It’s not every day are you fortunate enough to have a labour of love falling on your doormat, but that was exactly how I felt when the postman handed a package containing this Jim & Jesse box set, which looks as though it contains 12” vinyl LPs but in fact contains 4 CDs. As I opened up the package memories drifted back to my early days in bands, playing lots of the Jim & Jesse cuts. In fact twenty years back just about everybody playing bluegrass had some Jim & Jesse songs in their repertoire.

The recordings of Jim & Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys were some of the first music I heard when I first became addicted to bluegrass over 30 years ago, and a lot of their earlier songs are amongst the best bluegrass music ever to be recorded.

The Author with Jim & Jesse - Wembley Arena 1979

The 4 CD’s contains over 100 songs and instrumentals picked out from various discs recorded, in the main, over a period from 1972 to 1993. There are also a few other tracks; mainly singles from earlier years. Though it’s not possible to go into great detail of every track, I can say that the standard of music throughout is good and just what you have come to be expected from this highly talented unit. Everybody’s favourites a here, such as Rocky Top and Log Cabin in the Lane. Slow ballads are in good supply with song like Your Old Love Letters. There are plenty of gospel numbers, including Little White Church and Heaven just to whet the appetite, and of course some of the instrumentals like Border Ride, which was written by and is always associated with Jim & Jesse McReynolds.

The trade mark of Jim & Jesse has always being the smooth blend of singing by brothers in complete harmony, that unique cross picking style developed by Jesse and the ability of always having some of the best talented musicians of the day on hand to play and produce just what is required on each song. All the trade marks are here - listen to the singing on When I Stop Dreaming and Ashes of Love, or the mandolin on I Wish You Were Here. The sleeve notes list all the band members on every track individually; it reads more like a Bluegrass “who’s who” list! I was glad to see that Jim Buchanan (fiddler on many of the classic earlier recordings with Allan Shelton on banjo) managed to get an airing on the last track Diesel Train which was recorded in 1962 and released originally as a single.

The box set comes complete with a large, beautifully-illustrated, 16 page brochure giving details of every single track on all 4 CD’s, a detailed account of the recording sessions with lots of historic notes and many photos and sleeve pictures from throughout this twenty year period. In all it is a superb package and something for the lucky owner to treasure for many years to come.

You can never knock projects like this: they tell a story of part of bluegrass history. In this case it is twenty years out of the long career of Jim & Jesse which started way back in the mid 1940’s. No written account can tell the story as well as this set of CD’s; after all, bluegrass music is music and like all music it needs listening to, over and over again. It’s only then that you will get some understanding of why, after all these years, audiences still flock to see Jim & Jesse McReynolds and The Virginia Boys.

Kevin Garratt, Leeds.

Free Offer! Everyone who buys a copy of the Jim & Jessee box set (see NWBN, May 1999) mentioning this mag. will get a FREE Bluegrass CD (Mike’s choice) until the end of July 1999! Always mention NWBN when you order or ask for a catalogue - Mike has special offers for readers!

1st May 1999