Search - Chet Atkins :: Guitar Legend: Rca Years

Chet's early cuts galore!

Funky Junk | Georgia | 04/26/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a fine collection which includes many of Chet's early 78 RPM & 45 RPM sides. The overall sound quality is quite good. The selection of tracks is impressive and the CD insert booklet is very informative. Of interest is a couple of tracks from Chet's early RCA EP: PICKIN' THE HITS which includes DANCE WITH ME HENRY and TWEEDLEE DEE. There are early versions of TRAMBONE and BLUE (OCEAN) ECHO. Plus there's Chet with the then short-lived ensemble "The Rhythm Rockers" on DIG THESE BLUES - These all being reissued on CD for the first time! The material on GUITAR LEGEND concentrates on Chet's early sides, then jumps to cuts from selected '50's and '60's LP's - up through some great tunes he recorded in the '70's - ending with a piece from Chet's FIRST NASHVILLE GUITAR QUARTET LP, titled CAROLINA SHOUT which is totally out of place on this set. Regarding the "4 previously unreleased tracks" as advertised on GUITAR LEGENDS. These already appeared on the 1993 Bear Family Records 4-CD box set of Chet titled GALLOPING GUITAR. No "new unissued" material here. Chet's version of BLACK MOUNTAIN RAG is incorrectly listed in the liner notes as "taken from GALLOPIN' GUITAR" (10-inch LP)... Actually the CD includes Chet's much later version from the LP: PICKIN' MY WAY. It would have been nice if they had used the original 45-RPM single recording of WINDY & WARM rather than Chet's later version from the already reissued LP: DOWN HOME (CD two-fer). Don't get us wrong! This is a super set and highly recommended. GUITAR LEGEND could almost be called a "condensed version" of the earlier 4-CD Bear Family box. If you're in the market for Chet's early cuts, but don't want to pay the bucks for the Bear Family box, then this 2-CD set is the one to get!"

Excellent sampler of the first 30 years of Chet's career...

William E. Adams | Midland, Texas USA | 02/25/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I first became a fan of Chet Atkins in 1957, when I was 13. My new brother-in-law played an early LP for me in which Chet picked (and sang) a song about the Titanic. That tune's not included in these two hours, but one early Chet vocal is on here, just to show us why we don't need more of his voice. His artistic genius was in the picking, and this collection shows his versatility quite well. One criticism of Chet is that he recorded too much, and perhaps that is true, but after all, that was his job. Not every LP was ground-breaking, and a lot of Chet's work falls into the "easy listening" or "good background music" category, including some tracks on this set. But there was so much more to the man than those quiet recordings. He did jazz, pop, country/pop, traditional country, rock and roll, semi-classical---alone and with small groups, in duets and with orchestras. I was lucky enough to see Chet in person twice. Once was a concert, which included Boots Randolph on sax and Floyd Cramer on piano, but Chet was clearly the centerpiece. The other occasion was really special. In Nashville in 1968 I was in the audience for a recording session Chet produced, featuring country comedians (and superb instrumentalists) Homer and Jethro. One of the session musicians was Jerry Reed, later to become a star himself. Chet did not play, as I recall--- he supervised, and teased, and conducted, and solved problems. He was RCA's top man in Nashville at the time, and it was fascinating to watch him work. The result was released on LP as "Homer and Jethro Live at Vanderbilt University" but sadly has not been issued on CD. My applause is probably on it, and I'd like to own a copy. I knew who Homer and Jethro were because my parents had owned an earlier album of theirs, but I did not know at the time how respected they were as artists, or that their friendship with Chet went back 20 years. Since becoming a Chet fan in '57, I bought a handful of his own records over the years, but he made far too many for any one guy to own them all. This double CD set is welcome in my home as a tribute to a great guitarist and recording executive. If you are already a fan, it is a worthy addition. If you are new to Chet, I'd say this is essential. He helped make the guitar more prominent in both country and rock in his heyday during the '50's, and he helped make Nashville famous and country music more mainstream in the '60's. Many think the latter transformation was a mixed blessing, but overall Chet Atkins is a towering figure in American popular music, and this collection proves it."

Nashville Cat

William E. Adams | 02/17/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a great album. As point of departure I am a guitarist with eclectic tastes, and more interested in Chet for his technical and arrangeing abilitites than for the selections of tunes. That being said, this is my fifth or sixth Chester CD and it is interesting, and there are always great tunes on every album. As with so many guitarists, such as Clapton and Page, the RCA collection showcases Chet's evolution from frantic virtuoso (with flaming L7 in tow) into a rounded, melodic interpretative artist. The CD disc 1 is early stuff, with a more jazzy hillbilly feel-very cool, but a bit lacking in the fidelity department as befits the era. The disc 2 is some later stuff and it is extraordinary and worth the entire set price-there are some jazz tunes which are Chet at this best. This is a more sophisticated look into Chet and for the neophite not a bad first choice (although the best Chet sampler, IMHO, is Master and his Music). For those who really enjoy Chester and wish to visit his roots this is a good CD and bears the price."