THE MADDOX BROTHERS AND SISTER ROSE 'From Dancefloor To Devotion’ Saturday night barn dance and Sunday morning religious hangovers
The story of The Maddox Brothers And Sister Rose is legendary. Having left their home in Alabama and headed to California they developed their unique rambunctious sound and began to play radio shows in the late ‘30s attracting a teenage audience for their breakneck recordings and cackling immediacy.
As Rose Maddox recalled: “We were called hillbilly singers - not country - then. No, none of this country music then. People just called us hillbilly... People tell me that I was one of the first women to sing what I sang - country boogie. I guess I was. There was no rock 'n' roll in those early days. Only country boogie.”
Call it what you will, the first part of this collection reflects the primal rockabilly hollerin’ style of this first family of song. Tracks one to 12 have that heady swing and jagged rhythm topped with call and response vocals, whoops and shouts all set to driving guitar and a fiddle that sounds like it’s being played next door. The pulsing upright bass of Fred Maddox keeps the momentum moving on a sound that undoubtedly instigated the early rock ‘n’ roll ideas of Buddy Holly And the Crickets and Billy Haley And The Comets.
That delirious barn dance feel, frantic laughter, whistling and Rose Maddox’s growling rasp in places has a feel of wild and irreverent shenanigans, of a time when the only important thing was to forget about all the worries of the world and to just have a darn good time.
The Maddox family were versatile players who dabbled in jazz, blues, folk and swing, adapting all of the styles that they heard into their own cooking pot. For those first 12 tracks there’s a party going on and everyone is invited.
However, the family were also Sunday morning church goers and the last 12 tracks reflect their upbringing as God-fearing Americans, as they deliver a selection of sacred songs, many of which have been interpreted over the intervening years by everyone from The Everly Brothers, The Byrds and The Dillards, to Gram Parsons and Gene Clark. Those songs hark back to those rootsy tales of repentance and redemption. And, without a doubt, The Maddox Brothers And Sister Rose’s aching delivery illustrates the mood the morning after the barn dance as the hangover lifts. Track 13, ‘Hangover Blues’ strategically splits the two sides of the Maddox sound retaining the uptempo rattle of the previous 12 cuts, while the lyrics suggest the writing is on the wall for the good times.
The multi harmonies and Rose Maddox’s booming range make the jittering mandolin, soaring fiddle and steel guitar on these sacred songs resound with all the aching soul of the church going faithful. Their wild, wild night seems a long way behind them as these truly emotional spirituals raise the roof. A perfect compassionate penance for the rampant excess of the previous evening. And proof of the family’s versatility too.
1 Wild Wild Young Men 2:25 Rose Maddox 2 My Little Baby 1:58 Rose Maddox 3 Ugly And Slouchy 2:11 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 4 Death of Rock And Roll 2:09 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 5 New Step It Up And Go 2:27 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 6 Mean and Wicked Boogie 2:40 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 7 Honky Tonkin 2:19 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 8 Move It On Over 2:47 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 9 Sally Let Your Bangs Hang Down 2:19 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 10 Shimmy Shakin' Daddy 2:11 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 11 Small Town Mama 2:52 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 12 That'll Learn Ya Durn Ya 2:35 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 13 Hangover Blues 2:38 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 14 I'll Fly Away 2:11 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 15 Farther Along 2:45 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 16 I'd Rather Have Jesus 2:03 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 17 In The Land Where We'll Never Grow 3:04 The Maddox 18 Tramp On The Street 3:06 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 19 I Just Steal Away And Pray 2:37 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 20 When God Dips His Love In My Heart 2:42 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 21 The Unclouded Day 3:09 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 22 Flowers For The Master’s Bouquet 2:52 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 23 Dust On The Bible 1:51 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 24 I'll Be No Stranger There 2:19 The Maddox Brothers & Rose 25 He Set Me Free 2:01 The Maddox Brothers & Rose
“Every Saturday night ends with a Sunday morning.” Walter J Starbuck
