1971-1973

Considering the tremendous role that family has played throughout his life, it was by no means a foregone conclusion that Ralph Stanley would persevere in music following his brother Carter's death in 1966. Not only did the younger Stanley choose to carry on (at the age of 40) the tradition of the Stanley Brothers, he was able to build on it. The Clinch Mountain Boys circa 1971--Stanley, Curly Ray Cline, Roy Lee Centers, and Jack Cooke--already ranked among the elite ensembles in bluegrass before Stanley added the talents of young bucks Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs. This glorious four-CD box is at once a celebration of Stanley's return to peak form and a thorough and thoroughly rewarding investigation of this classic period in Clinch Mountain Boys history. All facets of this band are revealed: breakneck traditional fiddle and banjo tunes, scintillating a cappella gospel harmonies, rousing live cuts from their 1971 Japanese tour, old-time favorites from the Carter Family, and, of course, a full slate of Stanley Brothers classics. If anything, Stanley's own mountain whang became even more spine-shivering as time passed. --Marc Greilsamer