Label: Proper Records.
Release Date: September 15, 2009.
Recording Time: 244 minutes.
Release Info: Compilation (PROPERBOX-153).
Styles: Country Blues, Folk Blues, North American Traditions, Old-Timey, String Bands.
With 80 tracks spread over four CDs, this is a remarkable budget-priced collection, covering not only the tracks Charlie Poole recorded with his band, the North Carolina Ramblers, but also cuts that bandmembers laid down separately. The hits are all here, beginning with 1925's "Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues," which sold a staggering 100,000 copies. Poole himself was a superb banjo player, and takes delight in demonstrating it on tracks like "Leaving Home." But he was also a troubled soul, prone to prolonged bouts of drinking, which led bandmembers to record without him on tracks such as Roy Harvey's "Dark Eyes" and Posey Rorer's "As We Sat Beneath the Maple on the Hill." It's all a lesson in the evolution of string band music -- roaring, emotional, and quite lovely -- the forerunner of bluegrass. Ineffably Southern, the music charms, but also astonishes with technical ability that has stood the test of time. A low price, and an absolute musical bargain. ~ Chris Nickson
Credits: Allegheny Highlanders - primary artist; Russell Beecher - annotation; Bloomfield - composer; Leonard Copeland - primary artist; Roy Harvey - primary artist; The Highlanders - primary artist; Leighton - composer; Steven Moseley - design; Fred Newman - primary artist; North Carolina Ramblers - primary artist; Charlie Poole - arranger, composer, primary artist; Charlie Poole & the North Carolina Ramblers - primary artist; Posey Rorer - primary artist; Paul Swinton - mastering, transfers; Von Tilzer - composer; Traditional - composer; Egbert VanAlstyne - composer; Westlyn - composer; Tom Willis - mastering, transfers.
Tracks, Disc One - White House Blues: 1. Girl I Left In Sunny Tennessee - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 2. I'm The Man Who Rode The Mule Around The World - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 3. Can I Sleep In Your Barn Tonight Mister - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 4. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Blues - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 5. Flyin' Clouds - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 6. Wild Horse - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 7. Forks Of Sandy - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 8. Mountain Reel - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 9. Good-Bye Booze - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 10. Monkey On A String - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 11. Too Young To Marry - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 12. Ragtime Annie - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 13. A Kiss Waltz - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 14. Leaving Home - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 15. Budded Rose - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 16. There'll Come A Time - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 17. White House Blues - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 18. The Highway Man - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 19. Hungry Hash House - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 20. If I Lose, I Don't Care - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers.
Tracks, Disc Two - Old & Only In The Way: 1. You Ain't Talkin' To Me - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 2. Coon From Tennessee - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 3. The Letter That Never Came - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 4. Take A Drink On Me - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 5. Falling By The Wayside - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 6. Sunset March - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 7. Don't Let Your Deal Go Down Medley - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 8. A Young Boy Left His Home One Day - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 9. My Wife Went Away And Left Me - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 10. Husband & Wife Were Angry One Night - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 11. Ramblin' Blues - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 12. Old And Only In The Way - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 13. Shootin' Creek - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 14. Baltimore Fire - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 15. Sweet Sunny South - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 16. He Rambled - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 17. Under The Double Eagle - The Highlanders; 18. Richmond Square - The Highlanders; 19. Flop Eared Mule - The Highlanders; 20. Lynchburg Town - The Highlanders.
Tracks, Disc Three - A Trip To New York: 1. Brave Engineer - Roy Harvey; 2. Dark Eyes - Roy Harvey; 3. Willie, Poor Boy - Roy Harvey; 4. When The Bees Are In The Hive - Roy Harvey; 5. Daisies Won't Tell - Roy Harvey; 6. The Wreck Of Virginian No. 3 - Roy Harvey; 7. I Cannot Call Her Mother - The North Carolina Ramblers; 8. Pearl Bryant - The North Carolina Ramblers; 9. Bill Mason - The North Carolina Ramblers; 10. Kitty Blye - The North Carolina Ramblers; 11. The Bluefield Murder - The North Carolina Ramblers; 12. I'll Be There, Mary Dear - The North Carolina Ramblers; 13. What Is Home Without Love - The North Carolina Ramblers; 14. As We Sat Beneath The Maple On The Hill - Posey Rorer; 15. San Antonio - Fred Newman (Roy Harvey); 16. What Is A Home Without Babies - Fred Newman (Roy Harvey); 17. A Trip To New York (Part 1) - Allegheny Highlanders; 18. A Trip To New York (Part 2) - Allegheny Highlanders; 19. A Trip To New York (Part 3) - Allegheny Highlanders; 20. A Trip To New York (Part 4) - Allegheny Highlanders.
Tracks, Disc Four - If The River Was Whiskey: 1. Just Pickin' - Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland; 2. Beckley Rag - Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland; 3. Underneath The Sugar Moon - Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland; 4. Lonesome Weary Blues - Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland; 5. Sweet Sixteen - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 6. My Gypsy Girl - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 7. The Only Girl I Ever Loved - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 8. Write A Letter To My Mother - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 9. If The River Was Whiskey - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 10. It's Moving Day - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 11. Southern Medley - Charlie Poole & Roy Harvey; 12. Honeysuckle - Charlie Poole & Roy Harvey; 13. Greasy Wagon - Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland; 14. Mother's Waltz - Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland; 15. Back To The Blue Ridge - Roy Harvey & Leonard Copeland; 16. Goodbye Sweet Liza Jane - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 17. Look Before You Leap - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 18. Just Keep Waiting Till The Good Times Come - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 19. Mother's Last Farewell Kiss - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers; 20. Where The Whippoorwill Is Whispering Good-Night - Charlie Poole & The North Carolina Ramblers.