A Master And His Music

A very accessible record that my uncle, an avid Chet Atkins fan, loved when he recieved it as a "new car" present (bye-bye cassette tapes).

This is a fine collection of Chet's work. With a little help from Dolly Parton, Les Paul and Jerry Reed. Chet rated himself worlds 5th best guitar player. After hearing this CD you'll shake your head and wonder, "who could have done better?"

If you're not familiar with Chet Atkins, this disc, more than any other compilation, is the best place to start. It's a superb collection of Chet's "Golden Era" recordings that never gets bogged down with inaccessible pieces or repetition. You'll hear exactly why this man came to define the idea of what a "guitar player" was in the 50's and 60's. Phenomenal playing that sounds so effortless and simple that when you listen closely to what the man is doing, you'll swear to yourself it's more than just Chet making all that music.
Listening to this disc, there is little doubt that Chet was the Eddie Van Halen of his day. Of course there were other masters who were active at the time and Chet wasn't the only one playing in this style; there was Merle Travis. But not even the latter virtuoso played with the finesse that Atkins did. Chet played with more grace than anyone. Heck, even Django didn't play Djangoesque arpeggios as smooth as Chet. His technique was as fluid as flowing water, unrivaled, even today.
Keeping Chet's prowess as a player in mind, it becomes all the more incredible how his immense technical proficiency could coexist with complete accessibility. These two things are usually mutually exclusive with instrumentalists, but not here. This is a record that you can listen to front to back with no sags, lulls, dull spots or self-indulgence. It is superbly compiled and the disc never ventures into the realm of "for guitarists only." Although, if you're into that sort of thing, it's in here; it's just not right up front. And, for me, that's what makes Chet's talent so unique. He somehow
managed to make baffling technical mastery palatable to everybody. In Chet's world, the song comes first, which means the picking never gets in the way. He's not a showoff; the technique is there, but it's often hidden in the melodies, so you have to to do a little work to uncover it. That's why, although this is some very complicated stuff, you can still tap your foot to it. Brilliant.
All the songs on this disc are great and there are no throwaways or fillers. In particular, the duet with Dolly Parton, "Do I Ever Cross Your Mind" is out of this world. I don't know how much the two of them recorded together, but RCA would be wise to issue all of it, as soon as possible. The love between these two musicians literally jumps out of the speakers and you can't help but to be seduced by their interplay. They sound like they're having a ball and it's really something.
This disc is perfect. Although I own plenty other Chet Atkins cd's I find that this one makes it's way into the player most often. If you like it what you hear on this disc and want more, try the double cd "Guitar Legend." There will be some repeats, but that disc is essentially a more thorough version of this one and there's enough difference that the overlap isn't an issue. Or if you're looking to jump into the "deep catalog," try "Guitar Country/More of That Guitar Country." You can't go wrong either way.

As a thumbpicker of guitar, I really enjoy this album. The amazing guitar speed and clarity shown in "Main Street Breakdown" and "Cascade" are great examples. This album collects a nice balance of sweet sounding music and guitar playing across a range of years from which they were recorded.

I have several CHet Atkins albums, as I am a guitarist with eclectic tastes and love his style. If I were to own only one Chet Atkins album this would probably be the one. It showcases his wide range of style and virtusity from black mountain rag to the charming ballad duet with Dolly Parton to yakety axe. Its fun, it moves along, there are a wide variety of selections and it is well engineered. In a day when fewer people know about Chet this a a great way to understand how this man came to influence an entire music industry and style, was able to do so by his instrumnetal virtuosity, yet appealed to everyman. Buy it youll love it.