This four-CD set is a collection of the entire output of Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys during an astonishing three-year period in the early '70s. The albums collected here include the first appearance of Stanley's signature a cappella bluegrass-gospel, and feature the outstanding lead singing of the late Roy Lee Centers. The strong incarnation of the Clinch Mountain Boys features Curley Ray Cline on fiddle, Jack Cooke on bass, and Ricky Lee on lead guitar. Teenage Stanley disciples and future country stars Keith Whitley and Ricky Skaggs make their first recorded appearances here also, and Country Gentleman John Duffey stops by to max out the needles on the Stanley Brothers classic The Lonesome River. The band runs through straight bluegrass, gospel, old-time banjo songs, fiddle tunes, and Stanley Brothers classics, all with great confidence and style. Songs are pulled from multiple and diverse sources, including the Carter Family, old country, Bill Monroe, and even a beautiful Jesse Winchester song, "Brand New Tennessee Waltz." This set is for purists more than bluegrass neophytes, but no fan of Ralph Stanley or the Stanley Brothers should be without it. These albums broke new stylistic ground at a time when there was some concern whether Ralph Stanley could continue in the wake of Carter Stanley's death.
