I began listening to the Blue Sky Boys in June 2024. I first became aware of them through a video of record collector Joe Bussard playing their 1941 song "Turn Your Radio On," which I immediately loved. After discovering that their early recordings (including my beloved "Turn Your Radio On") were unavailable on streaming platforms, I bought the CDs below, which cover the duo's first four studio sessions. Although Within the Circle covers the brothers' third and fourth studio sessions, sources online suggest it was released three years before There'll Come a Time. Neither of the physical CDs are any help in confirming or denying this, so don't worry too much about that.
There'll Come a Time/Can't You Hear That Nightbird Cry? (1995): B
Within the Circle/Who Wouldn't Be Lonely (1992): B
There'll Come a Time/Can't You Hear That Nightbird Cry? (1995):
As one of the most notable and talented harmonizers of their day, the Blue Sky Boys--consisting of brothers Bill and Earl Bolick--were a talented teenage duo who began recording in 1936. With just Bill's mandolin and Earl's guitar to supply the music, their interpretations of ballads, traditionals, and gospel hymns stay faithful to simple old-time stylings so as to emphasize their tight harmonies above all else. This compilation collects all the material from their first two recording sessions--one from June and one from October 1936--with twenty-one songs in total. Although the brothers' singing is rightly beloved, their generally slow pace as well as the fact that they almost always sing in unison makes this hour long compilation lack variety. When they do change up their vocal arrangements, such as the solo vocals on the verses of "I'm Troubled, I'm Troubled" and the swapping of lines on "Didn't They Crucify My Lord" and "When the Ransomed Get Home," it's a noticeable breath of fresh air. B
Within the Circle/Who Wouldn't Be Lonely (1992):
The Blue Sky Boys' third and fourth trips to the studio in 1937 and 1938 shows little musical development from the brothers since their initial sessions. Although they can prove to be more than pleasant occasionally, both this album and There'll Come a Time suggest that listening to their complete recorded works is pretty overkill. That's a pity because their continued obscurity has caused them to lack any widely accessible or brief best-of compilations (besides these two albums, their other compilations are either over 5 hours long or consist of recordings dating from the folk revival). B
