The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers, issued by Columbia/Legacy in 1996, gathers all twenty-two sides Carter and Ralph Stanley cut for Columbia between 1949 and 1952, the sessions that produced “The White Dove,” “The Lonesome River,” “The Fields Have Turned Brown” and “Man of Constant Sorrow.” Recorded in Nashville under producer Don Law with sidemen including Pee Wee Lambert, Art Wooten, Lester Woodie and George Shuffler, the sides show the brothers moving from the Monroe-shaped trio sound of 1949 toward the mournful duet style that defined them. The set also includes material Columbia left unissued at the time, among them “Let’s Part the Best of Friends” from the final session of April 1952, first heard on Rounder’s Columbia Sessions reissues decades later.
Tracklist
- 1 A Vision of Mother alt version 3:22
- 2 The White Dove alt version 3
- 3 Gathering Flowers for the Master’s Bouquet alt version 2:29
- 4 Angels Are Singing (In Heaven Tonight) 3:02
- 5 It's Never Too Late To Start Over 2:30
- 6 Have You Someone in Heaven Awaiting alt version 2:56
- 7 Little Glass of Wine alt version 2:56
- 8 Let Me Be Your Friend (with The Clinch Mountain Boys) 2:42
- 9 We'll Be Sweethearts In Heaven 2:37
- 10 I Love No One But You 2:36
- 11 Too Late To Cry 2:57
- 12 The Old Home alt version 2:17
- 13 The Drunkard's Hell (with The Clinch Mountain Boys) 2:36
- 14 The Fields Have Turned Brown (with The Clinch Mountain Boys) - 78rpm Version 2:30
- 15 Hey! Hey! Hey! 2:41
- 16 The Lonesome River alt version 2:42
- 17 I’m a Man of Constant Sorrow alt version 2:55
- 18 Pretty Polly alt version 3:33
- 19 A Life Of Sorrow 2:42
- 20 Sweetest Love 2:21
- 21 Out in the Cold World alt version 3:10
- 22 Let’s Part the Best of Friends alt version 2:19
