Originally Posted By: GHinCH
Real Country, hmmm.

A lot of good selections have been suggested.

If you listen to Country music across the decades, starting with the Carter Family and Jimmie Rodgers, you will find two concurrend streams:
1. Country music that reflects the pop music trend of its time and
2. Music that has more the feel of "it could have been in a living room on a farm". (Even if it is amplified.)

ad 1:
1930s: Bob Wills, Spade Cooley and all the other Western Swing bands played Jazz;
1940s: The Delmore Brothers, Arthur Smith and others played Boogie Woogie style music.
1950s: Even Eddy Arnold recorded Rockabilly songs, Country music's adaption of Rock 'n' Roll. And there were others like George "Thumper" Jones, Hank Snow, Johnny Cash and many, many more.
1960s: Sound carpets by very large string orchestras enhanced Country music to have it have an easier access to the pop charts.
and so on...
the reason to invent outlaw country music, you know Jennings, Nelson, and their friends.

ad 2.
All the music that is seen as "real" country music including all the other sub-genres like bluegrass or gospel music for instance.




Grinch,

Excellent overview.

In my opinion dividing the music into decades is a good way to approach reviewing the music regardless what genre the music is.

Another way is to listen to a compilation such as The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band albums.

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band has worked with musicians, singers and songwriters of several generations in the double disc albums (CD): ++ Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 1 ++ , ++ Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 2 ++ , and Will The Circle Be Unbroken Vol. 3 (video not available).

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