in later years, he made brief comebacks, including the terrific "Country Guitar Thunder" with Joe Maphis. This CD set is a rewarding and enjoyable overview of 10 prolific years representing the work of a young, gifted giant whose songs cover a wide span of country music genres. The 16-page booklet that comes with this CD has an informative biography by bluegrass expert Adam Komorowski, several photos, and recording information for each track." -- Ronald Scheer, Los Angeles 2005

CD Track Listing

  Disc 1:
  1. You'll Be Lonesome Too (& Grandpa Jones [Sheppard Bros]: vocal duet) (Sydney Nathan) (3:15)
  2. Will the Circle Be Unbroken (& Grandpa Jones, Delmore Bros. [Browns Ferry Four]: vocal quartet) (traditional) (2:59)
  3. No Vacancy (M.Travis) (2:41)
  4. Cincinnati Lou (Travis / Fisher) (2:37)
  5. What a Shame (Atchison / Nations / Travis) (2:47)
  6. Missouri (Penny / Duncan) (2:43)
  7. Divorce Me C.O.D. (Travis / Stone) (3:01)
  8. Nine Pound Hammer (M.Travis) (2:41)
  9. Sixteen Tons (M.Travis) (2:51)
10. Dark as a Dungeon (M.Travis) (2:48)
11. Over by Number Nine (M.Travis) (3:09)
12. That's All (M.Travis) (3:01)
13. John Henry (traditional) (3:07)
14. I Am a Pilgrim (M.Travis) (2:51)
15. If We Never Meet Again (& Grandpa Jones, Delmore Bros. [Browns Ferry Four]: vocal quartet) (M.Travis) (2:56)
16. Over in Gloryland (& Grandpa Jones, Delmore Bros. [Browns Ferry Four]: vocal quartet) (traditional) (1:58)
17. Sweet Temptation (Travis / Stone) (2:53)
18. So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed (M.Travis) (2:59)
19. Three Times Seven (Travis / Stone) (2:57)
20. I'm Sick and Tired of You, Little Darling (Travis / Stone) (3:03)
21. Steel Guitar Rag (Travis / McAuliffe / Stone) (2:44)
22. Lawdy, What a Gal (Travis / Stone) (2:53)
23. Sioux City Sue (Thomas / Feedman) (2:31)
24. Muskrat (traditional) (2:35)
25. Fat Gal (M.Travis) (2:38)
Total timing: 70:51

  Disc 2:
  1. I Like My Chicken Fryin' Size (M.Travis) (2:22)
  2. Merle's Boogie Woogie (M.Travis) (3:03)
  3. When My Baby Double Talks to Me (M.Travis) (2:34)
  4. Kentucky Means Paradise (M.Travis) (2:38)
  5. I'm a Natural Born Gamblin' Man (Travis / Atchison) (2:51)
  6. Crazy Boogie (Ike Cargill) (2:48)
  7. T for Texas (Blue Yodel No. 1) (Jimmie Rodgers) (2:21)
  8. Blues Stay Away from Me (& Tennesee Ernie Ford, Eddie Kirk, Cliffie Stone: vocal quartet) (Delmore / Raney / Glover) (2:38)
  9. Philososphy (& Tennesee Ernie Ford, Eddie Kirk, Cliffie Stone: vocal quartet) (Trace / Haldeman / Mitchell / Porter) (2:28)
10. Start Even (M.Travis) (3:09)
11. I Got a Mean Old Woman (Harold Hensley) (3:09)
12. Guitar Rag (M.Travis) (2:27)
13. Cane Bottom Chair (Marks / Robinson) (2:46)
14. Too Much Sugar for a Dime (& Judy Hayden [The Whippoorwills]: vocal duet) (M.Travis) (2:15)
15. Spoonin' Moon (& Judy Hayden [The Whippoorwills]: vocal duet) (M.Travis) (2:26)
16. Dry Bread (M.Travis) (2:38)
17. Lost John Boogie (M.Travis) (2:22)
18. Boogie in Minor (Johnny Crockett) (2:27)
19. Deep South (Travis / Hill) (2:07)
20. Done Rovin' (Johnny Horton) (2:24)
21. Faithful Fool (M.Travis) (2:30)
22. Kinfolks in Carolina (M.Travis) (2:25)
23. Rainy Day Feelin' (Hensley / Travis) (2:21)
24. I'll See You in My Dreams (instrumental) (Jones / Kahn) (1:54)
25. Cannonball Rag (instrumental) (M.Travis) (1:56)
Total timing: 63:10

Label/No: Proper Records 123 (UK import)

Release date: (c)1943-52, 2003 reissue