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Thread: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

  1. #1
    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    I am enjoying what I think is a newly released box set by JSP. At least it was just recently added to emusic.com, which is where I buy most of my tunes. (also accounts for ALL of my e-mail spam, I just have to mention, they are not secure with your e-mail address)

    Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys 1950-1958 [BOX SET] [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

    It's four discs and very economical. The mastering sounds good to me, although maybe some here have listened more critically and can give better opinions.

    I have gotten a lot of milage out of the previous JSP set that covers 1937-1949, but it's nice to be digging into the 50s material. I just have disc A at the moment, but already, many questions raised. Exactly WHO is playing the Hammond organ on some of these cuts? It's less than half price for me buying digital, but boy, I miss those liner notes!
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    Notary Sojac Paul Kotapish's Avatar
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    I've never heard those tracks, but according to some discographies, Owen Bradley played piano, organ, and vibes on a few tracks cut during the '50s, so that's probably your culprit.

    Wilene "Sally Ann" Forrester played some accordion when she was a Blue Grass "Boy" for a couple of years circa WWII, and she recorded about eight tracks with the band in 1945. I really like the sound of mandolin and accordion together, but it ain't bluegrass, and Bill and Wilene never really developed the sound far enough for us to know if it could have made an interesting side project.

    Plenty of piano players have successfully incorporated that instrument into country music--if not bluegrass--and Gary Burton demonstrated that vibes can sound lovely on folk and country tunes, but I can't really feature the the mighty Hammond on a Bill Monroe session.
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  3. #3

    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    Great news, thanks

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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    Quote Originally Posted by Paul Kotapish View Post
    I've never heard those tracks, but according to some discographies, Owen Bradley played piano, organ, and vibes on a few tracks cut during the '50s, so that's probably your culprit.

    Wilene "Sally Ann" Forrester played some accordion when she was a Blue Grass "Boy" for a couple of years circa WWII, and she recorded about eight tracks with the band in 1945. I really like the sound of mandolin and accordion together, but it ain't bluegrass, and Bill and Wilene never really developed the sound far enough for us to know if it could have made an interesting side project.

    Plenty of piano players have successfully incorporated that instrument into country music--if not bluegrass--and Gary Burton demonstrated that vibes can sound lovely on folk and country tunes, but I can't really feature the the mighty Hammond on a Bill Monroe session.
    Bradley plays some really hokey honky-tonk piano on Prisoner's Song. Of course, the electric sessions were a really silly idea and on this particular number Monroe
    seems to do his best to sabotage it by his high-pitched and aggressive
    singing. What were Paul Cohen and Bradley thinking?

    Bradley is listed on organ on four of the songs from the I Saw the Light LP, but I doubt that he played organ on Wayfaring Stranger. Straining to hear his contribution I hear some very faint chords between lines and to me they sound more like a piano.

    New Grange (with O'Brien, Anger etc.)
    is not really a Bluegrass band but I think Philip Aaberg's soloing on Sally Ann indicates the possibilities for a piano in a "pure" Bluegrass context.

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    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    Purely for the info.on the boxed set - is this packaged in a similar way to the Bear Family sets ie.4 CD's in one box ?. I only ask,because in the UK the price of those sets was extortionate - twice the US price. I would have imported them from the US but for the size & weight of the box.The postage would have been half the cost on top of the CD price. I don't know who JSP are,but i wish they'd make these available as single CD's.In these financially austere times,it's not everyone who can splash out of 4 CD's at a time,
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    Registered User stonefingers's Avatar
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    In the liner notes of the MCA box set "The Music of Bill Monroe from 1936 to 1994", it briefly mentions this "instrumentation variation" as something Deca records experimented with for only 3 recording sessions in 1951. Unfortunately, it does not name the songs or the musicians.
    Later in the notes, it goes on to say that "Bill" liked the "bell like tone" of Owen Brtradleys vibra-phone and included it in the 1951 recording "Christmas Time's A Coming".

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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    I remember reading some controversy about jsp. They put out a lot of box sets that have been already done by others - e.g. the Charlie Patton one. On the other hand, the price is right. It sounds very much as if this is their version of the Bear Family sets
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    Registered User evanreilly's Avatar
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    To answer the rhetorical question as to what Paul Cohen and Owen Bradley were thinking about when they did the 'electric' sessions, part of the answer is that they wanted Monroe to become a big commercial hit on the country charts.
    Another factor was that there was an attempt by Decca to have Monroe record an album of Jimmie Rodgers covers. The material was recorded, but the album never was released.

  9. #9

    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    JSP has provided a good service at a low price. And while others have put great sets on Bix, Patton Monroe and other some of the costs where higher then most could afford. Also there where others who put out less quility like Document Records. This about JSP is you have really be into the artist since there are miles of material and not great foot notes .

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    Registered User Martin Jonas's Avatar
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    Quote Originally Posted by Ivan Kelsall View Post
    I don't know who JSP are,but i wish they'd make these available as single CD's.In these financially austere times,it's not everyone who can splash out of 4 CD's at a time
    Ivan, JSP are a UK label and they are very cheap in the UK (cheaper than in the US). The JSP boxes I've bought in the past come with extremely sparse liner notes. I don't have either of their Monroe boxes, but I have their Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers boxes. Good sound quality, but next to no info other than session dates.

    The two JSP sets are GBP15.98 and GBP14.98 from Amazon UK, shipped, so they won't exactly break the bank.

    There is a second UK label that also releases classic bluegrass and country box sets, namely Proper. Unlike JSP boxes, Properboxes have a thick and informative booklet. Proper's Hank Williams set is the cheapest way to get all of his studio sides (you have to get the 1952 sessions as a separate single CD), and their Bob Wills box is spectacular. The boxes from both labels are usually priced about the same, if anything Properboxes seem to be on discounted sales for under GBP10 more often.

    The reason both of these labels can do this is that copyright on sound recordings (but not on the compositions) expires after 50 years. That means that they can now release box sets of recordings up to 1959 and only have to pay mechanical royalties to the composers, but no royalities to either performers and record companies. It also means that they can collect recordings in one release that were originally on different label without the usual contractual wrangle to extricate the rights.

    Martin

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    Registered User Ivan Kelsall's Avatar
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    Martin - Many,many thaks for the info.You're obviously more up-to date with record labels than i am. Re.liner notes - i don't play e'm !!. If i can just get my hands on the CD's that's enough. If they're a UK co.,i'll look out for these or maybe buy from Amazon with whom i already have an account. The Hank Williams CD's sound good - my favourite C & W artise & the last great one (IMHO),
    Ivan
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    Quote Originally Posted by stonefingers View Post
    In the liner notes of the MCA box set "The Music of Bill Monroe from 1936 to 1994", it briefly mentions this "instrumentation variation" as something Deca records experimented with for only 3 recording sessions in 1951. Unfortunately, it does not name the songs or the musicians.
    Later in the notes, it goes on to say that "Bill" liked the "bell like tone" of Owen Brtradleys vibra-phone and included it in the 1951 recording "Christmas Time's A Coming".
    There were two electric sessions; between the two there was one with BG instrumentation. Bradley played piano and organ, Grady Martin played electric lead guitar; the fiddler was either Tommy Jackson or Hal Smith, and the bass player was Ernie Newton. Newton was also on later sessions, employing his slap gadget. Where you hear a brushing sound on fast numbers, like Roanoke and
    Happy on My Way, or a snap on the afterbeat, as in the B (second, multi-fiddle) version of Georgia Rose or Working on a Building, it's Newton. On slow waltzes, like Dreadful Snake, he usually accented the second beat.

  13. #13
    Registered User evanreilly's Avatar
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    If you look carefully at some of the vintage (1950's) Bill Monroe clips on Youtube, you can catch a glimpse of Ernie Newton's drum-head attachment on his bass.

  14. #14
    NY Naturalist BradKlein's Avatar
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    Default Re: New (?) JSP Monroe Box Sets

    Quote Originally Posted by Martin Jonas View Post
    The reason both of these labels can do this is that copyright on sound recordings (but not on the compositions) expires after 50 years. That means that they can now release box sets of recordings up to 1959 and only have to pay mechanical royalties to the composers, but no royalities to either performers and record companies. It also means that they can collect recordings in one release that were originally on different label without the usual contractual wrangle to extricate the rights.
    Thanks for the points on UK copyright. That would perhaps explain why the new set goes to 1958. I think it's especially significant that the expiration of some copyrights allows for the compilation of material from disparate companies, and sources. The expiration of these protections is an enormous benefit to the public, just as the existence of reasonable protections benefit artists.

    Seems to me this is an example of a very good balance, between the two goals.
    BradKlein
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