After waxing their seminal Rich-R-Tone and Columbia recordings from 1947 to 1952, Carter and Ralph Stanley actually broke up their band; Carter even joined Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys for a short stretch while Ralph recuperated from a car accident. By 1953, they were back recording for Mercury and for the most part continuing to fuse the raw mountain music they grew up on with Monroe's more progressive propulsive style--although the duo does branch out a bit stylistically across these 48 tracks. Still, when it comes to two-part bluegrass harmonies, the Stanleys were without question the pair to beat: The blend of Carter's rich, warm voice with Ralph's crude, coarse moans stands as one of bluegrass's most distinctive sounds. Whether singing about the home folks (both living and deceased), the Lord, or the lover (both faithful and not), the Stanleys imparted a blunt, emotionally honest, soul-baring intensity. Along with the Rich-R-Tone and Columbia sets, this record is an essential collection of not only the Stanley Brothers' work, but of bluegrass in general. --Marc Greilsamer