“Country music and modernity were not synonymous in the early 1960s — after the rock-and-roll explosion, country held tight to its association with tradition, which could sometimes translate as a bulwark against the fight for full citizenship for African Americans. Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music was released the same month whites rioted to stop integration on the University of Mississippi campus. This reissue packages Modern Sounds with Modern Sounds Volume 2, recorded in the fall of 1962 to take advantage of the first volume's huge success. The second set places the swing and pop arrangements on separate sides, but it's equally affecting”
– @nprmusic
