Rose Maddox & the Vern Williams Band and Los Alegres de Terán

Rose Maddox With the Vern Williams Band

Beautiful Bouquet (Arhoolie)

The Roots of the Narcocorrido

(Arhoolie)

Los Alegres de Terán

Grabaciones Originales (1952-1954) (Arhoolie)

Arhoolie Records has salvaged and celebrated "down home music since the 1960s," and these three reissues are textbook examples of the Californian label's mission. Recorded in 1982, Beautiful Bouquet by Rose Maddox with the Vern Williams Band is a rustic garland of twangy gospel tunes. Razor-sharp harmonies and weathered, help-me-Jesus soulfulness season gospel standards like "We Are Climbing Jacob's Ladder," "Turn Your Radio On," and a dozen others in this pre-alt.country oeuvre. More than two dozen cuts, some recorded as early as 1929, compose the enlightening primer that is The Roots of the Narcocorrido. Though relatively new (1970s), narcocorrido's roots are in the Mexican corrido (ballad) that emerged in the late 19th century. Often heralding drugs and violence, this musical history of the narcocorrido includes unexpected lightness, as with the coquettish "La Marihuana" sung by Trío Garnica-Ascencio. Bilingual lyrics and insightful liner notes bring welcome depth. Originally released on 78 and 45 rpm discs, Grabaciones Originales collects original recordings by Los Alegres de Terán in tribute to one of the founding fathers of Norteño music in South Texas. The cuts are from Falcon Record masters, the historic McAllen label, one of a handful of independents that rose to meet the needs of an unserved audience on both sides of the border, making the 15 corridos, rancheras, and polkas, quite literally, grabaciones originales of Los Alegres de Terán. Serious students of American roots music should take note.

(Beautiful Bouquet, The Roots of the Narcocorrido)

(Grabaciones Originales)