In Close Harmony: The Story of the Louvin Brothers (American Made Music Series)

Rating:
Summary: Fine bio of country music's revered brother harmony duo
Review: Wolfe does a fine job of capturing the Louvin's hard-scrabble roots, and, most impressively, the atmosphere that fostered their music. His description of the Louvins' home of Sand Mountain, Alabama -- with cultural and societal development heavily influenced on the mountain's physical isolation -- is worth the read alone. Similarly, his discussions of Sacred Harp singing and shape note music books provide a priceless introduction to some of the nineteenth-century roots of twentieth century folk and country music.

A chronology of the Louvins' recording sessions (with detailed discussions of most every song) is neatly interspersed throughout the book, and Wolfe does an admirable job of capturing the interpersonal brotherhood that drove the act. He provides a palpable sense of how the Louvins came to fame, the setbacks (some external, some self-imposed) and hard work that created and cemented their legacy.

This book originated as the text accompanying Bear Family's CD box set "Close Harmony," and, unfortunately, does not include the complete discography presented in the notes. Further, having sprung from annotation, the text is often heavy with discussions of the Louvin's recordings in lieu of the artists (and those enabling the recordings) themselves. Finally, there are some rather obvious editing and factual errors (e.g., the geography of California's Central Valley and Bay Area is poorly represented) that should have been cleaned up before going to press.

All in all, a terrific biography of one of country music's most revered (and best) harmony acts.