“Satan Is Real” by The Louvin Brothers - album review

features in: Album Chart of 1959Album Chart of the Decade: 1950s

TJR says

Highly-acclaimed album from Ira and Charlie, who decided upon a country-gospel theme for this one. Check that cover! Designed by Ira, the cover features the brothers standing in a rock quarry in front of a 12-foot-tall plywood rendition of the Devil. Behind Satan are several hidden tyres soaked in kerosene symbolising fire and brimstone. Nutters. Lunacy aside, whilst one or two of these numbers are musically appealing the set is pretty dull on the whole. 5 Stars abound the world over though, so it must have something going for it. Interestingly, critic Scott Walden compared the Louvins' music to the Velvet Underground: “Their comprehension of the tortured throes of a drunkard's Satan-infested soul are no less profound than Lou Reed's own understanding of a heroin junkie wrestling with a world devoid of meaning beyond the piercing tip of the needle… The depth is there in Satan is Real. This album transcends the immediate kitsch appeal of its cover. There is a reason why songs from this album have been performed by the more commonly accepted genius of artists such as Gram Parsons, Johnny Cash, and Emmylou Harris.” Satan is real? Yeah, and Sister Ray’s a Nun.

The Jukebox Rebel
11–Oct–2015

Tracklist
A1 [03:00] 5.5.png The Louvin Brothers - Satan Is Real (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country
A2 [02:21] 4.1.png The Louvin Brothers - There’s A Higher Power (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country
A3 [02:16] 3.9.png The Louvin Brothers - The Christian Life (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country
A4 [02:17] 3.7.png The Louvin Brothers - The River Of Jordan (Hazel Houser) Country
A5 [02:51] 6.0.png The Louvin Brothers - The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea (Anita Carter, Helen Carter, June Carter, Maybelle Carter) Country
A6 [02:33] 4.0.png The Louvin Brothers - Are You Afraid To Die (Charlie Louvin, Eddie Hill, Ira Louvin) Country
B1 [02:14] 6.7.png The Louvin Brothers - He Can Be Found (Ella Barrett, Fay Cunningham) Country
B2 [02:46] 5.3.png The Louvin Brothers - Dying From Home, And Lost (Traditional) Country
B3 [03:14] 5.9.png The Louvin Brothers - The Drunkard’s Doom (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country
B4 [02:56] 4.8.png The Louvin Brothers - Satan’s Jeweled Crown (Edgar L. Edens) Country
B5 [02:18] 4.4.png The Louvin Brothers - The Angels Rejoiced Last Night (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country
B6 [03:08] 4.1.png The Louvin Brothers - I’m Ready To Go Home (Hazel Houser) Country

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