Up This Hill and Down from 1966 captures the Osborne Brothers in transition — a Decca release from the period just before Bobby and Sonny began incorporating the more commercially oriented production elements that would give them their biggest chart success with "Rocky Top" a few years later. The band's vocal arrangements, centered on Bobby's stratospheric high tenor, were already distinctive and influential, and the ensemble playing was tight and confident. The album draws on a mix of traditional bluegrass, original material, and country songs that characterized the Osbornes' mid-decade Decca work. It sits in the discography as a representative example of the band's sound before their stylistic evolution became fully pronounced — professional, musically accomplished, and rooted in bluegrass while clearly alert to the broader country market.
Tracklist
- 1 Yesterday’s Gone alt version 2:28
- 2 Footprints in the Snow alt version 2:20
- 3 Hey, hey, bartender 2:43
- 4 Big Spike Hammer alt version 2:26
- 5 Lonesome day 2:43
- 6 Faded Love alt version 3:03
- 7 Up This Hill and Down alt version 2:23
- 8 Making Plans alt version 2:40
- 9 I Know What it Means to Be Lonesome alt version 2:12
- 10 I'll be alright tomorrow 2:06
- 11 Sure-fire 2:24
- 12 In the Pines alt version 3:10
