Disco de The Statler Brothers: “Pardners in Rhyme”

While the sound of the Statlers (a vocal harmony quartet unlike any other successful country act) changed slightly down the years, the essence of their music was consistent. They wrote most of their own material but they covered songs that suited their style. This album is typical.

Among the original songs are Memory lane (a nostalgic song of the type that the Statlers were so good at), Sweeter and sweeter (a very romantic song), Too much on my heart (an outstanding ballad - perhaps the best original song here) and You don't wear blue so well (another fine ballad).

The covers here are Hello Mary Lou (written by Gene Pitney but made famous by Ricky Nelson) and Amazing grace (the gospel classic that many different singers have recorded) - the Statlers' version is among the finest and most distinctive versions of this song.

Note that the song titled Autumn leaves is an original song (brilliant, like everything else here), not a cover of the classic fifties song (itself a translation of a French song). Come to think of it, the Statlers could have done a superb version of that classic, but as far as I know, they never did.

Every song here is wonderful, just as you would expect from the Statlers. If you are interested in the music of the Statlers, you will enjoy this album. If you are new to their music, I recommend that you start with one of their compilations.

The Statlers have a much more full and produced sound to this 1985 classic. Jerry Kennedy has produced their music for more than 30 years now, but even still you can tell a change in the Statler sound--perhaps with the change of recording technology. My favorite song is "Memory Lane", written by high tenor Jimmy Fortune, which bass Harold Reid singing lead on the chorus. Other great cuts include the classic "Hello Mary Lou" and "Amazing Grace".

While this particular Statler Brothers CD is not my favorite, it does contain a couple of my favorite songs that thay sing. "Hello Mary Lou" is worth the cost of the cd alone. I love this song and remember the times I used to hear this tape played by my dad who introduced the Statlers to me. The other song on this cd a really like is "Amazing Grace", a song that almost seems to have been done to death by so many artists over the years. The Statler version definatly ranks as my favorite. The other songs of the cd are alright, but do not possess the real memorability of these two wonderful songs. I love the way the Statlers almost always have at least one song devoted to Jesus on each of their cds. If you have never much listened to the Statlers, I would suggest you purchase the Staler set listed above. Great easy listing tunes!

I'm big Statler Brothers fan. I enjoy all their music rather it be Gospel or just plain good old music. They have a great passion in their singing that's enjoyable to listen too.

Gary