features in: Album Chart of 1959 ● Album Chart of the Decade: 1950s |
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] The Louvin Brothers - Satan Is Real (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country |
A2 | [02:21] The Louvin Brothers - There’s A Higher Power (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country |
A3 | [02:16] The Louvin Brothers - The Christian Life (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country |
A4 | [02:17] The Louvin Brothers - The River Of Jordan (Hazel Houser) Country |
A5 | [02:51] The Louvin Brothers - The Kneeling Drunkard’s Plea (Anita Carter, Helen Carter, June Carter, Maybelle Carter) Country |
A6 | [02:33] The Louvin Brothers - Are You Afraid To Die (Charlie Louvin, Eddie Hill, Ira Louvin) Country |
B1 | [02:14] The Louvin Brothers - He Can Be Found (Ella Barrett, Fay Cunningham) Country |
B2 | [02:46] The Louvin Brothers - Dying From Home, And Lost (Traditional) Country |
B3 | [03:14] The Louvin Brothers - The Drunkard’s Doom (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country |
B4 | [02:56] The Louvin Brothers - Satan’s Jeweled Crown (Edgar L. Edens) Country |
B5 | [02:18] The Louvin Brothers - The Angels Rejoiced Last Night (Charlie Louvin, Ira Louvin) Country |
B6 | [03:08] The Louvin Brothers - I’m Ready To Go Home (Hazel Houser) Country |