Grandpa Jones - Grandpa Jones Remembers The Brown's Ferry Four (1966/2016) [Hi-Res]

In late 1965, Grandpa Jones proposed a tribute album to the Brown's Ferry Four, the gospel group with which he'd achieved success in the mid-'40s. With his fellow Brown's Ferry Four alumnus Merle Travis aboard and Ramona Jones in superb voice, he restored the best parts of their out of print King Records repertoire to the catalog. The year 1966, in retrospect, didn't seem tailor-made for a revival of 1940s white gospel music, but the album was Jones' most successful in three years -- its honesty and beauty overcame any sense of datedness and, indeed, the sheer simplicity of the record (which was done exactly the way it would've been done in 1945, but with better fidelity) made it stand out from the commercialized country music of the period. From "I'll Meet You in the Morning" and "On the Jericho Road" to "No Tears in Heaven," the 11 songs were cut in a single day's sessions and are among the highlights of Jones' vast catalog -- the rippling, virtuoso "Keep on the Firing Line," featuring an extraordinary performance by Red Rector, is worth the price of the album. ~ Bruce Eder