Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(6 customer reviews) 49 of 49 people found the following review helpful
Chet's early cuts galore!,
April 26, 2000 Funky Junk "Funky Junk" (Georgia) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Guitar Legend: Rca Years (Audio CD)
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...Read more
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Excellent sampler of the first 30 years of Chet's career...,
February 24, 2004 William E. Adams (Midland, Texas USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Guitar Legend: Rca Years (Audio CD)
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...Read more
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Nashville Cat,
February 17, 2003 By A Customer
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Guitar Legend: Rca Years (Audio CD)
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...Read more
