The Vanguard Years (Doc Watson album)

Reception

Music critic Richie Unterberger praises the release in his review for Allmusic writing "This was Doc's best period recording-wise, and certainly you couldn't hope for a better document of his virtuosity" but also qualifies his review, writing "It's too much, however, for listeners who aren't big fans; Vanguard's Essential Doc Watson is a more economical survey. If you are a big fan, though, you'll be especially interested in the 16 previously unreleased performances."

Mark Ray of No Depression wrote "By definition, The Vanguard Years is not a completist’s collection, although it is an expansive project , and much of Watson’s most popular work is represented here. More interesting, though, is the lesser-known material, on which Watson can be heard evolving his famous flatpicking style... The Vanguard Years is a definitive statement on Watson as an innovator. But it also stands as a testament to the effect a musician’s label can have on their career."

Track listing

1. "Rambling Hobo" (traditional) – 0:57
2. "Train That Carried My Girl From Town" (traditional) – 2:03
3. "The Coo Coo Bird" (traditional) – 2:46
4. "Reuben's Train" (traditional) – 2:29
5. "Hicks' Farewell" (traditional) – 3:34
6. "Grandfather's Clock" (Henry Clay Work) – 1:26
7. "Beaumont Rag" (traditional) – 1:44
8. "Farewell Blues" (traditional) – 1:48
9. "Footprints in the Snow" (traditional) – 2:03
10. "Intoxicated Rat" (Dorsey Dixon, Mainer) – 2:33
11. "Talk About Suffering" (traditional) – 2:50
12. "Omie Wise" (traditional) – 4:29
13. "Country Blues" (Dock Boggs) – 3:33
14. "Black Mountain Rag " (traditional) – 1:32
15. "Doc's Guitar" (Doc Watson) – 1:18
16. "Deep River Blues" (traditional) – 3:09
17. "Muskrat" (traditional) – 2:54
18. "Dream of the Miner's Child" (Andrew Jenkins) – 2:47
19. "Rising Sun Blues" (traditional) – 4:17
20. "Otto Wood the Bandit" (Walter "The Kid" Smith) – 3:17
21. "Little Sadie" (traditional) – 2:01
22. "Windy and Warm" (John D. Loudermilk) – 2:15
23. "Tennessee Stud" (Jimmy Driftwood) – 3:38
24. "Blue Railroad Train" (Alton Delmore, Rabon Delmore) – 2:45
25. "Down in the Valley to Pray" (traditional) – 2:02
26. "Dill Pickle Rag" (traditional) – 1:25
27. "The F.F. V." (Watson, Watson) – 4:03
28. "Childhood Play" (Alfred Karnes) – 1:59
29. "Sreamline Cannonball" – 2:27
30. "Old Camp Meeting Time" (traditional) – 2:50
31. "I'm Thinking Tonight of My Blue Eyes"
32. "The Girl in the Blue Velvet Band"
33. "New River Train" (traditional) – 3:27
34. "Rank Stranger" – 3:20
35. "Corrine, Corrina" (traditional) – 3:09
36. "What Does the Deep Sea Say" (traditional) – 2:53
37. "There's More Pretty Girls Than One" (traditional) – 2:29
38. "Way Downtown" – 3:14
39. "Brown's Ferry Blues" – 2:55
40. "Spike Driver Blues" (traditional) – 2:23
41. "Roll on Buddy" (traditional) – 2:41
42. "I Am a Pilgrim" (traditional) – 2:29
43. "Wabash Cannonball" (traditional) – 2:11
44. "Roll in My Sweet Baby's Arms" (Flatt) – 2:16
45. "The Lawson Family Murder" (Smith) – 3:04
46. "The Cuckoo" (traditional) – 2:53
47. "Alabama Bound" (traditional) – 2:39
48. "Bye Bye Bluebells" (traditional) – 2:49
49. "Kinfolks in Carolina" (traditional) – 2:48
50. "San Antonio Rose" (Bob Wills) – 3:31
51. "Blow Your Whistle Freight Train" (Alton Delmore, Rabon Delmore) – 2:47
52. "Cannonball Rag" – 3:05
53. "I Am a Pilgrim" – 2:32
54. "Arrangement Blues" (traditional) – 2:09
55. "I Got a Pig at Home in the Pen" – 2:53
56. "My Rough and Rowdy Ways" (Elsie McWilliams, Jimmie Rodgers) – 4:09
57. "Deep River Blues" (traditional) – 2:06
58. "The Banks of the Ohio" (traditional) – 2:33
59. "A-Roving on a Winter's Night" (traditional) – 2:58
60. "Southbound" (traditional) – 4:01
61. "Memphis Blues" – 3:47
62. "Salt Creek/Bill Cheatham" (traditional) – 2:54
63. "Brown's Ferry Blues" (traditional) – 3:09
64. "Windy and Warm" (Loudermilk) – 2:38

Personnel