When I Stop Dreaming: The Best of The Louvin Brothers

Amazon.com

The great irony of the Louvin Brothers, today considered by many the best of the brother duos, is that they peaked at a time when the form was almost dead. Their vocal sound was as old as the Alabama hills, and they kept alive such archaic tunes as “Knoxville Girl” and “In the Pines.” Yet their studio bands were up to date, if not exactly Nashville Sound knockoffs, and much of their material, including “You’re Running Wild,” was fairly contemporary. Traditionalists or modernists? When it’s this good, who cares? And besides, who’s going to argue with guys who knew Sin the way Charlie and Ira Louvin knew Sin? –John Morthland