Rounding out the collection

Thanks to Bluegrass Today for the news that Rounder Records are celebrating forty-five years in business by re-releasing a mass of outstanding music from their back catalogue on twenty-one albums in the form of digital downloads.

These releases extend further back in bluegrass history than Rounder's own foundation, as they include the reissue album of the Stanley Brothers' earliest 78 rpm recordings (1947-1952) on the Rich-R-Tone label. John Lawless of Bluegrass Today writes:

Some of these reissues are compilations, which make for an easy way to grab a representative sampling of an artist’s work, while the others are essential parts of any serious bluegrass record library. It’s hard to imagine leaving any of them off your list.

A further batch of re-releases is scheduled for August. Meanwhile, the Rounder website offers a free download of fifteen favourite tracks (not from this batch) as part of the celebration.