Chet Atkins is more esteemed as a session musician and producer than as a solo artist, and critics have rightly noted that much of his immense catalog as a solo artist is unimpressive. It might thus be assumed that it would be difficult to pick a two-CD, 40-track career-spanning retrospective that would both represent much of his finest solo output and appeal to the general listener, not just the country music scholar. Happily, this set manages the difficult feat of doing exactly that, owing to intelligent selection of a ...
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Chet Atkins is more esteemed as a session musician and producer than as a solo artist, and critics have rightly noted that much of his immense catalog as a solo artist is unimpressive. It might thus be assumed that it would be difficult to pick a two-CD, 40-track career-spanning retrospective that would both represent much of his finest solo output and appeal to the general listener, not just the country music scholar. Happily, this set manages the difficult feat of doing exactly that, owing to intelligent selection of a wide cross-section of tracks, going all the way back to a 1946 single by Chester Atkins & the All-Star Hillbillies and all the way up to a 1995 recording (though most of the set predates 1970). Atkins' virtuosity as a guitarist has never been in question, but here it's allied with good material and taste, showing him as a fine blender of hillbilly, boogie, and jazz styles in a variety of contexts. It's mostly instrumental, of course, but wisely his talents as a sideman are showcased here and there too on vocal sides by the Carter Sisters and Mother Maybelle, Eddy Arnold, the Everly Brothers, and Don Gibson. Even the pop standards are good when chosen this judiciously, and there are some surprisingly bold moves into more electric and rock-influenced territory on cuts like "Slinkey" (with its innovative tremolo), "Boo Boo Stick Beat," the Shadows cover "Man of Mystery," and "Teen Scene" (which he co-wrote with Jerry Reed). It might not be the ultimate Atkins compilation, given the sheer quantity of material the guitarist recorded. But it's a good -- and, more crucially, very listenable -- starting point for surveying his work as a solo artist. ~ Richie Unterberger, Rovi
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Add this copy of The Essential to cart. $41.19, new condition, Sold by Revaluation Books rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Exeter, DEVON, UNITED KINGDOM, published 2007 by Columbia Nashville: 886970767729.
Given the condescending official review, it's hard to imagine wanting to listen to this disc. It's like a chat board troll. An unhinged, out-of-control response is entirely justified, but I'll stay in the pocket.
Chet Atkins did not win thirteen grammies as a performer, invent the Nashville sound and change the world, on the strength of uninspired solo work.
Every guitarist who followed, without exception, is influenced by him, and I'm quoting a rock and roll hall-of-famer. George Harrison collected every Chet Atkins album, and it wasn't because Chet was a soulless technical speed monkey. He inspired, and continues to inspire, many people to devote their lives to music. McCartney traveled to Nashville to record with Atkins. Earl Klugh decided to play guitar after hearing Chet Atkins. Forget trying to make a list.
The selections on this disc are great. It's a great collection. And, superb as it is, the life within it is far greater, an unfathomable source. Nashville sound became what it is by trying to copy him. Too bad, it is easier to simulate Chet Atkin's incredible technique than to grasp his emotional intensity, his restraint, his intimacy, his mystery. The original here, is alive and wild.
This collection is, like any collection, lacking cohesion. Raw country, breakdown blugrass, Stax-style memphis groove, Broadway, etc. It's all over the place, but you can't wrap up anything final or even
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