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The Singing Brakeman

Jimmie Rodgers - The Singing Brakeman Audio CD

A fair review of the Jimmie Rodgers "The Singing Brakeman" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Jimmie Rodgers reviews here, or go back to the Jimmie Rodgers tabs.

Band: Jimmie Rodgers
Title: The Singing Brakeman
Rating:

Release Date: 1999-12-25
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Soldier's Sweetheart (Rodgers) 2: Sleep, Baby, Sleep (Public Domain) 3: Ben Dewberry's Final Run (Jenkins) 4: Mother Was a Lady (Marks/Stern) 5: Blue Yodel (Rodgers) 6: Away out on the Mountain (Harrell) 7: Dear Old Sunny South by the Sea (Cozzens/Rodgers) 8: Treasures Untold (Cozzens/Rodgers) 9: Brakeman's Blues (Rodgers) 10: Sailor's Plea (McWilliams/Rodgers) 11: In the Jailhouse Now (Rodgers) 12: Blue Yodel #2 (Rodgers) 13: Memphis Yodel (Rodgers) 14: Blue Yodel #3 (Rodgers) 15: My Old Pal (McWilliams/Rodgers) 16: Mississippi Moon (McWilliams/Rodgers) 17: My Little Old Home Down in New Orleans (Rodgers) 18: You and My Old Guitar (McWilliams/Rodgers) 19: Daddy and Home (McWilliams/Rodgers) 20: My Little Lady (McWilliams/Rodgers) 21: I'm Lonely and Blue (McWilliams/Rodgers) 22: Lullaby Yodel (McWilliams/Rodgers) 23: Never No Mo' Blues (McWilliams/Rodgers) 24: My Carolina Sunshine Girl (Rodgers) 25: Blue Yodel #4 (Rodgers) 26: Waiting for a Train (Rodgers) 27: I'm Lonely and Blue (McWilliams/Rodgers) 28: Desert Blues (Rodgers) 29: Any Old Time (Rodgers) 30: Blue Yodel #5 (Rodgers) 31: High Powered Mama (Rodgers) 32: I'm Sorry We Met (Rodgers) 33: Everybody Does It in Hawaii (McWilliams/Rodgers) 34: Tuck Away My Lonesome Blues (Kaipo/McWilliams/Rodgers) 35: Train Whistle Blues (Rodgers) 36: Jimmie's Texas Blues (Rodgers) 37: Frankie and Johnny 38: Frankie and Johnny 39: Homecall (McWilliams/Rodgers) 40: Homecall (McWilliams/Rodgers) 41: Whisper Your Mother's Name (Rodgers) 42: Land of My Boyhood Dreams (Rodgers) 43: Land of My Boyhood Dreams (Rodgers) 44: Blue Yodel #6 (Rodgers) 45: Yodeling Cowboy (McWilliams/Rodgers) 46: My Rough and Rowdy Ways (McWilliams/Rodgers) 47: I've Ranged, I've Roamed, I've Traveled (McWilliams/Rodgers) 48: I've Ranged, I've Roamed, I've Traveled (McWilliams/Rodgers) 49: Hobo Bill's Last Ride (ONeal) 50: Mississippi River Blues (Rodgers) 51: Mississippi River Blues (Rodgers) 52: Nobody Knows But Me (McWilliams/Rodgers) 53: Anniversary Blue Yodel (McWilliams/Rodgers) 54: Anniversary Blue Yodel (McWilliams/Rodgers) 55: She Was Happy Til She Met You (McWilliams/Rodgers) 56: Blue Yodel #11 (Rodgers) 57: Blue Yodel #11 (Rodgers) 58: Drunkard's Child (Jenkins/Rodgers) 59: That's Why I'm Blue (McWilliams/Rodgers) 60: Why Did You Give Me Your Love (Rodgers) 61: Why Did You Give Me Your Love (Rodgers) 62: My Blue Eyed Jane (Rodgers/White) 63: Why Should I Be Lonely (Lovell/Rodgers) 64: Moonlight and Skies (Hall/Rodgers) 65: Pistol Packin' Papa (O'Neal/Rodgers) 66: Take Me Back Again (Hall/Rodgers) 67: Those Gambler's Blues 68: I'm Lonesome Too (Rodgers) 69: One Rose (McIntire) 70: For the Sake of Days Gone By (Rodgers/White) 71: Jimmie's Mean Mama Blues (O'Neal/Sawyer) 72: Mystery of Number Five (Rodgers) 73: Blue Yodel #8 (Rodgers) 74: In the Jailhouse Now #2 (Rodgers) 75: Blue Yodel #9 (Rodgers) 76: T.B. Blues (Hall/Rodgers) 77: T.B. Blues (Hall/Rodgers) 78: Travellin Blues (Alley/Rodgers) 79: Travelin Blues (Alley/Rodgers) 80: Travelin Blues (Alley/Rodgers) 81: Jimmie the Kid (Neville/Rodgers) 82: Jimme the Kid (Neville/Rodgers) 83: Why There's a Tear in My Eye (Carter) 84: Wonderful City (McWilliams/Rodgers) 85: Let Me Be Your Sidetrack (Rodgers) 86: Let Me Be Your Sidetrack (Rodgers) 87: Let Me Be Your Sidetrack (Rodgers) 88: Jimmie Rodgers Visits the Carter Family (Rodgers) 89: Carter Family & Jimmie Rodgers in Texas (Rodgers) 90: When the Cactus Is in Bloom (Rodgers) 91: Gambling Polka Dot Blues (Hall/Rodgers) 92: Looking for a New Mama (Rodgers) 93: Looking for a New Mama (Rodgers) 94: What's It? (Neville/Rodgers) 95: My Good Gal's Gone (Rodgers) 96: My Good Gal's Gone (Rodgers) 97: Southern Cannonball (Hall/Rodgers) 98: Roll Along Kentucky Moon (Halley) 99: Roll Along Kentucky Moon (Halley) 100: Hobo's Meditation (Rodgers) 101: Hobo's Meditation (Rodgers) 102: My Time Ain't Long (O'Neal/Rodgers) 103: Ninety Nine Year Blues (Hall/Rodgers) 104: Mississippi Moon (McWilliams/Rodgers) 105: Missisippi Moon (McWilliams/Rodgers) 106: Down the Old Road to Home (Rodgers/Rodgers) 107: Blue Yodel #10 (Rodgers) 108: Home Call (McWilliams/Rodgers) 109: Mother the Queen of My Heart (Bryant/Rodgers) 110: Rock All My Babies to Sleep 111: Whippin' That Old T.B. (Rodgers) 112: Whippin' That Old T.B. (Rodgers) 113: No Hard Times (Rodgers) 114: No Hard Times (Rodgers) 115: Long Tall Mama Blues (Rodgers) 116: Peach Picking Time Down in Georgia (McMichen/Rodgers) 117: Gambling Bar Room Blues (Alley/Rodgers) 118: I've Only Loved Three Women (Harvey/Rodgers) 119: In the Hills of Tennessee (Lewis/Schuster) 120: Prairie Lullaby (Brown/Rodgers) 121: Miss the Mississippi and You (Halley) 122: Sweet Mama Hurry Home (Neville) 123: Blue Yodel #12 (Rodgers) 124: Dreaming with Tears in My Eyes (O'Neal/Rodgers) 125: Cowhand's Last Ride (Hitt/Rodgers) 126: I'm Free from the Chain Gang Now (Herscher/Klein) 127: Dreaming with Tears in My Eyes (O'Neal/Rodgers) 128: Yodeling My Way Back Home (Rodgers) 129: Jimmie Rodger's Last Blue Yodel (Rodgers) 130: Yodeling Ranger (Hall/Rodgers) 131: Old Pal of My Heart (Mason/Rodgers) 132: Old Love Letters (Butcher/Herscher/Rodgers) 133: Mississippidelta Blues (Neville/Rodgers) 134: Somewhere Below the Mason Dixon Line (Rodgers/Ryan) 135: Years Ago (Herscher/Richards/Rodgers) 136: Singing Brakeman 137: Pullman Porters 138: In the Jailhouse Now #2 (Rodgers) 139: Mule Skinner Blues (Rodgers) 140: Peach Picking Time Down in Georgia (McMichen/Rodgers) 141: Mother, the Queen of My Heart (Bryant/Rodgers) 142: Never No Mo' Blues (McWilliams/Rodgers) 143: Blue Yodel #1 (Rodgers) 144: Daddy and Home (Rodgers) 145: Memphis Yodel (Rodgers)

Appalingly overpriced, but unquestionably the definitive Jimmie Rodgers collection
$30 a disc for a six-disc set is simply absurd and justifiable. I do not own this album and frankly I couldn't afford this under any circumstances. Many reviewers state that it is worth it nonetheless. I doubt it. If someone has more money than they know what to do with then perhaps it is "worth it," but in my world I can't justify this much money for any set of CDs, especially when you get only six. I won two other collections of Jimmie Rodgers, neither as good as this, but luckily I have a friend who has an extensive collection of "roots" music and owns not merely this but just about any other major collection available (including complete sets of Hank Williams and Ernest Tubb and Bob Wills). But in borrowing this and listening to it intently I have absolutely no doubts that this is far and away the best Jimmie Rodgers collection, with no serious competition. Whether or not this set is economically "worth it," there is no question about the musical value of it.

There is a competitor set, RECORDINGS 1927-1933, but the sound quality of that set is appreciably less. THE SINGING BRAKEMAN has all of Rodgers's recordings, but its real value lies in the resonance and clarity of the recordings. There is also a fine booklet. But it comes at a very high price.

I want to disagree passionately with the other reviewers who feel that the songs on this set either get tiring or that they are too long. I find that every disc stands up marvelously to relistenings. What is more, I find it astonishing at how few weak cuts there are on the set. Even Rodgers's very first cuts were decent. The majority are excellent, and more than a handful were superb. And there is more diversity than the previous reviewers would lead you to believe. Although a large number of them are solo performances with him playing only guitar, a large number feature a wide variety of accompaniments. The most famous is, of course, "Standing on the Corner," recorded in Hollywood with Louis Armstrong playing the trumpet as only he could. Many of the other cuts feature weak or average players, but there are the occasional cuts with exceptionally fine players. But in everyone Rodgers dominates.

While there are very few weak musical cuts, because this is a complete set, there is the intensely horrifying "The Pullman Porters," in which two white men, one of them sadly Jimmie Rodgers, parody black Pullman Porters. Even when factoring in that it was humor that was typical of the age, it hardly excuses Rodgers for engaging in painfully racist humor. And "racist" is absolutely the correct word. Most accusations of racism these days involve incidents that can usually be debated. But this comedic skit is vastly more offensive than Michael Richards's celebrated tirade. It isn't just Rodgers mimicking African-Americans or the loose use of the N-word, but the way that the porters, especially the porter that Rodgers is talking to, are presented as complete and abject idiots. The skit is also extremely embarrassing to whites. It pains me that whites might have found this funny. This skit reflects very, very badly on the whites of the period.

Speaking of whites of the period, one thing that I often thing about in listening to Rodgers is my grandfather. After being mustered out of the Army in 1918 at the end of the Great War, my grandfather (who was a photographer for the army) began working for the U. S. Post Office. Specifically, he worked on mail trains. As far as I can tell, he mainly worked runs into Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana from 1919 through the late 1920s. Rodgers finished working on the railroads around 1923 or 1924. There is absolutely no way of telling for sure, but it doesn't seem unlikely that Rodgers and my grandfather might have been on a run together at some point. They certainly inhabited the same worlds. What is more, my grandfather was a fiddle player. It would have been so sweet if my grandfather and Rodgers had had a talk about music. I don't know if they ever met or were even on the same trains, but it certainly isn't impossible.

Of the three Jimmie Rodgers's collections with which I am familiar, I am not sure which I would most recommend. RECORDINGS 1927-33 is nearly as complete as this and can be had for a sixth of the cost, but it definitely is not of the same quality as THE SINGING BRAKEMAN. On the other hand, THE SINGING BRAKEMAN is so absurdly expensive! There is a significant difference in sound quality, but even more of a difference in price. THE ESSENTIAL JIMMIE RODGERS has exceptionally fine sound quality, but it leaves off way, way too many of Rodgers's most important recordings. It lacks such important gems as "Standing on the Corner" (the collaboration with Louis Armstrong), "Home Call," "Peach Picking Time in Georgia," "Long Tall Mama Blues," and "Jimmie's Mean Mama Blues," along with many others. In short, there is no easy recommendation about which direction to go in getting the right Jimmie Rodgers collection. THE ESSENTIAL is too small, 1927-33 is too inferior, and THE SINGING BRAKEMAN is too expensive. But right now, those are our choices.

Jimmy Rogers
He plays it to everyone he knows. I acutally purchased this Jimmy Roger's "The Singing Brakeman" for a friend. I can't get him to shut up about it.

Don.

Nothing further is needed
Some of the alternate takes alone make this more worthwhile than a less comprehensive set, especially the February 5, 1932, take of "Mississippi Moon. I would recommend this set for any discriminating Jimmie Rodgers enthusiast. " Also, the fidelity of the August 1932 and May 1933 records is fully captured, and reveals a different timbre to Rodgers' voice. My only slight complaint would be that the same source material from the Rounder set was used here, especially disappointing on "Home Call" (February 1932); "No Hard Times" (August 1932); and "The One Rose" (July 1930). I fully realize that these discs are hard to find, but surely such a project could command optimal discs, as it does for most of the set.
If you want to move on up from your Rounder set, or if you simply wish to have it all--buy this by all means.
.

Complete Recordings of "The Father of Country Music"
Jimmie Rodgers, long known as "the father of country music" was the first and the best of the early country crooners. This 6-disc set from the Bear Family is a must for any lover of classic country.

The tracks with the Carter Family are amazing - reportedly, Rodgers was too weak to play the guitar and Maybelle Carter played for him, imitating his guitar style perfectly. The overdub tracks are superfluous as far as I'm concerned, but a nice inclusion, nonetheless.

The track with Louis Armstrong and his wife Lillian is amazing for the historical meeting of two legends in two genres - the status of Jimmie Rodgers in the world of country is about equal to that of Louis Armstrong in jazz. For some reason I could never quite figure, many jazz aficionados pretend to be above listening to country, and many country music fans look down on jazz. I say good music is good music; good and bad musicians can be found in all musical genres, and I am always delighted when I find records that cross "taboo" boundaries, musically speaking.

I received this set for Christmas in 1996, and have been playing it to death ever since. The price has come down a bit, and I believe the set is now a real bargain, considering the huge slice of country history this boxed album has to offer.

Anyone who fell in love with the soundtrack to "O Brother Where Art Thou" should acquire this taste of real old-timey joy. One of the highlights of that film was Jimmie Rodgers song, "In the Jailhouse Now" and this set contains not one but two different versions of it, both written by the inimitable Jimmie Rodgers.

The oversized book has dozens of photos, complete track and musician listings, and a very well written brief bio of Mr. Rodgers.

And the music! Just a few of my favorites include Blue Yodel #2, My Carolina Sunshine Girl, Waiting For A Train, Any Old Time, Frankie and Johnny, My Rough and Rowdy Ways, My Blue Eyed Jane, Why There's a Tear In My Eye, Peach Pickin' Time In Georgia, Mother Was a Lady and Mississippi Delta Blues. These songs are sure to delight anyone with ears for real country. Turn up the volume a little and let his wonderful sound fill your living room.
.

Pricey, but all 111 songs plus overdubs and alternates
d. I believe the previous reviewer, who gave this set a one-star rating, must have been listening to the last c. in this set. In 1955, at Hank Snow's behest, and as a result of MGM's overdubbing of Hank Williams' demos, RCA overdubbed eight of Rodgers' tunes with a country band. Actually, they're good, and I wish several dozen had been overdubbed. Otherwise, all of Rodgers' historical recordings have been faithfully preserved.

This is a great set, but, unless you're a Jimmie Rodgers fanatic (as I am am with Hank Williams), you probably will not need all of the alternate takes that have been included here. Rodgers recorded 111 original songs during his career, but, with the alternate takes and the eight overdubs, Bear has stretched the number to about 150.

The blue yodels are dated and grate on your nerves after awhile, but there's plenty more great stuff to listen to: "Gamblin' Polka Dot Blues," "My Blue-Eyed Jane," "In the Hills of Tennessee," "Roll Along, Kentucky Moon," etc.

Unfortunately for Bear Records, the 5-c. d. set, "Jimmie Rodgers 1927-1933," is now available for about $25 and has all but one of Rodgers' original songs (they apparently forgot "My Time Ain't Long"). If you could get a used Bear set for $69-79 (dream on!), jump at it. Otherwise, go for the $25 set. But do something, for you need Rodgers in your collection. This guy had the impact on country music that Frank Sinatra had on popular music. Both were giants!.

You can see a complete list of all Jimmie Rodgers discography, or go back to the Jimmie Rodgers tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.