Chet Atkins Early Years

Chet Atkins recorded way too often, in way too many dubious contexts; wanting to showcase the depth and breadth of his playing, he instead buried himself. So what's a fan to do? This two-disc set is beautifully programmed, keeping all emphasis on Chet himself, from the delicate drive of 1947's "Canned Heat" to the four-guitar interplay of 1978's "Carolina Shout."

This 18-song compilation was originally assembled by RCA in 1984, and then bumped over to CD by BMG through Pair Records three years later. It shows Chet Atkins at his elegant best, his crisp, clean guitar sound applied to countrypolitan, hillbilly, bluegrass, and pop standards, everything from "Wabash Cannonball" to "The Bells of St. Mary's." The sound is crisp and holds up remarkably well despite the early vintage of the CD – as is typical of Pair's releases, there is no annotation whatsoever and no indication of the dates of origin of these track, though they're all in stereo and very clean.

Jerry Reed - Even More Original RCA Albums (2018) {2CD Set BGO Records BGOCD1355 rec 1971-1972}
EAC rip (secure mode) | FLAC (tracks)+CUE+LOG -> 680 Mb | MP3 @320 -> 256 Mb
Full Artwork @ 300 dpi (png) -> 42 Mb | 5% repair rar
© 1971-72, 2018 RCA / BGO Records / Sony Music | BGOCD1355
Country / Folk / Acoustic / Country-Pop / Rockabilly / Nashville Sound

Four albums from the breakout years of Jerry Reed – all collected here in a single CD set! First up is When You're Hot – the record that firmly catapulted Jerry Reed to the top – a set that draws on all his years of lyrical wit and razor-sharp guitar work – served up with some surprisingly funky touches too! That upbeat chugging groove that Jerry began on "Guitar Man" is in place on many tracks here – although there's also a few ballads that balance things out nicely, and some instrumental moments too. Titles include the hit "When You're Hot You're Hot", "Thank You Girl", "Turned On", "My Kinda Love", "Big Daddy", "Amos Moses", and "I'll Be Around".

In the latter half of the 20th century there were three pre-eminently influential folk/country guitar players: Merle Travis, Chet Atkins, and Arthel "Doc" Watson, a flat-picking genius from Deep Gap, North Carolina. Unlike the other two, Watson was in middle age before gaining any attention. After 1960, though, when Watson was recorded with his family and friends in Folkways' Old Time Music at Clarence Ashley's, people remained in awe of this gentle blind man who sang and picked with a pure and emotional authenticity.