(Neon 8001-3) 1996
This is the first of three videos on Dwight O. Bailey's "Neon" label, and it is I think the best of the three. Featuring footage from Ralph's 26th Annual Memorial Festival in May 1996, it celebrates Ralph's 50th anniversary as a musician, with 'reunion' performances by Ralph and many of the surviving Clinch Mountain Boys. It also includes short clips of some of the fans and musicians paying tribute to Ralph, and a couple of songs with Dave Evans and Larry Sparks (itself a mini reunion as Dave had not long been released from jail.[1])
Featured members of the Clinch Mountain Boy alumni include: Lester Woodie, Art Stamper, Joe Meadows, George Shuffler, Larry Sparks, Ricky Lee, Charlie Sizemore, Jr. Blankenship, Sammy Adkins, Ernie Thacker, Ralph 'Hank' Smith, Kenneth Davies, Joe Isaacs and Ricky Skaggs. Plus of course all the then current CMB's:-
Surprisingly, although Melvin Goins appears as one of the talking heads, he isn't on any of the reunion performances that made it to the video. He is however on the 2-CD set that Ralph released of the show on his Clinch Mountain Boys Reunion album, with a sequence of old Stanley Brothers jokes.
Some of the performances are occasionally a bit rough and ready, but it's unrehearsed nature also adds to the spontaneous feel of the recordings, and it is magical to see Ralph with the various musicians that helped create and maintain the 'Stanley' sound down through the decades.
In addition to the regular CMB performances there's also one song apiece by Dwight Yoakum with Ralph guesting on Miner's Prayer, and The Marshall Family, who Ralph helped introduce to the Bluegrass festival scene. The Isaacs also join Ralph and the CMB's for one song, while the featured song with Ricky Skaggs, sees Ralph singing tenor with Ricky's band rather Ricky performing with the CMB's.
The video was later reissued on DVD-R, which was available for a time from County Sales. Picture quality on this is obviously better than what could be reproduced on VHS tape, but neither are that easy to find nowadays. Sound is also consistently good throughout, and the video was recorded with multiple cameras, with plenty of close-up shots.
Overall, it is a well put together set which will make most Stanley fans happy. Obviously Ralph's banjo playing was past it's best by 1996, but he is featured on the old 5-string on most of the tracks, with Steve Sparkman assisting on just three.
Playing time is approx. 1 hour 27 mins.
PS: For some reason the artwork for DVD-R has the same pictures of Dwight Whitley and Ralph which were used on the later 'On The Road' With Ralph Stanley VHS tape. Dwight of course, was one of Keith Whitley's brothers and though he doesn't appear on the reunion show, is on the 'On The Road'... release.
Track: |
Title: |
Lead Vocal: |
Banjo: |
Guitar: |
Fiddle: |
Mandolin: |
Lead Guitar: |
Bass: |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
Theme |
Ralph II Stanley |
Ralph Stanley / Steve Sparkman |
Ralph II Stanley |
Lester Woodie |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
Jack Cooke |
C. Stanley / R. Stanley |
||||||||
2 |
Black Mountain Blues |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph II Stanley |
Lester Woodie |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
Jack Cooke |
|
Leslie Keith |
||||||||
3 |
Man Of Constant Sorrow |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph II Stanley |
Lester Woodie |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
Jack Cooke |
R.D. Burnett |
||||||||
4 |
Kansas City Railroad Blues |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph II Stanley |
Art Stamper |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
Jack Cooke |
|
P.D. ? |
||||||||
5 |
Orange Blossom Special |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph II Stanley |
Joe Meadows |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
Jack Cooke |
|
Ervin T. Rouse |
||||||||
6 |
Miner's Prayer |
Dwight Yoakum |
Ralph Stanley |
Dwight Yoakum |
||||
Dwight Yoakam |
||||||||
7 |
Will You Miss Me |
Larry Sparks |
Ralph Stanley |
Larry Sparks |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
George Shuffler |
Jack Cooke |
A.P. Carter |
||||||||
8 |
Hills Of Roane County |
Joe Isaacss |
Ralph Stanley |
Joe Isaacss |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
Jack Cooke |
Willis Maberry |
||||||||
9 |
Bill Cheatum |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph II Stanley |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
Ricky Lee |
Jack Cooke |
|
P.D. |
||||||||
10 |
Lonesome Old Home |
Charlie Sizemore |
Ralph Stanley |
Charlie Sizemore |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
Jr Blankenship |
Jack Cooke |
Curnie Wilson / Russell Wilson / Ed Hamilton |
||||||||
11 |
Way Down Deep |
Sammy Adkins |
Ralph Stanley |
Sammy Adkins |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
Jack Cooke |
|
Max Duane Barnes / Max Troy Barnes |
||||||||
12 |
I Need Jesus |
The Marshall Family |
||||||
P.D. |
||||||||
13 |
Meet Me Tonight |
James King |
Ralph Stanley |
James King |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
Ralph II Stanley |
Jack Cooke |
Joseph Augustine Wade |
||||||||
14 |
Let Me Love You One More Time |
Ralph II Stanley |
Ralph Stanley / Steve Sparkman |
Ralph II Stanley |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
George Shuffler |
R. Stanley |
||||||||
15 |
Long Gone |
Ernie Thacker |
Ralph Stanley |
Ernie Thacker |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
Ralph 'Hank' Smith |
Jack Cooke |
Don Reno / Red Smiley |
||||||||
16 |
Another Night |
Kenneth Davies |
Ralph Stanley |
Kenneth Davies |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
Jack Cooke |
Jack Adkins |
||||||||
17 |
She's More To Be Pitied |
Ricky Skaggs / Ralph Stanley |
?? |
?? |
?? |
?? |
?? |
|
Ruby Rakes |
||||||||
18 |
We Shall Meet Someday |
Joe Isaacs |
Ralph Stanley |
Joe Isaacs |
James Price |
?? Isaacss |
James Alan Shelton |
Ben Isaacs |
T. Teddie |
||||||||
19 |
Ninety-Nine Years |
Dave Evans |
Dave Evans |
Larry Sparks |
James Price |
George Shuffler |
||
?? |
||||||||
20 |
I Don't Want Your Rambling Letters |
Dave Evans |
Dave Evans |
Larry Sparks |
James Price |
George Shuffler / Jack Cooke |
||
Nathaniel Nathan / Ray Starr / Gene C. Redd |
||||||||
21 |
The Lonesome River |
Ralph II Stanley |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph II Stanley |
James Price |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton |
Jack Cooke |
C. Stanley |
||||||||
22 |
The Hills Of Home |
Ralph Stanley |
Ralph Stanley Steve Sparkman |
Ralph II Stanley Dave Evans Charlie Sizemore Larry Sparks |
James Price Art Stamper |
John Rigsby |
James Alan Shelton Jr. Blankenship Ralph 'Hank' Smith |
George Shuffler |
Wendy Smith / R. Stanley |