> >>JIM & JESSE/Gosh, I Miss You All The Time/Old Dominion
> Masters/Pinecastle
>
> Jon, I'll keep this on-list for benefit of anybody else:
>
> Is that the new J&J compilation that was due out this month? If
> so, how do these recordings stack up in the Jim & Jesse scheme of
> things--I take it they're somewhat less pop-oriented cuts than
> what someone would find on say, that Essentiual RCA disc out last
> year, right? When were these done? And are they essential compared
> to some of the other hard b'grass sets of theirs already available?
I guess that's the compilation. It's a 4-CD set of stuff they put out on
their own label after leaving Epic in the early 70s; I don't know how late
the set goes, but I'd say probably the early 80s. Pinecastle, their current
label, last year put out an album of stuff they'd recorded a few years back
as their debut for the label (Songs From The Homeplace), and this year is
putting out the Old Dominion collection; I believe they're going to be
recording some stuff with their current band later this year. Anyhow,
Pinecastle sent out a sampler CD to radio, so that's what I have to work
from. The notes say that the set is basically their first 8 releases on OD.
I'd say less pop-oriented mostly in terms of instrumentation; Jim & Jesse
have always been a real sweet-voiced act doing a lot of sentimental
material - and they've been around just about from the beginning, making
some of the very first bluegrass recordings, which is useful to keep in mind
<g>. Anyhow, the banjo is back in these recordings, after having been
de-emphasized in favor of the dobro-banjo in their later Epic recordings.
There's not much in the way of drums, though they appear some. Electric
bass, mostly, not upright (J & J were actually minor pioneers in using the
electric bass, having first recorded with it for Starday in 1958/9).
The material on the DJ sampler is a mix of remakes of their older songs,
either because they were out of print (e.g., Capitol, Starday), or because
they'd been recorded for Epic in those more country instrumentations, plus
some stuff I don't recognize, and hence may have been actually new. There
are some live cuts, so I guess at least one of those albums was a live one
<g>.
When you think about it, Jim & Jesse's sound has actually been pretty
consistent over the years, which complicates the "essential" question. The
flyer Pinecastle sent out says the set will list for under $50, and Gary
Reid wrote the notes, which are two points in the set's favor. This is the
order I would buy Jim & Jesse stuff:
1. Border Ride: The Best Of Jim & Jesse (King) - 10 cuts, most of the work
they recorded for Starday in the late 50s. This is An Essential Bluegrass
album, in my opinion; great music, and very influential. Bobby Thompson on
the banjer, and Vassar Clements on the fiddle.
2. 1952-1955 (Bear Family) - one CD, all of their Capitol cuts. Curley
Sechler appears on several, the great Joe Meadows on fiddle on several
others - oh, and Fiddlin' Sonny James on a few as well <g>. A Nearly
Essential Bluegrass album.
3. Probably this new set.
4. Bluegrass & More (Bear Family). Their Epic recordings. There's lots of
good stuff here, in my opinion - their Chuck Berry album, for one, and their
Louvin Brothers tribute, for another - but like I said before, it does
de-emphasize the banjo the further along it goes.
Jon Weisberger Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED]
http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger/
