Stanley Brothers and the Bluegrass Years : THE STANLEY BROTHERS: “The Complete Columbia Stanley Brothers” Columbia Legacy (****)

One of the best ways for singers to pay back the veteran artists who inspired them is to simply mention the artists in interviews.

Imagine all the country fans who have been turned on to the music of Lefty Frizzell over the years by Merle Haggard’s frequent references to him as the greatest of all country singers. The same for Emmylou Harris’ frequent comments about the inspiring work of Gram Parsons and the Louvin Brothers.

In that same spirit, Columbia Legacy Records must be hoping that all the critical enthusiasm for Nashville-based newcomer Gillian Welch translates into album sales, because Welch loves to talk about her admiration for the Stanley Brothers, whose seminal 1949-1952 recordings compose this 22-song retrospective.

Rather than the smooth country of Eddy Arnold or the honky-tonk stylings of Hank Williams, Carter and Ralph Stanley were influenced in the late ‘40s by the bluegrass recordings of Bill Monroe and the team of Flatt & Scruggs.

However, the brothers from the hills of southwest Virginia weren’t content to simply copy what they heard. As Charles K. Wolfe’s liner notes explain, they built on it, notably with a trio harmony consisting of a regular lead singer (Carter), a higher tenor (Ralph) and an even higher part (initially Pee Wee Lambert).

That haunting harmony underscored the timeless quality of Carter’s lonesome, mountain-flavored songs about search and salvation--a feel that is very much present in Welch’s excellent new “Revival” album.

After the Columbia years, the Stanley Brothers did distinguished work for other labels until Carter’s death in 1966. Ralph then set out on his own. It’s these tracks, however, on which the Stanleys’ country legacy remains based.

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