To celebrate Record Store Day on April 16th, 2016, Rounder Records has produced a limited quantity of their classic J.D. Crowe & the New South album (ROU 0044) from 1975 on vinyl.
This special reprint includes all the original tracks, plus the two bonus tracks added to recent CD copies, plus extensive new liner notes taken from interviews with the band members. To complete the vintage vibe, they will also use the original cover, famous for Crowe’s expressive hand gesture.
This is the album that introduced the substantial talents of Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, and Jerry Douglas to the wider bluegrass world. Though Skaggs had been working with Ralph Stanley for several years, and Rice with Bluegrass Alliance, they were not yet well known in our music, except to the most observant followers. Douglas was only 18 years old when the album was recorded, and had barely played with the band when they went into the studio.
The track list reads today like a greatest hits of contemporary bluegrass, featuring the first New South recordings of Old Home Place, Some Old Day, 10 Degrees and Colder, Cryin’ Holy, Home Sweet Home Revisited and several others.
0044 also helped put Rounder Records on the map. The small independent label was just five years old at the time, after having been founded by a trio of college friends near Boston, MA in 1970.
The ROU 0044 LP will only be offered through record stores, starting on Record Store Day. A list of participating retailers can be found online.
Original copies of this LP are among the most prized possessions for bluegrass fans lucky enough to own one, with unopened copies at the top of the list. This reissue is likely to obtain that same status. Be sure to buy one to play, and one to put up in a safe place.
