The Stanley Brothers were a bluegrass duo comprising Carter and Ralph Stanley, both born in Virginia in the mid-1920s, who started performing professionally with their band The Cinch Mountain Boys in the immediate post-war years, taking their musical lead from Bill Monroe, and becoming a key strand of the burgeoning bluegrass genre of that era. 

This 58-track 2-CD collection comprises selected A and B sides on the Rich-R-Tone, Columbia and Mercury labels from these years, which include titles from their Columbia albums “The Stanley Brothers” and “The Angels Are Singing” and their Mercury albums “Country Pickin’ And Singin’” and “Hard Times”. 

This was a key formative era of their career, before they travelled abroad and became popular in Europe, although they career as a duo came to an end with Ralph’s premature death in 1966. 

This is an entertaining and enlightening showcase for two of the finest exponents of the bluegrass idiom.

CD 1
1. DEATH IS ONLY A DREAM The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 414) 1947 
2. I CAN TELL YOU THE TIME The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 414) 1947 
3. THE RAMBLER'S BLUES The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 418) 1948 
4. MOLLY AND TENBROOKS (THE RACEHORSE SONG) The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 418) 1948 
5. MOTHER NO LONGER AWAITS ME AT HOME The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 420) 1948 
6. THE GIRL BEHIND THE BAR The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 420) 1948 
7. LITTLE MAGGIE The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 423) 1948 
8. THE LITTLE GLASS OF WINE The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 423) 1948 
9. THE JEALOUS LOVER The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 435) 1948 
10. OUR DARLING'S GONE The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 435) 1948 
11. THE WHITE DOVE The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20577) 1949 
12. GATHERING FLOWERS FOR THE MASTER'S BOUQUET The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20577) 1949 
13. LET ME BE YOUR FRIEND The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20590) 1949 
14. VISION OF MOTHER The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20647) 1949 
15. HAVE YOU SOMEONE The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20647) 1949 
16. FIELDS HAVE TURNED BROWN The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20667) 1949 
17. THE OLD HOME The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20667) 1949 
18. TOO LATE TO CRY The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20697) 1949 
19. I LOVE NO ONE BUT YOU The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20697) 1949 
20. WE'LL BE SWEETHEARTS IN HEAVEN The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20735) 1950 
21. THE DRUNKARD'S HELL The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20735) 1950 
22. PRETTY POLLY The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20770) 1950 
23. THE LONESOME RIVER The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20816) 1950 
24. I AM A MAN OF CONSTANT SORROW The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20816) 1950 
25. THE WANDERING BOY The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20953) 1952 
26. SWEETEST LOVE The Stanley Brothers (Columbia 20953) 1952 
27. THE ANGELS ARE SINGING IN HEAVEN TONIGHT The Stanley Brothers (Harmony HL7377) 1952 
28. LITTLE GIRL AND THE DREADFUL SNAKE The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone 1055) 1952

CD 2
1. ARE YOU WAITING JUST FOR ME The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone ) 1952 
2. LITTLE BIRDIE The Stanley Brothers (Rich-R Tone ) 1952 
3. THE WEARY HEART YOU STOLE AWAY (WAKE UP, SWEETHEART The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70217) 1953 
4. I'M LONESOME WITHOUT YOU The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70217) 1953 
5. SAY WON'T YOU BE MINE The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70270) 1953 
6. OUR LAST GOODBYE The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70270) 1953 
7. I LONG TO SEE THE OLD FOLKS The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70340) 1953 
8. A VOICE FROM ON HIGH The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70340) 1953 
9. COULD YOU LOVE ME? The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70400) 1954 
10. POISON LIES The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70537) 1954 
11. DICKSON COUNTY BREAKDOWN The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70537) 1954 
12. BLUE MOON OF KENTUCKY The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70453) 1954 
13. I JUST GOT WISE The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70453) 1954 
14. HARBOUR OF LOVE The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70483) 1954 
15. HARD TIMES The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70546) 1954 
16. SO BLUE The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70612) 1955 
17. YOU'D BETTER GET IT RIGHT The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70612) 1955 
18. LONESOME AND BLUE The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70663) 1955 
19. ORANGE BLOSSOM SPECIAL The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70663) 1955 
20. I HEAR MY SAVIOR CALLING The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70718) 1955 
21. NOBODY'S LOVE IS LIKE MINE The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70789) 1956 
22. BIG TILDA The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70789) 1956 
23. SAY YOU'LL TAKE ME BACK The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 70886) 1956 
24. THE FLOOD The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 71064) 1956 
25. I'M LOST, I'LL NEVER FIND THE WAY The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 71064) 1956 
26. THE  CRY FROM THE CROSS The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 71135) 1957 
27. FLING DING The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 71207) 1957 
28. IF THAT'S THE WAY YOU FEEL The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 71258) 1958 
29. I'LL NEVER GROW TIRED OF YOU The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury 71302) 1958
30. CLINCH MOUNTAIN BLUES The Stanley Brothers and The Clinch Mountain Boys (Mercury MG20349)