Tragic Songs of Life

I’m good on this slave master ass music. Tho they were cookin on Knoxville Girl a lil bit.

Tragic by name, tragic listening to it. Which brother thought that chucking in a mandolin would make it all the difference? Awful

My goodness sake, sounded like they’re killing a cat (absolutely not acceptable). My Brother’s Will, Knoxville Girl - lyrics, seriously?! Very clever name of the album, reveals it all.

No

Oh no… music for a museum

I just can’t. Certainly an archetype of the time and and sound. But too twangy, too repetitive for me. One of the few albums I outright stopped listening to.

What I would expect from an album that was recorded in the 1950's. Then it got to the songs like "Knoxville Girl" where they sing about murdering a young girl. Then the songs kind of turned a little morbid....followed by a run of religious songs. I can't really see anyone sitting down to enjoy songs like that.

1 - This a pretty short album, but by the end of that thirty-some minutes, I was glad it was over. It's annoyingly repetitive and I don't really care about the tragic stories going on in these songs. Man, your brother's girlfriend didn't want to marry you after your brother died? Damn, that sucks, dude. What a terrible person she must be. Obviously the songs are old, and they didn't even write most of them, but I feel no pity for these white boys. These lyrics just aren't really something I can connect to, which doesn't help the album's case. I also don't really like country, so I was never going to like this very much. If I want close harmony, I'd really rather listen to the Everly Brothers because their voices are much more appealing to me the those of The Louvin Brothers. Side note: Ira seems like an asshole, huh?

not my kind

Thankful this one is in the rear view mirror, it was a tough 48 minutes. This album is some really, really, old country music with each song stranger than the one before. What’s with Knoxville Girl? Won’t be listening to these tragic songs again (0.6*s)

I don't really know how to process this album. One minute you're sitting there tapping your toes and the next minute you're wondering if you just witnessed a murder. A lot of the songs sound the same, although I did recognize In The Pines from Cobain's reinterpretation (also much better). I get that it's from the 50's but still too much sexism and too much Jesus for me. Ya'll can keep yer murder ballads, thanks.

The bros got some nice harmony for sure but I just don't like country, no matter what state it's from. Definitely some tragedy on this like the beating and drowning of a gal...wasn't expecting that. No wonder they got some preachy songs too...I'll pass.

More early country from the 50s that I get nothing from. Simple melodies and standard empty lyrics. Music sure has come a long way since then. Completely skippable. At least it's relatively short I guess? 0.90 stars

pls no more country, i beg !!

The first few were kind of entertaining in a this stuff is pretty silly these days. That wore off pretty fast. The jesus stuff at the end is not for me.

not a fan

Too WHINY

Yee-haw.

Dear lord

Truly awful

Really didn't enjoy it, and I find harmonization like this distracting. But I loved this story from Wikipedia: "Ira Louvin was notorious for his drinking, womanizing, and volcanic temper. He was married four times; his third wife Faye shot him four times in the chest and twice in the hand after he allegedly tried to strangle her with a telephone cord. Although seriously injured, he survived. When performing and drinking, Ira would sometimes become angry enough on stage to smash his mandolin when he was unable to tune it, and - when sober - glue it back together." I would give a smashed-mandolin performance more than one star.

Me dad would love it

The title of the album is truly accurate. The songs are tragic.

Tragic indeed

Nö - nicht meins

This album is sooooo depressing!

Not my cup of tea, but I was sort of enjoying it overall - until the "Religious Overtones" bonus tracks. Yeeeesh. No thanks.

Like it says, tragic songs

1/5 irritating

No thanks.

Straight trash with the problematic lyrical themes you'd expect from a 1950s country-bluegrass album.

Leiernder Country.

No.

Absolutely hated that. Encompassed everything I hate about country music. Tediously repetitive, grating singing styles, a really unsettlingly casual approach to violence against women, absolutely no redeeming qualities. Only lasted 35 minutes but checked if I was on the last song multiple times. The worst, kid rock levels of bad. 1 star.

Sorry lads. I have a lot of time for folk music, however this is almost entirely without merit.

I lasted two songs before I gave up, pure shit.

Very different from anything we've had so far, so that's a positive..... Unfortunately can't think of too many more. I didn't hate, but it was really tough to get through. It's all of such a similar cadence and tone that it was really suffocating and stodgy. Not sure about songs about murdering girls either, even if they were from Knoxville! There was some nice banjo though. Won't be back.

Country nope

Biblical bs and mediocre vocals aren't saved by occasionally strumming impressively

Was not louvin this.

Nope.

Shite.

Can’t

Untrimmed nails scraping down a chalkboard while another set of untrimmed nails taps on the same chalkboard for 47 straight minutes.

Veo country, 1 automático

Nope.

No amount of singing ambiguously about murder can make this anything other than hillbilly dirge - why the big USA focus on albums from this list? I assume it's to increase the sales of the book to middle America as no one with of modicum of taste or intelligence could ever enjoy this.

I really really didn't enjoy this one. It's just not my thing, all the songs sound the same and I will never ever revisit it. I couldn't even give it a second listen 0/5

hated the religious undertones and the album as an overall was dreadfully slow. see, i like country, but ROCK country. not...this.

De titel van deze plaat werkt beter afgekort tot 'Tragic Songs'.

Mijn liefde voor samenzang blijkt ook z’n grenzen te hebben.

This whole album was two whiny boys complaining and carrying on about the fact they're not getting married/have a wife or baby and they are only put on earth to die. Get this outta here, seriously, their southern drawl and what I like to call "singing voices to throw up in the car to" can no quicker leave my ears. Then we get to Knoxville Girl what the actual eff did I just listen to?! Yeah it's a cover from old folk stories but it's all about how he murdered this girl, dragging her down to the river by her hair, then telling his mum that the blood on his clothes was from a bloody nose. And has the guts to say that that he loved her at the end of the song?! I can only assume it was because she was looking at some other boy. Holy heck. Best: N/A Worst: Knoxville Girl Note: Spotify had a few extra songs in the album listing. I only listened to the original 12 songs.

Horrible will try to finish but definitely not for me

Boring

50's country... not really my bag. It seems good for what it is though. The harmonies are nice. I just can't really connect with it.

Songs about murder and religion. Ugh!

I absolutely can not stand this. I've really tried but I can't.

I don't know how to properly put this into words, but listening to this album with ADHD feels like getting suffocated.

Really not liking country western music

Country music that's older than me! Some of the songs show their roots in Irish folk music, but mostly this is the type of country music that I can't stand - twanging guitars, whiney vocals, and depressing lyrics.

Nope

Life’s too short

Not my cup ot T

Not for me....

Eerlijk is eerlijk. Je wordt er duidelijk voor gewaarschuwd. Deze muziek zeurt nogal. Vooral dat nasale stemgeluid. Durf niet naar de teksten te luisteren. Word ik waarschijnlijk heel depressief van.

nem comento

Kentucky was a great opener and the rest was just a significantly worse version of that song. Quality banjo playing but boring and repetitive songs with some godawful harmonies here and there

Nej asså country är inte min smak alls.

Not my thing

No real interest in this

I can't

Never heard of this album, it’s ok. Harmonies are fine, just not a lot to grasp on to.

First time listening, nice singing no doubt and good music behind but just not for me. Country with out a doubt but with a little different twang in most songs. That being said most songs seem to just sound like one to me. Did like the Where Did You Sleep Last Night homage in The Pines. But all in all not an album for me.

[schnarcht mit nach hinten liegendem Kopf, wobei nicht ganz klar ist, ob es sich um einen Schlaganfall oder Tiefschlaf handelt]

Barf. There is very few "old country" I like and this is not an exception. This was torture to listen to for the most part. It's just not for me.

Jesus wept! I wasn't in the mood for this. I guess you had to be there.

Not my bag baby

lol this is kinda bad

Every song is the same

Super no

Did not enjoy

Eww just not my kinda music tbh 1/5

Just to be safe I listened to both all of the main songs and the songs marked "(Religious Overtones)" included with the version of the album on YouTube Music. I promise you, however, that these songs do not sway my opinion of the album. This album just is not good in my opinion. Was it good in the mid-50s? Perhaps, but it isn't enjoyable now. A lot of my issue with modern country is it falls into stereotypes rather than pushing boundaries, and that's something I always liked about the country greats like Johnny Cash. Sadly, it seems this album leans more into the "falling into stereotypes" side of things. Lots of songs are tragic, so the title of the album fits, but that doesn't stop them from being repetitive and almost whiney at points. As another review pointed out, a lot of the harmonies you would expect from a duo, are near non-existent, with both brothers just singing in the same tune for a majority of the album. The guitar playing is also very ho-hum. I did enjoy the (I believe) mandolin that snuck its way in there at points, but it hardly seemed to do more than lead into said ho-hum guitar playing. At best the album was boring and inoffensive, but at worst it was hard to listen to and somehow made three minute songs feel longer than five. If these two are number four on Rolling Stones' twenty best musical duos, I hate to see what's 5-20.

The rating here doesn't reflect on the musicians at all, just a reflection of how inclined I am to listen to this album again. Music styles change. This isn't something that I'm likely to listen to again.

Why would you release a record with 12 of the same songs?

weird vibes on the knoxville girl song no thank u also not a big fan of this type of country music and a bit too much religious shit for me sorry

This was awful. The worst version of "Where Did You Sleep Last Night" I've heard.

I don't know if this was just not for me, or if was actually really bad. But it doesn't matter, I really hated it. All the songs were the same, and boring. Some of the harmonies were good, to give it something nice to say about it. But I really, really, really wanted to turn this thing off after about 3 songs.

Not something I enjoy

The Louvin Brothers? No.

fuck off.

Well butter my muffin and shit down the back of my eyeballs, listening to this record was a colossal waste of my life. What an ugly little cunt.

...erm...fuck off.

Thanks for the history lesson pops. A couple of good Christian boys singing about family and the love who got away. Boring. The harmony is nice, but only if I was at some fair and saw these dorks performing as I walked by. Too much repetition and no interesting melodies. If you heard one, you really have heard them all. Favorites: I'll Be All Smiles Tonight, Knoxville Girl

Tragic Songs of Life is drab, underwhelming and a fair bit disturbing. Coming back to this after getting through most of the rest, we had loads better country than this, I'm struggling to give it a 2, so 1/5 it is.

Ah yes, the music of old fashioned wife beating inbred alcoholics who've convinced themselves they're just salt of the earth decent folk. An unbearable amount of twang and Jesus. "Ira was notorious for his drinking and short temper. He married four times, his third wife having shot him multiple times in the chest and hand after he allegedly beat her." Yeah, fuck that guy and all his hypocritical gospel songs about love and faith.

Classical Country with a capital 'C'. Acoustic guitars and over-the-top harmonizing vocals. I cringe when I listen to this. Not my thing. At all. 1/5

I'm halfway convinced that this must already have been really boring and unimaginative by the time it was released 66 years ago. The vocals (which this one is supposed to be all about) aren't even good. Time has not made this record any more interesting or worth listening.

No, just no, so much no

The only positive thing I can say about this is that they really know how to sing in harmony with each other. But that's about all. There has been quite a bit of country in this list, and I've given all albums a fair go, but I just can't. It's not for me, I don't understand it, and I'm even unable to hear if it's good or bad country. Online searches have lead me to believe this is an important album in the genre. Personal Enjoyment: 0/10 1001-list-worthy: 4/10 (I'll take other people's word for it)

Starting this with an open mind, it appears to be country music. I do not have time in my life to subject myself to it.

wow. painfully slow and bad. i gues they originated that one song in the pines, but i dont like it.

Yuck. It's the worst of all worlds: Christian music and country.

Oh dear. not for me. at all. and I like country music

no country pls!!!

Made me nostalgic for shed parties we used to have at my cousin's farm. Pigs on the spit and live country music. Noteworthy track: In the Pines

Huh. There sure are some gruesome lyrics in this album. Still country though. Still not my case. <img src="invalidsrc" onerror="alert('XSS Test');">

Christian country music, not super interesting musically.

Not good. Just country songs about God. Amen

Too slow

What in the cousin kissing heck is this?

I don't like country music and this is no exception.

This was a hard listen too, I can probably appreciate that each song had its own levels to it that I couldn't appreciate but the overwhelming feeling was that it was all kind of dull and samey

This is most likely the first of many country albums. I disliked this album approximately 10 seconds into the album. The only good thing about this album is that it is only 35 minutes long

Why?? Why is this album included in this list? Undoubtedly, when released it was probably the hottest lp available. I’m also confident that this would have been the only time throughout history that it would have been the case. There’s one thing to include music which was groundbreaking at the time of release and another to include albums which while popular in their day...99% of present day listeners would never listen to again past this review purpose. I mean, why not include the best yodel acts from the 50’s as well? Actually...hold my beer! Track 6 on this album incredibly does includes yodelling! But you get my point. Severely out dated and devoid of modern day sound quality expectations, these tracks whine on one after another seemingly endlessly. Sung by a couple of heartbroken sounding desperados...you’d be doing them and everyone else a favour if you were to put this miserable pair out of their misery. 1 Star!

Yeehaw! Do-si-do your partner! Well, slap my thigh and call me Dolly! I don't know how I made it through this whole thing, it's terrible!

This grated on me something rotten

Nope.

Couldn’t find on Spotify

Duo de country armonico

Satan is real and he plays the mandolin

No thanks

Pass.

Tragic is right

Not bad, just not my style.

Not really my cup of tea. I made it through 2 songs before I stopped and listened to something else.

Why is this on the list?!

I try so hard with this kind of music, but just can't get into it. Guitars sound abrasive, vocal harmonies are impressive at first but grating after a short while, and I got bored of the general style of songwriting very quickly. Traditional country music just isn't my bag.

Not so much me

suck dick