Search - Roy Lanham, Whippoorwills :: Hard Life Blues

Music played best when music was played better

William Chelsey | Centerville, Ohio, USA | 11/16/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album takes you back to a time when musicians put everything into playing their individual instruments. Constantly competing against each other, these musicians gave it their all. Finely crafted tunes, that unforgetable atmosphere of days long gone, and foot-tapping fever abounds. This album features Roy Lanham at his best, backed by the excellent Whippoorwills (Gene MonBeck and all). Delve into your pockets and buy this compilation to be taken back to a time when music wasn't killed by modern day distractions. Ultimate heaven for the ears."

An interesting mix of styles...

Joe Sixpack -- Slipcue.com | ...in Middle America | 02/12/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Cool stuff. Although they dressed western, this was actually a solid 1950s pop-jazz vocals act, built around the sultry, girl-next-door vocals of Juanita Vastine (aka Sweet Georgia Brown) and the dynamic, lightning-fast guitar work of Roy Lanham. Clearly influenced by Les Paul and Mary Ford, as well as by hotshot pickers such Speedy West and Jimmy Bryant, Lanham's outfit played solid, flawless pop material. They also reached into sleek group vocals reminiscent of wartime ensembles like the Pied Pipers and Mills Brothers. This is really a remarkable disc, collecting over thirty transcription disc tracks by this little-known group. Lanham himself was a popular and highly sought-after session picker, working with Merle Travis, Hank Penny and Roy Rogers, and even had cut a few tunes with Frank Sinatra and various obscure rockabilly artists. In the early '60s, he eventually signed on with a later edition of the Sons Of The Pioneers -- a steady paying gig that subsumed the brilliant guitar work heard on these tracks. Great material -- well worth checking out!"