Hillbilly Hotshots Vol 2

Various Artistes

MRCD002

With the encouraging success of the first release of vintage recordings on CD, Rare and Authentic Songs Vol 1, radio presenter Brian Chalker, Brian Healy (Magnet Publishing Ltd) and Dave Barnes of the British Archive Of Country Music have released Hillbilly Hotshots, the second of six planned CDs of country music reaching back to the 30s and 40s. There has been very little ‘tweaking’ to enhance the tracks and you find the recording very much as they were on the original 78 rpm record. The liner notes state “The concise Oxford Dictionary defines hillbilly as:- ‘rustic person from mountains etc., Folk Music (as) of Southern U.S.’ Hillbilly music as we perceive it today possesses notable characteristics which set it aside  from modern mainstream country, namely hoedown-style fiddle playing  and nasal singing. Throughout the 1030’s and ‘40’s, however, all styles of country music were dubbed ‘hillbilly’.

25 tracks are contained here complete with the original crackle of the needle running on 78rpm bakelite. Names that may be a distant memory to some or have just drifted into insignificance include Bob Eaton & The Lone Star Playboys who open this offering with ‘Texas Song’ comprising of fiery twin fiddles, honky tonk like piano and thrilling steel guitar. ‘Broomstick Buckaroo’ from Ozie Water and his strong vocals backed by The Plainsmen and The West Coast Ranch Hands, conjures up a sentimental vision of a knee high cowboy who finds it is time to hit the hay at the end of a long day. Jack Pierce & The Oklahoma Playboys bring us a little cowboy music with ‘My Home on the Western Plains’.

There is also a contribution from New Zealander Tex Morton who offers a little yodelling on ‘Your Going To Leave The Old Home, Jim’ and a little comedy comes in the form of The Colt Brothers with The Rex Cole Mountaineers and ‘11 More Months & 10 More Days’ (part 1 and part 2). Other names to be found on Hillbilly Hotshots include, Buddy Jones, The Tune Wranglers and The Cass County Boys who included Fred Martin, Jerry Scoggins and Bert Dodson who worked with Gene Autry. Here you will find the Cass County Boys version of  ‘Boogie Woogie Cowboy’ a song usually associated with Tex Ritter who recorded it in 1950.

Hillbilly Hotshots takes us back to the days of the sagebrush troubadours, who were singing honky tonk before honky tonk was born. This is old style country music in it’s purest form, possibly not to be found on any other format. Highly recommended for the discerning country music fan.