Carter Sisters And Mother Maybelle With Chet Atkins

Recorded in 1949, this collection of tracks by the Carter Sisters -- with Chet Atkins -- is a wonderfully varied and raw series of songs that were performed live on the radio during the period. Atkins adds a great deal to the sound here, not only as a guitarist, but often as a singer as well. There are tunes such as "In the Pines" that the Carters recorded originally, but given the difference in style and sound that Atkins brings to the Sisters' signing, they have a different dimension to them here, a different kind of interior space. "In the Pines" is less dark than the version recorded with A.P. Carter, but it's still full of an almost dangerous yearning for the truth. The other twist on the Sisters' sound is that they picked up on Atkins' penchant for swing and the Andrews Sisters. The Carter Sisters were nowhere near as polished and slick, and their way of harmonizing was straight out of the backwoods church, but they could bring the pop swing into the Appalachians and do here on a number of cuts, most notably (and surprisingly) "My Confession." Some of the songs here, earthy as they are, still contain that element that made the Carter Family's music almost surreal. ~ Thom Jurek