Before listening to this record, my only knowledge of the Louvin Brothers was of their notorious, cheesy cover for their album, "Satan is Real":
(Man, is that embarrassingly awful!)
So, with that image engrained in my mind, you could probably see why I really wasn't expecting much from this record, aside from my lactose intolerance to kick-in.
Boy, was I pleasantly surprised.
I wouldn't consider myself to really be an active fan of country music, although there are some artists I will go out of my way to listen to (i.e. Emmylou Harris). While I do like quite a bit of the country music I have heard, I have to reluctantly admit that I haven't sought out much, and my knowledge is, sadly, very limited on the genre.
The Louvin Brothers are pioneers of the close harmony style of singing often associated with country... and the style is really beautiful. The two brothers' voices blend perfectly, and their harmonies both compliment and even strengthen the melancholy, often pessimistic subject matter of many of the songs.
It is records like this that make the challenge I have accepted for myself worthwhile. It is discovering music like The Louvin Brothers, music I otherwise might not have ever heard, that is the reason I decided to listen to this massive quantity of albums. This is something I would certainly recommend you listen to, unless you hate country music, then you definitely will not like this one.
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