Tragic Songs of Life

I can see why this album was included in the collection, given the Louvin brothers place in the traditional country/bluegrass pantheon, but I have to admit that their duet style and the limitations of the 1950s recording made me wince with every song. (And kind of ironic that Louis Prima's very entertaining and much better recorded "The Wildest!" is on the facing page in the "1001 Albums" book; clearly that tinny shallow sound on "Tragic Songs of Life" isn't entirely inevitable....) I'm glad that the likes of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris found material worth reviving in later years from these guys, but to me the most interesting aspect of this album was reading about Ira's real-life manifestation of many of the songs on this album. Womanizer, alcoholic/substance abuser, rage control issues, even shot multiple times by his third wife (after trying to strangle her), that guy sounds like a piece of work. Sad, though, that he and his fourth wife died in a car wreck from a drunk-driver, only a couple of years after he and his brother Charlie broke up (Charlie couldn't handle Ira's insanity).

Um disco comum de canções country, sem nada a acrescentar.

This is the kind of music my dad would play to get me out of bed if I slept too late on the weekends. I like this style of music more now than when I was a kid but still have a bit of trauma from the audio torture from my teenage years.

Honestly a fun change. Not really my jam but a good cultural experience.

This is extremely classic country / slowgrass. Beautiful harmonies, nostalgia. Objectively good quality even if it's not really something I want to hear often.

If that’s the sort of thing you like, then you’ll really like that sort of thing! Crisp, olde tyme country music with good harmonies and all the instruments you’d expect from a 50’s country album. Not my cup of tea, but I respect the collection for what it is.

Absolutely 0 complaints. Highly enjoyable. Incredibly American.

All sounded pretty much the same to me, so I checked out the Wikipedia article for this one. It's pretty bare-bones, so I clicked the link for the single. "'The Knoxville Girl' is an Appalachian murder ballad." Huh. Ok. When I got to that one I actually actively listened (instead of just having it on in the background while I work as I usually do). It felt almost like parody, but this was the real deal. I don't really know how to feel about it, it's very fascinating and also eerie to me.

pela 20389209203º vez: country mal do mundo.

Twang

Old school western ballads

definitely not my thing

No 1,5/5

I’m sure this was impactful in its day. But I didn’t need to hear this before I died

I don't understand the relatively low rating for this one, it's just simple, straight-forward country music. It's certainly not bad, and as far as 50s music goes, sounds pretty good to this day.

This is a perfectly fine country album. The oldest on the list. It feels like it. It's not the most interesting, but there is real talent here. I couldn't listen for any longer than this album goes before getting annoyed probably.

It's an oldie but a moldie.

Rate: 7.5/10.

Kentucky - 3 I'll be all smiles tonight - 2 Let her go, god bless her - 3 What is home without love - 3 A tiny broken heart - 3 In the pines - 3 Alabama - 2 Katy dear - 3 My brother's will - 3 Knoxville girl - 3 Take the news to mother - 3 Mary of the wild moor - 3

What a rollicking good time. For it’s day and age. Right now? Not very good.

Bluegrass old-timey music. Has very good playing and vocal harmonies.

Only particularly notable for its position as one of the earliest country albums out there. Fundamental to the genre, a genre i don't like. Just Ok

Much better than expected and enjoyed a few songs but it gets very samey after a while.

Starts off reminding me of my grandparents' country church services. Goes completely off the rails between Knoxville Girl and Mary of the Wild Moor, then brings it back to Southern Gospel radio hour with the last four songs. It all sounds sort of the same. I remember singing Lord, I'm Coming Home at one of my previous churches.

Country de fond

It’s a 3 really, but so repetitive I couldn’t be fucked to finish it, so marked down to a 2.

It's ok for what it is

Got half way though the album when I realised they're both guys, safe to say I didn't read the band or the bio.

10/25 Boring country music

Ira Louvin was shot by his third wife after he laid hands on her. She was quoted as saying "If he ain't dead, I'll shoot him again" while laying in her hospital bed. Fucking legend. As for the music itself, I like the blood harmonies, but they could do with a metal scream now and again. Needs more blastbeats.

Wow! This album makes me want to knock out my teeth, take a bath in a wading pool on the front porch, and park the ol' Chebby pick-'em-up truck in the front yard. 🥴

Better off listening to Hank Williams rather than this. Too twee/country for me.

Great stuff. I got to know their music a little as Americana was emerging as a new genre in the 1990s, and nearly every roots band proved their bona fides by doing a Louvin Brothers song. I heard brother Ira was a complete madman - would love to learn more about these absolute legends.

Glad to have heard this. The voices are a little too thin and nasally for me, but I still enjoyed it. Hearing it made me appreciate how fresh the Everly Brothers must have sounded when they started.

Some great tunes and harmonies, but tracks can feel a bit samey.

Well this one has become complicated for me. I came into this review feeling I knew exactly what I wanted to say: an album of two halves where the secular first half is much stronger than the religious backend that sees the album out. As somebody who doesn't carry the faith I can't say I enjoy the experience of being proselytised to in my music, so those last songs put a dampener on what was otherwise a strong outing with some very strong songs (Knoxville Girl is particularly good) that would see them up with the big stars of country in their age. However, looking at the track listing, it appears the traditional track list ends at 12, and the last four songs, the gospel tunes I drew umbrage with, are some form of later inclusion. It's quite frustrating given Spotify tacked these four one with marks of "Religious Overtones" compared to every other song marked as "Original Album", a change I didn't notice given I just hit play and put the phone in my pocket for the next hour. With that frustrating turn added my confidence in my rating is quite dashed. As such, I'll put myself out of my misery and put 3, which I was on the fence about before, for safety.

Amazing to read about and listen to the Louvin Bros. Ira seems like a character. Beautiful harmonies. Country music at its most traditional?

Two guys with guitars. Kinda gives brother where art thou vibes. Wh

pretty nice album. worth a listen

3/5

Sounds like hillbilly hymns.

1950s bluegrass. It’s a music that has more in common with the traditional Irish songs of my grandparents than the rock and roll of my parents. While I enjoy a fair amount of alt country, and can hear the lineage, this is pretty far from anything I would normally listen to. Not being from the US country hasn’t been a big cultural touchstone in my life either. I enjoyed the album a lot. The opener Tennessee is great and the version of In The Pines is a real highlight. Knoxville is also pretty classic, if the dark subject matter is somewhat at odds with the whimsical musical style. I’m not going to suggest I loved this album but it will encourage me to listen to a bit more of this style

There is something to be safe for the old records like this to be on the list. In the pines was a nice surprise

Generally really enjoy country, but this was a bit whiny for me vocally. Enjoyed the guitar and banjo work.

Painfully samey bluegrass country cry in your beer stuff. It isn’t terrible, but it’s certainly not good. Couldn’t finish. ⭐️.5

Repetitive, mid country/bluegrass. Really lost me with the one about murdering a woman in the woods.

Much too samey.

I understand why it's here, but I don't have to like it. Rating: 4/10

2.8

Just didnt get it

Well I thought these good ol’boys were a bit shit.

Man get these guys some bitches, Jesus Christ liven up a little bit.

Some of the most beautiful vocal harmonies you’ll ever hear, performing heartbreaking songs of death and heartbreak.

This is a rough listen for modern audiences. It did feel thematic after coming home from church though

This album is downright depressing. Twangy country music, songs of murder and Kentucky, wrapped up with songs about Jesus. Tragic indeed.

Well - that was interesting. I do enjoy traditional country, although not as a steady diet. The harmony was good, I didn’t have to skip any tracks in frustration, and I got a chuckle that on Apple Music they have a warning that some tracks are labeled “religious overtones” - 😆- meanwhile Biggie’s recording himself having sex on his album and just gets the standard “E”. So plus one for not being gross.

Way too twangy and country for me. Can't really stand country at all. But again I can't bring myself to rate it 1 star. Just because I can appreciate old school country for what it's worth. Much more bearable than modern pop country.

Стандарт реднек кантри Мне зашло яху

At least old country is more bareable to listen to. Not a big fan of country. But they're both good at harmonizing and singing. 1/5

Tragic Songs of Life - The Louvin Brothers (1956) With this album and Will The Circle Be Unbroken by Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, I'm afraid Country just isn't for me. At least this one is much shorter. ⭐⭐ 4.5/10 EDIT: Every track sounds similar but I liked the last one (Mary of the Wild Moor) more than the rest.

I can’t quite decide what style this is but it was pretty boring to me

At first it sounds like so many other albums from the genre and period, but there is something about this that really warms my cockles.

Every version of “In the Pines” I’ve heard is great, though I am partial to the Nirvana Unplugged version. It’s also the best thing on this album.

1.25 - I can die without hearing more music like this. Not for me.

I generally like country music; these guys, not so much

54

The feel like it should be a Type O Negative record. 😂🤣 Really enjoying this records so far. I like good folksy music.

I know this list includes a variety of eras and genres, but this album was so hard to get through. It has not aged well. Not so much tragic as maudlin and cringe inducing.

3.2

Who the fuck wants to listen to these racist, wife beating losers? Like most country music. No one should be subjected to this level of trash music

They’re ugly as hell that’s why this isn’t that good.

One of the best harmony singing hypocrites in country music. The song lyrics are nearly always insipid.

2.29 / 5 stars for this album. At times, I felt like I was walking through FrontierLand in Disneyland, but it just never ended. I dunno, the music is fine, but extremely repetitive. Some good guitar work here in the beginning but it just got old and droned on as the album continued, and by the end I just wanted to end Katie, or the Knoxville Girl's pain and suffering. Somewhere in the South.

Antecedente claro de los Everly Brothers, perocon sonidos country. Prefiero a los Everly o al Kingston Trio. Suenan bien, eso sin duda. Kentucky o Leth her go, God bless her me gustan más que I´ll be all smiles tonight.

You have to be a real country fan to listen to this. But why would you?

I'm not the right person to judge this type of music since it is as far as possible from what I like.

Might be an unpopular opinion, but I’m so happy country music has gotten so much more modern than this. Classic country is 👎

One of the more underwhelming classic country albums I’ve gotten. Their harmonies sound good and there’s nothing really wrong with it, but it was too monotonous to really sink my teeth into. I’ve also heard quite a few of these songs performed in more compelling ways by other artists.

I'm not a fan of country music but there's an undeniable beauty in the aching harmonies of these boys. Not sure when or why I'd choose to put this on again but I've enjoyed it today, nonetheless.

TRAGIC SONGS OF LIFE - The Louvin Brothers (1958) - 11/1001 I cant believe Joe Biden made an album. And it's ass.

Definitely the most honky tonk album I’ve heard so far. Think all of the songs sounded a little tooo similar

Amazing songs. What would have seemed tired and cheesy before alt country now sounds fresh - if a little conventional

Solid country harmony not as good as satan is real

The harmonies were decent but all the songs sounded the same. And the lyrics…yeesh. Different type of country music than others on the list (some of the guitar work sounded like mariachi) but still not my thing.

Are these the songs that were sung around Confederate campfires? What kind of troglodyte chauvinist does this appeal to? This is not Post-Appalachian nostalgia, it’s just discordant digression.

Back in the days when Country and Western actually were two different genres. This is as Country as is gets. This is horrible.

eh

Echt niet voor mij, aangepaste standards zijn ook matig

I have not heard of the Louvin Brothers let alone heard their music. The title of the album sounds intriguing. The music is mostly acoustic guitars which is not bad. The vocals are the twanging sanging country style which I am not that fond of. There are some nice harmonies. Mostly the songs are sad songs.Sometimes murder is involved. I prefer the songs that are a little more upbeat. This is an okay album. You would probably like it better if you were a true country fan. An average album. Three stars.

Folclor gringo. Muy agudo y pueblerino.

50's bluegrass country music. Not my jam.

a chill hootenanny. 2 stars

I do like the bluegrass style and I like the harmonies on this album. To me it's not Earth shattering, nor would I choose this album to play regularly as it's otherwise not something I'm terribly interested in.

Repetitive, monotonous, boring country music. You've heard one song you've heard it all.

Yeah, not my thing. I can tolerate bluegrass when it is live, sometimes, but this was a tough one to get through. I'm glad some people like it. I appreciate that later artists claimed that it was an influence years after its release, so it belongs here. The albums I persoanlly appreciate from their importance in music history are those that contribute new and unique threads. There is nothing original nor perticulalry innovative here. Mostly, I'm with the folks when it was released on this one. I reserve 1* for albums that for me are unlistenable. This is a perfect example of an album I can both respect and absolutely hate. My cat was yowling toward the end of my listen. I suppose that could mean that she really likes the album, but I like to think that she is with me.

You know what, that was a nice change of pace. Not my normal cup of tea, but just glad for something interesting with little stories (and a fun easter-egg with the Nirvana inspiration).

meh for me even though unique in terms of what i listen to

Nope. This is my idea of hell.

Consigo visualizar facilmente um bando de caipira da terra do Tio Sam cantando loucamente pra esquecer a loucura que é ser um estadunidense

excellent. More of a greatest hits or compilation than an album tho.