Charlie Louvin's "New" Album is Mostly Old Rehashes

The Louvin Brothers are American treasures. Their music has been honored by the Nashville Songwriters' Hall of Fame, the Country Music Hall of Fame, their native Alabama Music Hall of Fame, and a special recognition by the Bluegrass Hall of Fame. Artists as diverse as Mark Knopfler, Elvis Costello, Emmylou Harris, Gram Parsons, and Uncle Tupelo have recorded their songs. Their incredible harmonies have pleased fans for over 50 years.

Elder brother Ira Louvin died in a car wreck in 1965. The Louvins had already broken up as an act by that time, with Charlie on the path to a successful solo career (having received a 1964 Grammy nomination as "Best New Country Artist"). The younger Louvin brother continued with success through the 1960s, telling biographer Charles Wolfe that his solo material outsold any of the Louvin Brothers' albums. Yet it is the Louvin Brothers, as an act, that have become part of American music history, with most of Charlie's solo material sadly forgotten. That is unfortunate, because Charlie recorded some outstanding songs as a solo artist.

As the Louvin Brothers' material became more and more popular (thanks in no small part to the 1992 issue Close Harmony by Bear Family records), Louvin began touring with various tenor singers (the best, even by Louvin's own admission, being Charles Whitstein of the Whitstein Brothers), performing the Louvin Brothers songs as duets. The interest in the Louvins culminated with the Grammy-winning Livin' Lovin' Losin': The Songs of the Louvin Brothers, released in 2003. The popularity of that may have prompted Louvin to enter the studio and record this album, his first project since 1996's The Longest Train.

With all love and respect to the Louvin Brothers, he should have stayed out of the studio. At age 80, Louvin's voice is shot (and even that is a kind assertion). He seems to be aware of that, since all but one of the songs on this CD relies on other vocalists to help. When the other artists are singing, things aren't so bad. In fact, Elvis Costello's vocals on "When I Stop Dreaming" are so superb that hopefully Costello has it on his list of things to record (by himself) as soon as possible. When Louvin steps up to the microphone, however, the quality steps down. It is downright painful to listen to him struggle through "The Christian Life" (the song the Byrds did on Sweetheart of the Rodeo) or "The Kneeling Drunkard's Plea." He is not so bad on some songs (such as "Must You Throw Dirt in My Face," the Bill Anderson composition that was the last hit of the Louvin Brothers' career), but weak definitely outweighs good here.

What is worse, most of these songs have been recorded by Louvin before -- some of them many times. "When I Stop Dreaming," as a solo song by Charlie, first appeared on his 1967 tribute album to his late brother, I'll Remember Always, and has made appearances on every album (live and studio) Louvin has released in the last 17 years. "Knoxville Girl" appeared on the duet album with Charles Whitstein in 1992, Hoping That You're Hoping, and again on their 1995 Live in Holland project, all of which featured Louvin's voice in better shape than it is now.

There is one new song on this album, and it is not only easily the highlight of the album but one of Louvin's solo career gems. "Ira," the penultimate song on the CD, is a long overdue tribute to his brother. In this case, Charlie's frail voice enhances the song. It's a heartfelt song and a heartbreaking song, an old man looking back on the 42 years he's had to live without his brother. "I still miss you," he sings. "There'll never be another 'cause you can't beat family." Louvin sees himself nearing the end of his life ("One day soon I'll sing with you and the angels"), and he performs this as though he's getting a weight off his shoulder. It's an absolute spine-tingling remembrance.

However, one fabulous song does not a five-star album make. The best recommendation, if you truly want to enjoy these songs, is to get any one of several Louvin Brothers compilations available domestically or as an import (When I Stop Dreaming: The Best of the Louvin Brothers, with liner notes by Marshall Crenshaw, is a good place to start), purchase the Collector's Choice Greatest Hits package of Charlie's solo career from 2004, and spend 79 cents to download "Ira" off the Internet.