Tragic Songs of Life

Boring af

If someone was completely unfamiliar with classic country, showing them this would certainly serve as a fair introduction to the genre. Too bad that, as with most country, the majority of songs are bland and toothless. Only when 'Knoxville Girl' kicks in does the album succeed in engaging the listener. And even though the final 4 tracks are solid, the extremely slow beginning is difficult to shake.

A series of charming murder ballads by the brother duo perhaps best known for their amazing cover to their Satan Is Real album. The harmonizing has become iconic but the whole vibe of this albums becomes one-sided rather quickly as the Louvin Brothers reveal that their tricks, effective as they might be, are not that diverse and many.

Uit de 1001 albums die je gehoord moet hebben om te weten hoe de Amerikaanse muziek had geklonken als Elvis niet zijn kont tegen de krib had gegooid en er verder niet geluisterd was naar de inbreng van de zwarte muzikanten. Mierzoete, schoongeschrobde cowboydeuntjes met klagerige uithalen voor bij een keurig kampvuur in onberispelijke cowboykledij. Had er voor mij niet in gehoeven.

"Ben jij ook in het baggerdurp geboo-hooren?". Een soort Pretenders dit uit ver vervlogen tijden. Stukken beter om aan te horen dan dat album van Van the Man overigens. In the Pines kennen we natuurlijk allemaal in een andere unplugged versie.

Er is vrij weinig afwisseling te ontdekken. Elk nummer begint met een Grieks klinkend intro(tje) op de mandoline wat dan overloopt in een hoempapa tweestemmige klaagzang over mannen die overlijden op het slagveld en vrouwen die in de rivier worden geflikkerd. De getekend-door-het-leven small-town-america oudooms van Nick en Simon. Tussen de 2 en 3 sterren. Leuk om een keer gehad te hebben vanwege het hoge CKV gehalte, maar dit ga je niet zomaar draaien in je vrije tijd. Te oud.

I made it through about 15 minutes. I'm sure it was pretty good for it's time - it didn't resonate with me.

old tbh didn’t listen to a lot of it. wasn’t havin it today

It's interesting to have The Louvin Brothers the  same week we had the Flying Burrito Brothers since the Flying BB's were clearly influenced by The Louvin Brothers. The Burritos fused the Louvin's country twang with rock and bluegrass and the result was quite good. The stripped down sound that the Louvins had badly needed that hippie shit added to it. This album is also of interest in that it shows how country music was tied to Christianity back in the day. Johnny Cash was doing the same in the mid / late 1950s and was probably influenced by The Louvins. If I compare The Louvins and The Flying Burrito Brothers, one similarity is that I like the many bands that both groups influenced. One contrast is that there were actually blood relatives in The Louvin Brothers  but a more relevant contrast is that The Louvins twang is really hard to listen to. 

The template is very much set on the first track. It's an appealing sound; lean arrangements overlaid with tight harmony singing. The high, keening singing wraps everything in a veil of melancholy. The problem? There's virtually no variation in this approach. It became hard to differentiate tracks. Being generous you could say that the album sustains a particular atmosphere for its duration. The only songs that left an impression were 'Kentucky' and 'Alabama'. Everything else evaporated into the air.

Det är säkert bättre en vissa som jag har gett treor till, men det låter ju lite likadant som allt annat. Eller är jag bara inte på musikhumör idag?

Not my jam at all. The harmonies got kind of grating and the lyrics are not for me.

Not my thing.

Nope this album was a total drag, i get its probably important for country music being a very early album, but not for me.

Very traditional country album.. Hoedown music for the most part. Not my thing.

In The Pines is the standout... but not a patch on Leadbelly

Twang, sadness, twang, whiskey, twang, Kentucky, twang, god, double twang. Can't believe they ripped off Nirvana though.

This was alright for a song or two, but the whole album became a real punish. The guitar followed the exact same chord progression and strumming pattern through every song, and adding in those harmonies that JUST DIDN'T STOP it sounded like just one giant, 40min long, dreary trudge. It might be unfair to judge a 70 year old album for being dated, but I can't think of any situation in 2023 where this can get more than a 2/5.

Bloody hell, bit of a disconnect between the bouncy rhythm and beautiful close harmonies and the murderous content of the lyrics. You can hear how this is an antecedent of a lot of subsequent country in terms of the sound, and the murder ballads clearly had a big impact on the likes of Kurt Cobain and Nick Cave. But as an album it’s very samey and plodding. An interesting historical curio but not one to return to

Didn't care for it and thought it was annoying to listen to. Immediately recognized "In the Pines" but from Nirvana's Unplugged cover.

2/5. I really do enjoy the creative lyricism here, as it invokes themes such as death, murder, madness, and other darker themes in contrast with the folksy music. However, it is the folksy music that is a negative for me. Reading the lyrics is more interesting than hearing someone sing it.

Þetta er einfalt og sjarmerandi, þar til man fer að hlusta á suma textana. Mjög mikið barn síns tíma. Eitt lag þarna sem fékk endurnýjun í grunge-inu. Gætu vel verið fleiri sem hafa verið coveruð því þetta hljómar margt hvert mjög kunnuglega.

Eeeeeeeeeeèr strugglè

Tragic

Tragic

One song at a time is enough for me. The harmonies, while good, are all the same on every sang. But they do get an extra star for the obvious influence that they had on future artists such as the Everly Brothers.

Not my cup of tea

Best Song: Knoxville Girl. The vocal harmonies are nice I guess. Worst Song: Satan Lied to Me. How can you squander such a cool title with such a dorky little song. Overall: Even if this album was highly influential, it's so obnoxious to listen to that I assume I'd dislike anything it influenced.

Twang a rang.

Per a una persona neòfita en el génere com jo, no passa de ser un disc de country de vella escola. Es nota que les veus que el canten supuren veritat en les seves lletres, però tampoc és que això sigui una novetat pel country

Well lyrically, there's some wonderful nihilistic bleakness about this album. Lots of death, loneliness and anger. But musically it just reiterates my belief that country music is white people blues. Much like white people food, it lacks spice and seasoning.

Taman pogledao jučer jedan od najboljih westerna ikad. Definitivno mi je ovdje glazba puno puno bolja od glasa. Najbolji dio albuma jesu oni s laganom gitarom kada ide, sporije pjesme. Ambijentalno mi pašu.

meh

Crikey this was weird. Deeply dark with jingly jangly bouzouki sounding backing.

I hoped I would enjoy it more, but I found the history behind the duo far more interesting than the album itself. The songs blend together after a while, with a few surprises (like In The Pines, an early version of Nirvana’s “Where Did You Sleep Last Night”). There’s a lot of Jesus here, and some of the lyrics can be surprisingly heavy, but besides the historical appreciation I don’t see much to revisit in the future.

It was interesting to hear "In The Pines" as i've only known the Nirvana version. It's the best track on the album, but is pretty straightforward old cowboy singing. It certainly is a genre of music, but doesn't really do much for me. Don't need to listen to again.

Definitely tragic. So much death and murder. I really like the vocal harmonies on everything. Tough one to rate, enjoyed listening but probably won’t go back to it. 2-2.5?

The harmonies are incredible and the playing is great. Nothing wrong with this record at all but I think you kinda get the picture after the first song or two. These guys are great but if I’m gonna listen to white guy harmonies I think I’d prefer the everly brothers. 2-3 idk

It's pretty cool for the time but a bit long, which is weird for a 35 minute album. If it was like 10 min shorter I would like it better tbh. Maybe keep it off the list.

2.5/5

Tragic.

I don't know about this one. I enjoyed some of the Gunslinger Ballads I listened to a few weeks ago and I was charmed by the O Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. But 16 of these songs in a row is a big ask. I don't want to argue that old timey Appalachian country music doesn't deserve at least one slot on this list, to round out one's musical education, but maybe a Best Of album including a variety of artists would be easier to get through. I am reminded of the Dolly Parton's America podcast series Jad Abumrad did, in particular their discussion of the "murder ballad". Totally worth checking out if you haven't.

Lets see how this goes Kentucky- feel like I need to get used to this sound, whole album will sound like this I'll be all smiles tonight- Gay icon? Fairly repetitive but cute enough👍 Let her go, God bless her- more of the same What is home without love - harmonies good on this one but so boring. Where is the murder? A tiny broken heart- stupid seven year old In the pines - the chorus is good here, nice little instrumental. Sad that this isn't the decapitation version 👍 Alabama - just Kentucky again Katie Dear- everyone is a bit dramatic My brothers will - wow Sally is a snake Knoxville Girl- this is the murder I was waiting for. No justification given👍 Take the news to mother - boring even for the standard of this album Mary of the wild moor --Nice depressing song to finish Really one song sounds like them all on this album but I don't hate the one song! 2/5

Not to my taste. In short doses maybe, but by 2/3s of the way through I was over it.

Something about beer and women

Nice mandolin. Very little variation.

Ok but prefer Satan Is Real.

I do not like this  Their two voices mesh together very well, but neither is actually particularly pleasant to listen to so the overall effect is not great. Definitely lives up to what it says on the tin re: tragedy - there are some pretty grim songs on there, the single is about beating a woman to death and getting arrested for it. Other themes include the death of a brother and the subsequent discovery that his sweetheart had been playing away, and a whole lot of Jesus towards the end. 2/5 for me, not far above a 1.

It's fine at first but the schtick wears thin halfway through. The murder ballad was a bit too much for me.

album from the 50s honky tonk country

3/10. Absurdly boring. All the songs sounded the same, and I did not much care for the vocals either. It was short, but didn't feel that way

The same annoying song, 12 times in a row. 3/10

Easy listening

The guitar picking reminded me a lot of o brother where art thou, and some of the songs were nice but there was a feeling on this one that it just felt out of date. I was more interested in another album I saw of theirs called Satan is Real but I listened and it was the same stuff.

Quite enjoyed it, but the songs are very similar.

This makes me sad...

one of those I'm sure has seriously influenced some artists down the year but is a little left behind now. Thankful at the end was a great way to finish an album

Liked the first few songs, the mandolin and harmonies sound nice and I think they have a guy playing the jug. After that though I started checking how many songs are left, it was getting very samey and I was ready for it to end.

This is a difficult one to enjoy today. Their name sounds familiar but I really don't know their music. The musical style isn't something I enjoy, but can understand how they may have influenced others in the 50's/60's. This is one of those albums, that I'll listen to once, then move on. Standouts: ? They all seem about the same. 2/5

Not really a fan of this tbh. I liked one song really.

nope

not an easy/enjoyable listen. old country.

Modern country is not my thing, but old country sort of is? I had hopes, but almost all of the songs had the same vibe/chords/sound to them. I know it was the 50s but give a little variety to your music.

There's a reason I don't listen to anything pre 60s. I'm sure this is great, it's just not pushing my buttons.

*Let Her Go, God Bless Her

Some songs that have not aged well

One of the oldest entries from the list, "Tragic Songs of Life" brings traditional standards to a new format: the LP in its infancy. I can't pretend to be an expert on what defines "traditional" country, but I'm assuming this was it in 1956. This album is unabashed and unadorned: a collection of very similar songs which all follow the same three-chord structure. Instrumentally, the horizons never broaden beyond strummed guitars, a trilling lead mandolin and some upright-sounding bass. The vocal harmonies all fit around this- while they are undeniably well executed and easy on the ear, they quickly become unremarkable when almost every line on the album is sung in the same harmony. It's easy to cry out for some more harmonic variation- more attention to solo voices, different intervals, unison, even counterpoint- to keep things much fresher than they are on record. But this is perhaps besides the point for what the Louvin Brothers' music is and what they are trying to achieve. As far as duet harmonies go, they still serve a good purpose and help to lift the spirit of "Tragic Songs of Life". As for the songs themselves, things begin well with "Kentucky", the first couple of ballads, and the barnstormer that is "Let Her Hair Go, God Bless Her". After that, many of the tracks lose distinction from one another. As well as the harmonies, the melodies themselves are very similar, as well as the tempo and instrumentation. Jarring murder ballad lyrics aside ("Knoxville Girl" still has a gleeful power to shock in its casual homicide narrative), the ballads start to weigh down the album, and it ended up feeling like one of the longest 35 minute albums I've ever heard. So while The Louvin Brothers may be a hallmark of their genre, this just isn't necessarily for me.

Another time capsule. Twangy and folky, with rural themes and predictable elements.

The narratives here are engrossing enough, but lord the song structures need some sort of variation. Often the 'chorus' follows every verse, some of which are as short as a single line. This wouldn't be too much of a problem normally, but given every song overstays its welcome by a minute and one of the Louvin brothers has more twang than a detuned guitar, this does begin to grate after a while.

Don't imagine this was everyone's cup of tea. I quite liked it. A little monotonous but still entertaining.

5/10

At first I thought this was fine. Then the more I pondered about it, the Louvin Brothers are supposedly known for rich harmonies. Really? Compared to the likes of the Byrds, the Eagles, the Beach Boys, Crosby, Stills & Nash, the Flying Burrito Brothers, Everly Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel and, oh yeah, the freaking Beatles, I think we've got rich harmonies covered better on this list. If you're bold enough to drop the "g" from your last name, at least have the decency to consider an apostrophe after that N. Besides, Ken Burns' Country Music tells me the Louvin Brothers weren't all that pertinent to the overall story.

Sad country? Moody and gloomy. Somewhat nice, but would not really listen to again by myself

Well, it's county. That's for sure

I just can't. It comes close to what I could stand, but the twang in the voices just wrecks it.

The lyrics tell some pretty morbid tales. This style of country remains to be not for me. Interesting stories in the songs, but the music just does not move me.

This album felt as old as it could. The songs were twangy and the lyrics were pretty simple. The singing was ok. This felt like an album that was popular for its time and hasn’t had much significance since. It’s not bad. Just doesn’t feel relevant anymore. 4.3/10

A couple of country boys and at least one of them walked it like they talked it. A study in old murder ballads - not your typical country album. Best Tracks: In The Pines; Katie Dear; Knoxville Girl

It's music from a different era. It reminds me of my grandparents, who I love, so it gets 2 stars even though I wouldn't choose this music for myself

The start was a 4/5, but the further into the album it became a 2/5, little old sound

It's a country music album. From 65 years ago. Listening it in 2021 in Stockport, I'm transported to a time and place where everything was different. I wouldn't listen again though.

2 - not for me but doesn't hurt my ears

Not for me, but you have to respect and admire the innocence and romance of music of this era. Super simple but probably hugely popular at the time however, very repetitive and quite frustrating by the end of the album. Amazing to think this was the era my parents were born into albeit into a different culture. Stuff like this always makes me contextualise life so I can’t judge this album on a music basis alone.

Naja, nicht mein Ding. Immer gleiches altes Country-Schema...

Not my cup of tea, but I appreciate the interesting slice of history represented by the murder ballads and gospel songs the brothers recorded.

Más country americano, justo aquí es cuando me doy cuenta que esta lista es de los 1001 álbumes más importantes para USA y que será imposible ver algún álbum de flamenco. Una pena. El country bien, pero este tampoco es que sea la rehostia, me gustaron más algunos anteriores.

Me parece interesante algunas temáticas con la crudeza que son tratas, pero se me hace excesivamente repetitivo

Oh Brother music, without the laughs

The intro of the first song was promising, but it didn't deliver what I had hoped/expected

Nice background music. Soundtrack for fishing on a summer day. Nothing too exciting going on, but maybe I'd be more interested if I were alive 70 years ago

I didn't mind this, was nothing to shout about but in the right environment I'd be happy enough to listen to it.

This is simply a case of me not liking the type of music. That old country with the twang just isn't my thing. I guess it's good for what it is but I couldn't get through it.

Not my normal "go to band". But didn't hate it.

Tym razem maszyna losujaca postanowila zmienic klimat i wylosowalo muzyke country, nie country dylanowe, cashowe czy rokowe, ale jego pradziada, bo albumik z roku 56, wiec granie mocno old skulowe, nazwa bandy wskazuje na to ze jest to duet braterski, ale maja jeszcze dodatkowego grajka gitarkowego, wiec dwie gitary i mandolina, bo mandoliny nie moze zabraknac podczas grania muzyki country, zakladam ze wiekszosc kawalkow to ich kompozycje klasycznych ballad jakie mozna bylo uslyszec w wiejskich barach, jak na swoje lata dobrze albumik sie zestarzal od strony technicznej, bo nie slychac zbyt wielkich baboli muxowania, a co do strony lirycznej owych ballad, to musze przyznac ze tytul plyty jest w punkt, bo chociaz najczestszym motywem jest typowo milosc, ale pojawiaja sie nawet ballady bandyckie o mordach gwaltach i tym podobnych dzialalnosciach, wiec jest dosc roznorodnie, ale jednak samo zycie, na plejke wrzuce wlasnie jeden z takich kawalkow knoxville girl

Didn't care for it.

Просто не люблю такую музыку

Their voices are annoying and the bonus tracks on spotify are terrifying

A little stale and dusty

I can understand they change the face of music with some very contreversial songs, sadly they are not on this album.

NOPE

A bit too old school / country for me. I liked "In the Pines" though because of the Nirvana relevance

Interesting, that's it

kind of outdated

I don't know what you call that "high-pitched" sound, but I can't stress enough how awful I find country musicians' vocals. Screw the harmonies, to my ears it's simply an assault. Is that Appalachian? I have no idea. Besides, they're both incredibly boring; every song sounds the same, and they certainly don't have anything to say.

Country - don’t get it….especially this.

Nahhh

same song 16 times brev

Ah ouais c'est vraiment pas pour moi. Pas un changement de rythme/intonation/diction c'est juste ennuyant après 2 sons. Je me suis forcé à tout écouter mais je ne rejouerai jamais ce truc. (Knoxville girl me terrifie, comment ils peuvent chanter ça comme ça j'arrive pas à capter l'humour / la morale)

tingilingilingilingiling pow pow pow pow Playlist pick : Katie Dear (au hasard)

WHAT! They just played the same songs 16 times? Well, that was my first impression. After listening a bit better you do hear a difference but not much.

Sounds like Klan music.

I don't like country music enough to get past the fact that every single song on this album sounds the exact same. Menudo coñacing.

So here’s another ‘if you like…’ in this case if you like grassroots country music then you’ll love this. Tight harmonies indeed. But I can’t stand it - drives me nuts.

Shout out Satan is Real. Not this album, but what a cover.

This sounds so whiny... I gave up when I checked how many songs I still had to go and I was only just over halfway through. Not my thing!

nah

I tried I really did but it’s not for me I’m afraid.

I’ve been a country defender in this project, but this one is a collection of songs that aren’t really different from one another in the sense that the brothers do the same vocals, guitar, and rhythm on each song. The mandolin playing is nice, but that’s about it.

po mano, não é bom qual que é o sentido disso pq eu tenho que escutar isso? vtnc

de fato, estadunidenses dão um valor pra música country/folk desnecessário demais. é péssimo. foda-se essa merda.

So this is what happens when white americans make music with zero black influence huh

Very bland early country. I was going to give it two stars until the religious songs came on and then it was too much. A better representation of early country from the same timeframe would have been Buck Owens.

Not for me. Just no

270/1089 this is REALLY not a bit of me… at least it picked up in Let Her Go… this type of sleepy, yodelly country music just irritates the life out of me now they’re singing about swinging a girl around by her hair and throwing her in the river?! 11/100

Not for me. 1/5

Oh dear…somebody must have liked them in the Deep South of the good old U.S old A, but I’m not louvin’ the Louvin Brothers or the overtly religious themes in some of the songs. Just a bit weird and irritating I’m afraid.

This is everything I hate about country in one package. Boring, slow, every song sounds the same, completely uninspired harmonies, too much gospel influence. The mandolin is pretty much the only bright spot on this. 1.5

Förstår faktiskt inte vad den här sörjan gör på listan. Känns som att det finns massor med liknande platt vit amerikansk musik före rock-'n'-roll revolutionen. Oengagerat utan nerv eller soul. En etta

Not my style

1.3 One of those rare ones where from the first word on the first track you know you're going to absolutely hate the next half hour. The Louvin Brothers run you through classic tragic things that happen to you, such as when you're 7 and the girl on the neighbouring farm moves away with her family, or when you beat the shit out of a girl so bad that you're covered in her blood and you just keep beating her and beating her and then you throw her lifeless body into a river. All the classics really.

Ughhhh no, should've been left in the 50s. 1*

unfortunately i'm not massively a lyrics person and musically this is very monotonous and repetitive, almost eerily so. an interesting listen as i've not listened to much traditional country music before, but i didn't particularly enjoy it - the constant harmonising made my brain feel like mush by the end

No va

Tragic Songs Of Life erschien 1956 als erstes Album der amerikanischen Brüder Ira und Charlie Louvin. Das Duo aus Alabama gehört zu den prägenden Harmonie‑Acts der frühen Country‑ und Bluegrass‑Szene der USA. Die Aufnahmen entstanden Anfang Mai 1956 in den Bradley Recording Studios in Nashville (später Columbia Studios Nashville) unter der Produktion von Ken Nelson. Musikalisch bewegt sich das Album zwischen traditionellem Country, Folk und frühem Bluegrass. Typisch ist der enge zweistimmige Gesang der Brüder, begleitet von Gitarre und Mandoline. Viele Stücke greifen alte Balladen und traditionelle Themen auf – Verlust, moralische Konflikte oder tragische Liebesgeschichten. Zu den bekanntesten Titeln zählen „In the Pines“, „Knoxville Girl“, „Katie Dear“ und „A Tiny Broken Heart“. Besonders „Knoxville Girl“ wurde später zu einer der bekanntesten Murder Ballads im Country-Repertoire. Das Album wirkt trotz seiner Schlichtheit erstaunlich geschlossen. Die klare Instrumentierung lenkt den Fokus auf die markanten Brüderharmonien, die bis heute als stilprägend für viele spätere Duos gelten. Gerade in der Verbindung aus traditionellem Material und persönlicher Interpretation liegt die Stärke dieser Aufnahme. Ein ruhiges, konzentriertes Country‑Dokument der 1950er Jahre, dessen Wirkung weniger aus Arrangement‑Vielfalt als aus Gesang und Atmosphäre entsteht. Was hören wir, ein weiteres Countrygedudel.

HECK no

my jaw dropped but not in a great way

no thank you

funny version of In the Pines, but yeah, 50's are not for me

Two things: 1) Loudermilk is one of the weirder last names that I have heard 2) Ira definitely did not listen to any of the warnings/messages from this album

This ended up being a tough listen the more I made my way through it. Repetitive, annoying, trite. Perhaps not the trash I normally reserve 1 for but I really don't care to ever touch this again. 1/5

vreselijke stemmen, Amerikaans geknauw

It's difficult for me to rate this. It's repetitive and verging on very irritating but I appreciate that it may have influenced later duos of guitar twanging yanks. I did get through the whole album though. Thanks guys. 1/5

Abhorrent

Oh dear! I wasn’t really enjoying it anyway and then Jesus got involved in the religious songs at the end..

I love this genre of music, but this didn't really do much for me. There was WAY too much music on this thing. Old honky-tonky music needs to be limited to 30 minutes MAX - otherwise it gets a bit too stale. 47 minutes of the same key, one or two instruments, and the same vocal harmonies singing nothing about girls and heartbreak. Got pretty damn stale pretty fast. Also holy shit that Knoxville song was absolutely fucked. This was the only interesting thing on this album and it was mainly because the subject matter was so horrible. Whichever one of those two blokes wrote that song should have been shot. I didn't feel the need to continue listening to this album after Knoxville Girl, I got the gist of what every single song on this album sounds like (all the same basically) and was honestly quite bored. Honestly feels bad giving this a 1 but it was SO bland and repeatable. I liked one song and the rest are all the fucking same.

Gear: SIMGOT SuperMix 4 Artwork: 🎸😃🎸 Production: 🕰️😐🫢 Music: ✝️🔄😬 Rating: 🐮/5

I'd had it too good for too long with these albums, it was about time country reared its ugly head. Not only that, but 50's Christian country. Tried to give it a chance but it's bad, mostly repetitive and bland. Just not great singers, though they harmonise fine I guess.

Awful

I was so excited for what I was sure would be an undiscovered gem. So disappointing. Basic, old timey hillbilly music. Not that there’s anything wrong with that! Just… ugh, come on. So cool guys, sure 🙄(ntm.)

That did absolutely nothing for me.

Unbearable country pop.

Duidelijk erg oud Vaak beetje saai Zou het niet nog een keer opzetten

Simple as it gets - guitar, mandolin and vocals. I just can't deal with the singing though, and the music is the most generic country stuff you can imagine. I don't even think this was groundbreaking in 1956, and I definitely don't want to listen to it 70 years later. There's some good mandolin playing I guess, if that's your thing. Sorry boys.

Aiaiai…das gar nich meins

Mit dem Kas kannst mi jogn, a anfoch abisl zu vü Christus do drin für mein Gschmock

2/10 - real hillbilly stuff here, a stretch to be on this list

#226/1001. Guitar. Mandolin. Vocals. Tragic.

Religious and didn’t feel nothing, super slow and monotone

This is like, really bad. I couldn't hardly stomach this. There's some good country albums out there that I've heard through this project, this is not one of them.

I'm not louvin it! Unfortunately this REALLY does not do anything for me. It's just so samey and uninteresting; at least the Everly Brothers had things like LUCILLLLLE

Yikes

Once you’ve heard one, you’ve heard the rest. Woof.

I usually enjoy simple arrangements with nice harmonies, but this one got on my nerves. I think it would be easier to listen to one or two of these songs and not the entire album at once. The songs are all too similar. The second half of this album is a trip. How do you have a song like Knoxville Girl then a bunch of god forgive me songs? 🤮

Not for me, songs not written by the artists, pretty meh to be honest and couldn’t finish it

Wow, this group really hated women. Is that why they were included on this list?

nah bruh

Not to diminish their abilities as musicians, of which they are clearly skilled, but I could go the rest of my life not listening to them again. Now, i'm going to covet my neighbor's wife, worship a false idol, and steal like a good christian.

Country music at its worst. After the first few chords of the first track, I'd had enough. I listened to a second track for the sake of it and found it just as bad. 1/5

I'm not a fan of country whatsoever, so I am not really in position to make declarations about what is and isn't historically important. I take it this album is viewed as a landmark or milestone in country - I'll have to accept that. But what I will assert is that an album's historical importance can be noted while also acknowledging it isn't worth listening to anymore. That's how I feel about this album. Musically monotonous, with cliche at best storytelling. Solid mandolin playing - I'll give it that. Their voices are, frankly, terrible in tone; they deserve credit for their well done close harmonies. The music never once serves the story they are telling. They basically play the same music regardless of what the song is about, the same music whether it’s a murder ballads or a song glorifying the south. Knoxville Girl is a travesty - and it was a country music hit (and, to be fair, has been performed by many other artists). The origins of this song is a murder ballad written back in the 17th century, but the Knoxville Girl version loses a lot of the psychological gravity of a typical murder ballad and is just a shallow and awful telling of domestic violence and murder. Here on this album it is sung with the same dry and formulaic approach as, well, every other song on the album. I am all for honoring the Appalachian folk tradition. I will choose to believe this is not the best of it, or even a mediocre version of it. This album's presence on this list is nothing more than fetishization of a genre - the music here does not hold up in any way shape or form to today.

Cutesy country

Did not like. Country and weirdly religious. They had a cover of Where Did You Sleep Last Night, but it was nowhere near as good as Nirvana’s cover.

What a racket

The kind of thing a hillbilly farmer would listen to on his rocking chair at the front porch after a long day of cow milking and cheese making.

Absolute dogshit. Knew it was going to be bad when the track names had in brackets next to them Religious Overtones. Deserves minus stars

No good

Objectively not that bad but nothing made it to the liked playlist. Perchance I would enjoy it more if I was riding into the sunset on a steed to really relate to the cowboy vibe.

Whiny songs about tedious US country life. I gave a 1 on the basis that you can’t give zero.

Ouah j'ai vraiment pas du tout aimé. L'ambiance un peu country là, pas du tout ma came. Très répétitif aussi, j'ai eu l'impression d'écouter 20 fois la même chanson. 1/5

no clou

This is gonna be a rough 47 minutes... I actually recognize this In the Pines song from the Nirvana unplugged album. That version was 1000000x better than this one. I might rip my ears off halfway through. I'm sure this was influential back in the 1800's but it is torture to me.

Very engaging stories... Not such a fan of the repetitive music though. Perhaps could learn these songs on the guitar

'Tragic' is correct. Also 'banal', 'awful', 'dire', 'dreadful', 'appalling' etc. Perhaps you have to be a citizen of the U.S. from a particular demographic to 'get this'. Oh yeah, I've thought of another one, 'drivel'. 1/5 but only 'cos 0 isn't an option.

Nope

I didn't survive until the end of the album... brains melted.

Thats a hard nope. I don't care how well they harmonize, this shit is unbearable. Nearly hit the DID NOT LISTEN button.

Melódico de country. No, gracias.

i’ve never heard gospel music like this.

Country music from this era is just plain depressing and boring!

I sandhed one of the albums of all time. Man kan ikke komme udenom at det her er et album der findes.

I'm sure this was great at the time but it's just not the sound for me. I did not manage to finish.

whew I think I can appreciate the talent here but I would rather someone just tell me about it. Somehow I made it through the entire album, but I would have preferred to listen to something else for sure.

This is the kind of music I really dislike. I'm not American so I never grew up with much exposure to country music, and it really grates. I don't like the simple story-telling of the lyrics and the same-ness of the songs. I can see that this may have been influential on later harmony singing duets, but still...

On God, my favorite part of this album was when I didn’t have to listen to it anymore. This is one of about 3 or 4 albums that I just could not bear to listen to a second time. So, it’s got that going for it at least. Now, let me tell you, when I say I don’t like Country, this is the shit that I’m talking about. I’ve heard good Country albums on this list. I know they exist. But man, every aspect of this one was just grating with a capital G. Bad bad bad. Tragic even. Wouldn’t surprise me if every 1 star album I end up giving is going to be a Country or Country adjacent album. But hey, I’ve had an entire week of bad music, next week is going to be all 5’s, right?? Right…

This is a very traditional country album. Literally contains all the cliches from the genre. If you’re a fan this will be your bible. I was bored quite quickly after a couple of songs, same way of singing and melodies. The voices harmonisation became a bit irritating after the first 3 songs.

Really? I needed to listen to this before I die? Seriously?

First 1 star review after 159 albums. I find the music dull. The singing irritates me. For a change I decided to look into the lyrics to see if I was missing something, but it's all prayers to god and beating up women. I will happily never listen to this again.

Country.

Terrible, couldn’t listen to a whole song

Поки найгірше, що встиг послухати з цього списку. Цей спів в гармонії на два голоси в якийсь момент почав зводити з розуму

Both of these guys have annoying voices. And it’s like a folk country sound. Pretty bad. Oh god.

This was pretty trash. "Take the News to Mother" was a cool, historic era piece.

I am now convinced the author of 1001....is doing a psychological experiment to see how much crap people will listen to. TRAGIC is appropriate for this. I think revenge is in order, lock the author in a room, and on full blast play every album I rated a one. See if you still think they deserve a listen, jerk weed!

come on.... this one felt like a joke. Nothing on here is worth the listen

An absolute fucking slog

Just when you thought you were finally getting past your WW2 PTSD, someone makes you listen to this fucking dogshit. "Tragic songs to throw yourself into the canal to" more like.

Im afraid the second track killed me off. Can't stand country music for the most part especially when it's this dull and every song feels like it lasts 10 minutes without anything happening. Then the next track comes on and you experience exactly the same except this time as oppose to a past lover they're now singing about the devil. Its shit mate.

I just hope the lyrics were ironic

Well, this is even more remote than hardcore hip-hop. And twice as boring. And... I just can't stand it. Not their fault.

Terribly monotonous sad bad

Good for their type pf music, absolutely not my syle

No, your player is not on "Repeat", it's just the same song over and over

I made it 31 seconds into this album before I had to go clean my ears with some King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.

As every good sub editor knows, we shouldn't ever refer to the subject of an article as being "tragic", it's the events surrounding someone's life, or death, that are tragic - it is usually just not done done to imply a person is intrinsically tragic by nature. In this case, however, I'll let it slide, because the songs are indeed tragic. This particular strand of country music can kindly piss off, and if they are country songs about Jesus, which many of them are, doubly so. Not for me.

Not a big fan of old-school redneck fiddling.

Just shoot me now, this was awful

Yayyy more 50s country folk.

I will admit that in terms of vocal harmonies, it is absolute perfection. The two brothers had clearly been singing together their whole lives and it shows. Their tones match up perfectly. The guitar is decent too, I guess. That's where the praise ends. I think I zoned out for five or ten minutes and when I snapped back to reality, I could have sworn that the same song was playing in a loop. Nope. Turns out it just all sounds identical. My god it's boring. Thank God for people like Little Richard, Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis injecting a bit of fun, speed and excitement into music at around the same time. To save yourself some time, just pick one song, and you'll have heard the album.

I could not finish it. Not my vibe.

The sound quality, at least the Spotify version, is terrible. I assumed this was a 1920s recording not 1950s. Beyond that their voices just grated on me. I like some bluegrass, but I'll pass on this one.

Aw, hell no

Didn’t even make it through the album, just awful.

Meh muy antiguo

no country for me, thanks...

boring classic american shit

Painful. Just a couple of rungs above worship music on the listenability ladder. At least worship music is ostensibly to help get you into heaven. This is inane and aimless.

The best thing I can say about this album is that I didn’t hate it as much as I expected to. The harmonies are nice, though to call the subject matter “tragedies” is wild by modern standards. These songs serve as snapshots of a simpler time - a much, much simpler time. A worse time. This was awful.

Traditional country music in the purist sense. Not really my thing, even if it is interesting to hear how the style influenced others to come.

Not for me.

Country, 20eme album => 1/5

Kinda cool but not my thing at all. 1/5 stars.

Erstaunlich wie perfekt die Stimmen im Gleichklang sind. Dahinter würde man heute ein Software-Plugin vermuten :) Das ist aber auch das einzig Positive an diesen außerhalb der US-amerikanischen Berge schwer verdaulichen Songs.

This sort of music explains why real men go to church with a semi-automatic under their jacket. Awful!

God this pisses me off

Hate everything about this album

I think I have nothing positive to say about this. He (a brother) sounded like a muppet the entire time. Lyrics were bad and weird, and the sound was nothing I would ask for again.

Kinda wish we'd had their banger "SATAN IS REAL!" instead of this one. Nice muppet harmonies, mandolins and repetitive 3 chord songs about satan lying to these guys is just not a genre I can get behind or excited about. I'll take one Sabbath Bloody Sabbath instead, please and thanks. 2/10 1 star.

Terrible harmonies. Awful voices even without harmonies. And bad recording makes the mandolin sound more like a bouzouki! After each track I was praying that I'd reached the end. And here we go again with lyrics about men brutally murdering women for looking at other men. This record has absolutely nothing going for it. Fucking dreadful.

This is awful

1/5 Yeah I can't listen to this.

lol not my vibe

Finally something to lower my 50s average rating!

Get this off this list

interesting as a historical piece, but would never choose to listen to this

Not keen

Proper shite

I don't hate this (the harmonies are nice) but also... not my thing. okay oof... after 30 minutes of this, I'm actually getting annoyed....

God, I hate country.

I like that old country sound. I enjoy emotional, soft songs. I love an encompassing album with the same vibe or theme throughout. Tragic Sounds of Life is not it. This album was a drag and one note without any variance. The lyrics were always telling a story and, true to the album's title, the Louvin Brothers sure told depressing as hell stories. There was nothing appealing about this. (Un)respectfully, no thank you.

What is the meaning of this shit? Was this a joke another reviewer added? "You know what album you should include in your stupid little book? Tragic Songs of Life, The Louvin Brothers. (Snicker, snicker, snicker)" I can think of a few (real) artists who would not only make these songs better, but good even. At least this isn't another shitty European electronic album (redundant, I know). But the songs are just as repetitive and difficult to distinguish from each other. ZERO stars

Of you are looking for traditional bluegrass gospel, here it is. I am not looking for anything of the like.

A very long collection of very similar songs Not my bag Reflexively want to rate higher than I actually feel about it because I'm aware of my historical + genre biases But I don't want to hear anything from this album again Dnf after the first verse of Knoxville girl, what the actual fuck

The first song was novel, the rest were a chore.

This was a slog. Music has come a long way since this era. The Deep South twang to this had some charm but the God-fearing lyrics were just too much.

This might be the worst thing I have ever heard.

Good reminder of why I don't like country. I found it funny that there was not 1, but 2 songs named after a red state.

I did not enjoy this album. Another country album that I just could not get into.

am i tripping or is this the same song with different lyrics for an hour

I joked about Over Under how many songs I get through before I stop this… Well I made it through all of one, and that was all I needed to know about what this garbage would produce. Song 2 started and I just said awww hell no and hit that stop button. Like this shit has no place on this list. GTFOH

Maybe the most surprising 1-star album so far. I need to be in the right mood to have patience for incredibly normal and unassuming 50s country. And even then, I doubt this would do much for me. Every track sounds identical, especially for a listener who pays little (if any) heed to lyrics. A 3/4 time signature, a chord progression with some matchup of I-IV-V, two vocals that are so boringly harmonious that I instinctively try to tune them out... And then, after doing so, you're left with some incredibly amateur acoustic guitar and bass playing. I mean, come on, can you do much worse than plucking one note per bar after squinting at a lead sheet cluttered with a multitude of exactly three different letters? Even John Cage writes more interesting music than this nonsense. What I'm saying is this: if I died without listening to Tragic Songs of Life, I would feel just as fulfilled. Perhaps even more so. (Darn.) 1/5 Key tracks: none

For the whiskey swillin, god fearin man who’ll never love a woman as much as his dear ma.

Perfect example of an album and style that I am physically unable to listen to. I hate this type of vocal, the melodies are unbearable, it's all just so old and bad. I don't like country, but I especially don't like this type of country music. Too much to bear.

Really tinny mandolin music with squeaky cartoonist country vocals. "The Pines" and the vibes can't save this one. 1.3/5 -> 1/5

Justice for Knoxville Girl!!!! Appalling songs of life, maybe.

I feel like I listened to the same song 20 times in a row... maybe better for people who listen more to lyrics, but this wasn't for me.

Not for me

If you like listening to one bar repeatedly for nearly an hour, then this is for you. Might as well be called Tragic Song of Life.

Not my taste

Eh, did nothing for me.

A little too hokey for me. Stale harmonies about Jesus

Just too traditional for me

This is #day96 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... oh well, there you go with another country album... I pulled myself together and listened to it to the very end, though. Still, this is a 1 out of 5. As I've said before, it's not my genre. Looking forward to #day97.

Definitely not my type of music

Overall: 2/10 I actually tend to enjoy country from the 50s, I just find these songs kind of annoying. The higher voice of the two is really grating to my ears. The songs themselves aren't terrible but I didn't like listening to this. Fav Song: Alabama Least Fav Song: I'll Be All Smiles Tonight

The religious lord praying bullcrap is definitively not my thing and this is a prayer album Still at the time Elvis was already out with something new and the platters, fats domino and little richard were rocking hard by then. Their harmonies are tight thou. Two voices one high another low but great equalizing for a cool sound that at the time might have been diferent It was a time that music was changing from traditional stuff like this country to rock and roll and this album might be some of the last of its kind so in context it was a good album to depart from that time.

...

Nope nope nope

not even one song about drinking from a red solo cup

I really, really didn't like this one. It was extremely nasal, very old-fashioned country and I honestly struggled to get to the end of it. Rating: 1

I wish this website had a written justification for its selections.

wat doet dit in deze lijst?

#62 - Wow, one of the few I've heard so far where I couldn't wait for it to be done. It has it's niche but it's definitely not mine.

Nope.

No way these guys weren't in the Klan. Also, the only good part of the album was the mandolin/guitar player (who apparently wasn't even one of the brothers"), so . . .

I just can't listen to C&W.

I could do without the song about bludgeoning a Knoxville Girl to death. How in the world did that seem like something they needed to commit to a record, let alone write a song about.

Felt like I listened to the same mediocre song on repeat. And then it got real religious. Definitely not in a good way

It is what it is. Thank god for the rock 'n' roll revolution. Bit sad that their most popular song was a murder ballad.

Not for me. I could only make it a few songs.

I really don't like country music

I like bluegrass and this reminds me music my grandparents & great-grandparents would listen to but not really my cup of tea.

I’m a bit bewildered about what makes this album essential. To me, it just sounded like a coming of guys singing pretty badly over country music. There were certainly parts that pricked my ears up occasionally - guitar playing that sounded a little flamenco, or otherwise compositions that could have sounded Greek if not for those shrill vocals over the top. But it just wasn’t enough to make me enjoy it. Too many cons, not enough pros for me.

1 for the lyrics Religion and misogyny

Music to fuck your sister to

I hated this so so much and I am irrationally upset that this album is included while nothing by Weezer is. 1.3 stars

Yikes not for me

The only tragedy was listening to this album

if you want depressed when you started listening to this album you will be borderline suicidal by the time you finished. Absolutely God awful country and western, nothing but depressive drowning on a monotonous tone

Had to check out these guys discography and they have the most metal names - "Satan is real", "Are you afraid to die", "The drunkards doom" and "Satans jeweled crown". Sad to say it's all shit tho.

not my cup of tea.

Knoxville Girl