Satan Is Real The Louvin Brothers

• 1 Satan Is Real 03:01
• 2 There's A Higher Power 02:23
• 3 The Christian Life 02:19
• 4 The River Of Jordan 02:19
• 5 The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea 02:53
• 6 Are You Afraid To Die 02:37
• 7 He Can Be Found 02:15
• 8 Dying From Home, And Lost 02:48
• 9 The Drunkard's Doom 03:16
• 10 Satan's Jeweled Crown 02:58
• 11 The Angels Rejoiced Last Night 02:21
• 12 I'm Ready To Go Home 03:09
• Total Runtime 32:19

Info for Satan Is Real

Bolstered by one of the most celebrated and startlingly unique record covers ever, 1959's Satan Is Real delves into a strange netherworld of Country that no longer exists. Touching on the Louvin's fire and brimstone southern Baptist upbringing, the title track's spoken recitation proclaims the existence of the devil himself. Featuring the iconic 'There's A Higher Power' and 'The Christian Life' (covered by The Byrds on Sweetheart Of The Rodeo), Satan Is Real is thought by many to be the pinnacle of the Louvin Brothers' recording career. It's certainly an album you'll never forget, finally presented on HighResAudio and remastered from the original tapes.

„Satan Is Real is the Louvin Brothers' best known album, largely because of its bold title and its eccentric cover artwork, in which Charlie and Ira Louvin, surrounded by flames symbolizing Hades, pose in front of a huge, cross-eyed model of the Devil. While more than a few hipsters have found an ironic laugh in the album's over-the-top imagery, one listen to the music confirms that the Louvin Brothers weren't joking in any way, shape or form. Satan Is Real is an album of fierce, plain spoken sincerity in which the Louvins, who started their career singing gospel material, perform songs that deal with the high stakes of sin and redemption, in which Satan truly does have power to rival the Lord. The opening title track sets the tone for the set, in which a man at a church service tells the congregation how he learned that Satan's treachery is every bit as real as God's love, and while not every song is as grim -- 'The River of Jordan' and 'There's a Higher Power' are positively jaunty -- the temptations of life in a fallen world and the consequences of sin are touched upon in nearly every track. The Louvin Brothers wrote many of the most memorable songs on Satan Is Real, and they rarely sounded as heartfelt as on 'The Christian Life,' 'Are You Afraid to Die' and 'The Angels Rejoiced Last Night'; as usual, their harmonies are luminously beautiful, and while Ira's superb mandolin work is missed, the simple arrangements (often incorporating a subdued gospel organ) are perfectly suited to the material. You don't need to share the Louvin Brothers' spiritual beliefs to be moved by the grace, beauty and lack of pretension of this music; Satan Is Real is music crafted by true believers sharing their faith, and its power goes beyond Christian doctrine into something at once deeply personal and truly universal, and the result is the Louvin Brothers' masterpiece.“ (Mark Deming, AMG)

Charlie Louvin, vocals, guitar
Ira Louvin, vocals, mandolin
George McCormick, guitar, vocals
Jimmy Capps, guitar
Paul Yandell, guitar
Ray Edenton, guitar
Marvin Huges, piano, organ
Lightning Chance, bass
Buddy Harman, drums

Recorded August 8–10, 1958
Produced by Ken Nelson

Digitally remastered

The Louvin Brothers
Ira and Charlie, formed one of the finest duos in country music, offering superb close harmony vocals that often displayed their gospel roots. With Ira’s incredibly high, pure tenor and Charlie's emotional smooth melody tenor, they successfully preserved the old-time rural country tradition, while bringing in a contemporary 1950s styling. Though their active career spanned only ten years, and during most of that time they recorded mainly gospel songs, resulting in just a handful of chart records between 1955 and 1958, The Louvin Brothers' music has proved to be highly influential over the past forty years. The Everly Brothers were clearly influenced by the duo, while country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons drew heavily from their deep catalogue of classic songs. More recently, it has been Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, Dolly Parton, BR5-49, and several of the alternative country acts all reviving their songs or borrowing heavily from their distinctive style.

Born in Rainesville, Alabama (Ira on April 21, 1924; Charlie on July 7, 1927), The Louvins (real name Loudermilk), were raised on a farm where they first learned to play guitar. They sung gospel songs in church and their parents encouraged their sons to play music, despite the family’s poverty. Ira began playing mandolin while Charlie picked up the guitar, and the two began harmonising, being influenced by the then-popular close-harmony country brother duets of The Blue Sky Boys, The Delmore Brothers and The Monroe Brothers. They began performing at a small, local radio station in Chattanooga, where they frequently played on an early-morning show. Drafted into the forces during World War II, the brothers’ musical career was interrupted for a few years. They returned after service and picked up musically, where they left off, moving to Knoxville, Tennessee where they appeared regularly on the Mid-Day-Merry-Go-Round radio show. It was at this time they adopted the name Louvin, which sounded a better stage name. In 1947 they moved to Memphis for another radio show and also made their first record, a one-off single for Apollo Records. That was followed two years later by a single for Decca Records which failed to make much of an impact. In 1951 they signed with MGM Records and over the next year, recorded twelve songs, without too much success.

Throughout this period, they had both been working as postal clerks while playing concerts and radio shows at night. Eventually, they earned the attention of Acuff-Rose who signed the duo to a publishing contract. This led to them recording with Capitol Records. Their debut single for the label, The Family Who Prays, was a moderate success, and has since become a gospel standard. Shortly after that release, Charlie was recalled by the Army to serve in The Korean War. Following Charlie’s Army discharge they joined The Grand Ole Opry and started performing and recording secular material. They didn’t entirely abandon gospel music, but following the top ten success of When I Stop Dreaming in 1955, they knew they had hit upon a winning sound. Whatever type of songs they recorded, gospel, folk, hillbilly, country or pop, those songs became inexplicably The Louvins. Their most notable hits came with I Don’t Believe You’ve Met My Baby (number one in 1956), Hoping That You’re Hoping, You’re Running Wild, Cash On the Barrel Head, My Baby’s Gone and Knoxville Girl. The latter was from their highly-acclaimed TRAGIC SONGS OF LIFE album. Though most of their album collections, such as NEARER MY GOD TO THEE, KEEP YOUR EYES ON JESUS and WEAPON OF PRAYER, were gospel, they also recorded some stunning country albums including A TRIBUTE TO THE DELMORE BROTHERS, MY BABY'S GONE, THE GREAT ROY ACUFF SONGS and COUNTRY LOVE BALLADS. …. Visit: www.alancackett.com

This album contains no booklet.