Earlier this week I posted about the new Bear Family box set of Bill Monroe material. In an effort to clarify which Monroe albums are represented in the set, Richard Thompson did a little independent research.
Richard correctly concluded that tracks on the box set where taken from the following LPs.
- Master Of Bluegrass 1981
- Bill Monroe & Friends 1983
- Bill Monroe and Stars of the Bluegrass Hall Of Fame 1985
- Bluegrass ’87 1987
- Southern Flavor 1988
This, however, still doesn’t account for all the tracks in the box set. 10 tracks on the first CD in the set were unaccounted for as were the majority of tracks on the fourth CD in the set.
Noted bluegrass historian Neil Rosenberg was kind enough to pass along some information that clears up the mystery surrounding these tracks.
In addition to the albums listed by Richard Thompson, Bill’s last two MCA CDs, Live at the Opry and Crying Holy, are included. Also included is the contents of a live gospel concert done at Cathedral Caverns in Alabama in 1982. This was recorded by MCA for an album that was never released. In addition there are a few tracks from other sources. I don’t think any of them qualify as alternate takes.
So there you have it folks, as a complete a list of original source recordings as we’re going to get until the box set itself is released with the accompanying bio-discography.
This should be a collection any true Monroe fan would wish to own, especially with the inclusion of an entire, previously unreleased, live record. As stated previously, January 2007 is the planned release date and the box set is currently available for pre-order at Amazon.com for $132.49.
