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Recorded for Capitol Records between 1953 and 1955, the dozen tracks comprising The Great Roy Acuff (originally released in 1964) were intended as singles sides, and they show the King of Country Music working in diverse styles but staying true to his traditional acoustic approach. Never one to shy away from a good up-tempo song, Acuff comes roaring out of the gate with the fiddle-fired shuffle "Sunshine Special" (a "Wabash Cannonball" epilogue), before toning it down a tad on a mid-tempo heartbreaker, "Is It Love or Is It Lies," which features an ace solo from piano player Jimmy Riddle. Of course, sacred songs bring out the best in Acuff, as revealed on the unvarnished acoustic ballad "The Thief upon the Tree," the eerie "Oh Those Tombs," and the Acuff-penned "Little Moses." Even in the secular world, Acuff spans the emotional gamut, dishing out sheer angst on "Please Daddy Forgive," a plea from a son whose mother died during his birth, and expressions of love and devotion on the lovely ballad "I'm Planting a Rose." With the Smoky Mountain Boys in rare form and Acuff's singing as full-bodied and expressive as ever, these recordings are aging well indeed.
CONDITION:NEW Drilled Case
TRACK LISTING
1. Sunshine Special
2. Is It Love or Is It Lies
3. I Closed My Heart's Door
4. Don't Judge Your Neighbor
5. The Thief Upon the Tree
6. Rushing Around
7. Sweep Around Your Own Back Door
8. I'm Planting a Rose
9. Oh These Tombs
10. Swamp Lily
11. Please Daddy Forgive
12. Little Moses
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