Down-Home, Up-on-the-Mountain, Flat-Picking Good

This 4-disc box set documents much of what Doc Watson recorded for Vanguard. It begins with his appearances at ’63 and ’64 Newport Folk Festival, and ends in the early 70s. With his vast knowledge of traditional music and personable attitudes, he became one the guitars most influential artists. What is amazing, is that he had just started his recording career.

Arthel “Doc” Watson was born in 1923 in Deep Gap, North Carolina. As a child, he developed a disease which effected the bloodflow to his eyes. The resulting blindness caused him to focus much of his senses toward sound. The harmonica, banjo, autoharp, and later, the guitar would all receive his light touch and musical sensibilities.

Nearly 40 years later, during the “Folk Revival”, Doc came into the limelight. He demonstrated such skill and virtuosity that even the great Bill Monroe considered it a privilege to play onstage with him.
The set also includes old fashion rounds and spirituals in small group (including son, Merle), solo, and family settings. It is a virtual treasure trove of beautiful and stark messages played by one of the most authentic musicians ever to record music.

Folk. Country. Bluegrass. Old-Timey. Mountain. Call it what you want, but I’ll tell you what, every song that Doc plays becomes uniquely his. Get this set and they can be partly yours, too. (The “Essential” series on Vanguard pulls its material from these tracks. You could just get that one to initiate yourself, or just go ahead and bite the bullet for the whole shebang). If you’ve collected the original vinyl, you should note that disc four of this set is devoted to previously unissued live folk recordings with Merle (his son).

Essentially, this set represents the initial offerings from a guitarist who had already developed his craft (Stevie Ray Vaughn was the same, that's why his first recordings are so strong). The music is traditional mountain music, sparse in it's accompaniment. Themes include love, death, spirituality, much what you'd expect. The honesty that Doc brings to the music is unique onto himself

At nearly 80, Doc is still recording and touring. His entire catalog has virtue, but it seams that these recording from the sixties have the most “life”. I recently saw a listing (@ musictoday.com) that showed him touring the East Coast over the next several months (as of this posting in Aug 2000). If you’re in the area, do not miss the opportunity to see him play !

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Tracklist

1. Rambling Hobo (Traditional) - :54
2. Train That Carried My Girl From Town (Traditional) - 2:00
3. The Coo Coo - 2:43
4. Reuben's Train (Traditional) - 2:25
5. Hick's Farewell (Traditional) - 3:30
6. Grandfather's Clock (Traditional) - 1:23
7. Beaumont Rag (Traditional) - 1:40
8. Farewell Blues (Traditional) - 1:45
9. Footprints In The Snow (Jones) - 2:00
10. Intoxicated Rat (Dixon/Mainer) - 2:29
11. Talk About Suffering (Traditional) - 2:44
12. Omie Wise (Traditional) - 4:25
13. Country Blues - 3:29
14. Black Mountain Rag (Traditional) - 1:28
15. Doc's Guitar (Watson) - 1:14
16. Deep River Blues (Traditional) - 3:08
17. Muskrat (Traditional) - 2:51
18. Dream Of The Miner's Child (Jenkins) - 2:44
19. Rising Sun Blues (Traditional) - 4:14
20. Otto Wood the Bandit (Traditional) - 3:14
21. Little Sadie (Traditional) - 1:58
22. Windy and Warm (Loudermilk) - 2:12
23. Tennessee Stud (Driftwood) - 3:35
24. Blue Railroad Train (Delmore) - 2:42
25. Down In The Valley To Pray (Traditional) - 1:59
26. Dill Pickle Rag (Traditional) - 1:22
27. The F.F.V. (Watson/Watson) - 4:00
28. Childhood Play (Karnes) - 1:56
29. Streamline Cannonball (Acuff) - 2:24
30. Old Camp Meeting Time (Traditional) - 2:47
31. I'm Thinking Tonight Of My Blue Eyes (Carter) - 3:24
32. The Girl In The Blue Velvet Band (Carlisle/Foree) - 3:20
33. New River Train (Traditional) - 3:06
34. Rank Stranger (Traditional) - 2:50
35. Corrina Corrina (Traditional) - 2:22
36. What Does the Deep Sea Say (Monroe) - 3:11
37. There's More Pretty Girls Than One (Delmore/Smith) - 2:53
38. Way Downtown (Traditional) - 2:20
39. Brown's Ferry Blues (Delmore/Delmore) - 2:35
40. Spike Driver Blues (Hurt) - 2:25
41. Roll on Buddy (Bowman) - 2:09
42. I Am a Pilgrim (Traditional) - 2:14
43. Wabash Cannonball (Carter) - 3:02
44. Roll In My Sweet Baby's Arms (Traditional) - 2:49
45. The Lawson Familly Murder (Smith) - 2:35
46. The Cuckoo (Traditional) - 2:45
47. Alabama Bound (Traditional) - 2:45
48. Bye Bye Bluebells (Travis) - 3:31
49. Kinfolks In Carolina (Travis) - 2:48
50. San Antonio Rose (Wills) - 3:06
51. Blow Your Whistle Freight Train (Delmore/Delmore) - 2:32
52. Cannonball Rag (Travis) - 2:09
53. I Am A Pilgrim (Travis) - 2:51
54. Arrangement Blues (Traditional) - 4:09
55. I Got A Pig At Home In The Pen - 2:06
56. My Rough And Rowdy Ways (McWilliams/Rodgers) - 2:34
57. Deep River Blues (Traditional) - 2:59
58. Banks Of The Ohio (Carter) - 4:01
59. A-Roving On A Winter's Night (Watson) - 3:47
60. Southbound (Watson) - 2:55
61. Memphis Blues (Handy/Norton) - 3:09
62. Salt Creek/ Bill Cheatham (Traditional) - 2:39
63. Brown's Ferry Blues (Delmore/Delmore) - 3:01
64. Windy And Warm (Loudermilk) - 2:17