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    Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949

    12/09/2008 | Bear Family 

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      DIM LIGHTS THICK SMOKE & HILLBILLY: 1949 / VARIOUS

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    All Music Guide Review

    Germany's Bear Family is well known for its stellar box set reissues of country, rock, and rhythm & blues recordings, as well as for single titles by deserving if not necessarily remembered American artists. Their mastering, production, and packaging set the industry standard for excellence. The six-volume Dim Lights, Thick Smoke series was released on CD in December of 2008 and covered the years 1945-1950, a strange and wonderful time in country music history born from of the end of the War Department's restrictions on shellac and the end of the recording ban, all near the end of the second world war. These discs all contain either 27 or 28 tracks, and are lavishly annotated with historical essays and track by track annotation by the esteemed Colin Escott, and contain with photographs of performers and record sleeves where available. The 1949 volume in the Bear Family's Dim Lights, Thick Smoke series is one of the strongest. Country music became a true hotbed of activity as the '40s ended, with labels both major and independent recording and manufacturing titles in record numbers. The music on this 28-track set offers a small example of the wealth that was flooding jukeboxes, small independent radio stations, and even ending up in record shops across the nation. Some of the selections here, such as "Ghost Riders in the Sky" by Vaughn Monroe, and Hank Williams' "Lovesick Blues" are equaled by those of Leon McAuliffe's "Panhandle Rag," Bill Nettles' "Hadacol Boogie," and Johnnie & Jack's "What About You." Leon Payne's brilliant,. "I Love You Because," and Tennessee Ernie Ford's "Mule Train" are here as well. None of these cuts are necessarily rare, but placed in sequence like this makes for an amazing mix reproduced in almost uniformly excellent sound quality. Highly recommended. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

    Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949 Track Listing

  • Track#
  • Title
  • Artist
  • time
  • lyrics
  • 1
  • Riders in the Sky
  • Monroe, Vaughn & His Orchestra
  • 3:03
  • Sound Clip for Riders in the Sky from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 2
  • Room Full of Roses
  • Sons Of The Pioneers
  • 3:07
  • Sound Clip for Room Full of Roses from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 3
  • I Wish I Had a Nickel
  • Wakely, Jimmy
  • 3:03
  • Sound Clip for I Wish I Had a Nickel from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 4
  • Lovesick Blues
  • Williams, Hank [1] & the Drifting Cowboys
  • 2:44
  • Sound Clip for Lovesick Blues from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 5
  • Then I Turned and Walked Slowly Away
  • Arnold, Eddy The Tennessee Plowboy And His Guitar
  • 2:57
  • Sound Clip for Then I Turned and Walked Slowly Away from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 6
  • Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait)
  • Dickens, Little Jimmy
  • 2:50
  • Sound Clip for Take an Old Cold Tater (And Wait) from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 7
  • Blues Stay Away from Me
  • Delmore Brothers
  • 2:49
  • Sound Clip for Blues Stay Away from Me from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 8
  • Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age
  • Wills, Bob And His Texas Playboys
  • 2:29
  • Sound Clip for Don't Be Ashamed of Your Age from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 9
  • Candy Kisses
  • Morgan, George [1]
  • 2:53
  • Sound Clip for Candy Kisses from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 10
  • Panhandle Rag
  • McAuliffe, Leon & His Western Swing Band
  • 2:49
  • Sound Clip for Panhandle Rag from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 11
  • Slippin' Around
  • Tillman, Floyd
  • 2:50
  • Sound Clip for Slippin' Around from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 12
  • Bonaparte's Retreat
  • King, Pee Wee & His Golden West Cowboys
  • 2:49
  • Sound Clip for Bonaparte's Retreat from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 13
  • Hadacol Boogie
  • Nettles, Bill & His Dixie Blue Boys
  • 2:51
  • Sound Clip for Hadacol Boogie from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 14
  • I Love You Because
  • Payne, Leon
  • 2:44
  • Sound Clip for I Love You Because from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 15
  • Whoa Sailor
  • Thompson, Hank & His Brazos Valley Boys
  • 2:20
  • Sound Clip for Whoa Sailor from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 16
  • Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello
  • Tubb, Ernest
  • 2:59
  • Sound Clip for Let's Say Goodbye Like We Said Hello from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 17
  • Why Don't You Haul off and Love Me
  • Raney, Wayne
  • 2:59
  • Sound Clip for Why Don't You Haul off and Love Me from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 18
  • Will You Be Satisfied That Way
  • Skinner, Jimmie
  • 2:42
  • Sound Clip for Will You Be Satisfied That Way from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 19
  • The Old Cross Road
  • Monroe, Bill [1] & His Bluegrass Boys
  • 2:44
  • Sound Clip for The Old Cross Road from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 20
  • What About You
  • Johnnie & Jack and the Tennessee Mountain Boys
  • 3:02
  • Sound Clip for What About You from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 21
  • The White Dove
  • Stanley Brothers & the Clinch Mountain Boys
  • 3:17
  • Sound Clip for The White Dove from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 22
  • Philadelphia Lawyer
  • Maddox Brothers & Rose
  • 3:15
  • Sound Clip for Philadelphia Lawyer from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 23
  • This Cold War with You
  • Tillman, Floyd
  • 2:52
  • Sound Clip for This Cold War with You from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 24
  • My Bucket's Got a Hole in It
  • Tyler, T. Texas
  • 3:00
  • Sound Clip for My Bucket's Got a Hole in It from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 25
  • I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
  • Williams, Hank [1] & the Drifting Cowboys
  • 2:46
  • Sound Clip for I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 26
  • Warm Red Wine
  • Wills, Bob And His Texas Playboys
  • 2:56
  • Sound Clip for Warm Red Wine from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 27
  • I'm Throwing Rice
  • Arnold, Eddy The Tennessee Plowboy And His Guitar
  • 2:40
  • Sound Clip for I'm Throwing Rice from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


  • 28
  • Mule Train
  • Ford, Tennessee Ernie
  • 3:02
  • Sound Clip for Mule Train from Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949


    • Credits of Dim Lights, Thick Smoke 1949

    • Dave Sax
    • Photography, Discography, Metal Transfers, Illustrations, Disc Transfers
    • Colin Escott
    • Liner Notes, Photography, Illustrations, Reissue Producer


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