Songs of love, or more specifically, disappointment in love, are a staple in
bluegrass
. These sad rural stories always find some young man in love with a married woman, a gal who doesn't love him, or a young girl who has gone to meet her maker.
Broken Hearts of Bluegrass
gathers 20 distressing songs on one disc from mostly first-generation players like
Don Reno
,
Mac Wiseman
, and
the Osborne Brothers
. There are a number of classic pieces like
"Little Maggie"
and
"Blue Moon of Kentucky,"
but these versions -- sung by
the Stonemans
Rose Lee Maphis
, respectively -- will not be the familiar ones of
the Stanley Brothers
Bill Monroe
. A different problem presents itself with
Jim & Jesse
' cuts. While these acts may be "legendary," it's unclear that
"These Brown Eyes"
"Kentucky Waltz"
were recorded during either groups' best years. It would be nice to know the origin of all of these tracks -- the album, year, and players. This information, since this is basically an introduction to older
, would've been helpful to the novice in his or her search for a particular artist's work. While
has several fine moments, one has the suspicion that the album was pieced together from easily obtainable tracks. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.