| Tragic Songs of Life | ||||
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| Studio album by The Louvin Brothers | ||||
| Released | 1956 | |||
| Genre | Country | |||
| Length | 35:55 | |||
| Label | Capitol | |||
| Producer | Ken Nelson | |||
| The Louvin Brothers chronology | ||||
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| Alternative Cover | ||||
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Cover of the CD reissue.
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| Singles from Tragic Songs of Life | ||||
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Tragic Songs of Life is an album by American country music duo The Louvin Brothers, released in 1956. "Knoxville Girl" was released as a single three years later and reached number 19 on the Billboard Country Singles chart.[1]
Contents |
Having previously recorded one single for Apollo Records and a series of sides for Decca, the Louvin's signed with Capitol Records in 1952. They recorded over ten singles for Capitol, with the earliest all Gospel songs, before "When I Stop Dreaming" became their first secular release in 1955. Their Capitol album debut, Tragic Songs of Life is somewhat of a concept album, drawing heavily on artists they admired such as Bill Monroe, The Monroe Brothers, The Blue Sky Boys, and The Callahan Brothers.[2][3] The majority of the songs are tragic heartbreak and misfortune songs and classic murder ballads.
| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
| No Depression | (A)[2] |
Mark Deming stated in his Allmusic review "...this is a landmark of traditional country music that remains powerful more than fifty years after it was recorded."[1] Don Yates of No Depression magazine singled out the Louvins' version of “In The Pines” writing "It’s perhaps their most powerful rendering of traditional folk music’s bleak vision of a dark and forlorn land, where love is absent and death is the only certainty. It’s the centerpiece of what is arguably the Louvins' finest album."[2] The album is also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
Production notes: