Country Music Classics: Jim Reeves/Ray Price With Ernest Tubb; Country Music Classics: Marty Robbins/Ernest Tubb; Country Music Classics: Webb Pierce/Chet Atkins

Shot between 1954-1956 on 35mm film at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, these music video compilations feature surprisingly vibrant color and crystal clear sound. The Reeves/Price/Tubb collection contains 24 songs, ranging from Reeves' "Yonder Comes A Sucker" and Price's hit "Don't Let The Stars Get In Your Eyes" to Tubb's poignant "Dear Judge" (in which a child appeals to the court to not grant his parents a divorce). The Pierce/Atkins collection contain 27 songs, mostly by Pierce ("Why I Want To Cry," "There Stands The Glass," "Slowly," etc.), with nine instrumentals by Chet Atkins (including "Frankie & Johnny" and "Mr. Sandman"). Sitting next to Atkins is a young Minnie Pearl. The Robbins/Tubb collection contains 26 songs spread out evenly between the two artists. Robbins' hits include "Singin' The Blues," "Pretty Mama," and "Gossip," and Tubb performs "Walkin' The Floor Over You," "Answer The Phone," "I'll Step Aside," and others. Keeping in mind, that some of these artists were just getting started (you won't hear Marty Robbins doing "Streets of Laredo," for example), these three tapes offer a nice time capsule of country music from the 1950s. Recommended. (Available from: Shanachie, 37 E. Clinton, Newton, NJ 07860.)