1. Young Thing - Chet Atkins, Atkins, Chet
2. Mountains of Illinois
3. After You've Gone - Chet Atkins, Creamer, Henry
4. Every Now and Then
5. Somebody Loves Me Now
6. Norway
7. Read My Licks
8. Take a Look at Her Now
9. Around the Bend
10. Dream - Chet Atkins, Mercer, Johnny
11. Vincent - Chet Atkins, McLean, Don
Read My Licks
- Audio CD: 0 pages (1994-06-28)
- Publisher: Sony
- Label: Sony
- Studio: Sony
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 4 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #85859
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: Chet Atkins' Read My Licks 2008-10-21
Comment: This is one of Chet's best efforts since 1961's Chet Atkins' Workshop. It's amazing that such a work, one of several collaborations with other notable guitar greats like Mark Knopfler, Steve Wariner, Eric Johnson, and George Benson, would come so late in his career. Inventive variations on standard guitar themes, and tunes that seem to have been written specifically for Chet's interpretation, are the essence of this collection. The ethereal sounds of "Norway" are refreshingly unique in nature and application, especially so in tandem with a huge kick drum (which, after all, Chet pioneered in the '60s) and the guitar harmonies on several tunes with Pat Burgeson are no ordinary encounters. Suzy Bogguss' vocal work on "After You've Gone" is complimented by what contributed to the decades-long successes of so many of Nashville's headline vocalists: Chet's taste and sensitivity at dealing out seamless backup licks always hit the mark.
Add in superb audio quality and solid production, and this album is a tough one to beat.
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: In his last days, he was still pretty good 2004-03-09
Comment: At the age of 70, Chet Atkins was still making albums. Why? "I'm still trying to get it right," he told Guitar Player magazine. Inside Atkins was this inferiority complex that seemed to bug him, even after developing the Nashville sound years ago, producing Elvis, the Everly Brothers, Dolly Parton, and having dozens upon dozens of solo albums to his credit. Still, he was not quite fulfilled.And I hope I'm this active at 70. Less than a decade before his death, the man still played a mean guitar. The lead off track, entitled Young Thing, is deceptively difficult. It wasn't until I saw a video of him playing that song that I realized how intricate it was. For all his great playing, not all of Read My Licks is great. But most of it comes very close to being a delightful guitar album. If you like the traditional approach to country music, rather than the contemporary country-pop style, then there is no way you can't like what he and Suzy Bogus did to After You've Gone. The same goes for Mountains of Illinois and Around the Bend, the latter a duet with Mark Knopfler. The track with the most impact has got to be Somebody Loves Me Now, his duet with Eric Johnson. Johnson's electric provides a soft bed for Chet's single-line classical guitar lead as it draws out a simple three note melody. It's a tough style to describe. It really has to be heard in order for it to be explained. But Chet never could sing. I'm sorry, but the guy always sounded horrible when he opened his mouth. His title track duet with Steve Wariner is mercifully the only song that he chooses to sing. And like most of his vocal duet songs, this one is very corny. A man is trying to tell a woman that he can't express the way he feels for her, so he uses his guitar, thereby telling her to "read my licks." But they take it literally! Agh! Another song I usually skip over is Every Now and Then. This sounds painfully similar to the territory that Chet mined during the eighties. Remember Sails? Stay Tuned? C.G.P.? It sounds like it was lifted from one of those. But the album ends on a positive note. Just Chet and his guitar give a serene reading of Don McLean's Vincent. This harkens back to the days when Chet would arrange an entire song, both melody and chords, on his guitar and play it with no overdubbing. Not only is it a good album closer, but it accurately foreshadows his next album, 1996's Almost Alone.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Amazing 2004-03-08
Comment: I picked up a cassette tape version of this CD at a yard sale, and have nearly worn it out. I'm ordering 2, one for me and one for my father. I'm not well versed in his music either, but now I see why some of the greatest guitarists in the world call Atkins their mentor. I'm not sure what to call it; jazz, light rock? Call it what you want, I call it great.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Great collection of instrumentals 2001-02-14
Comment: Now, I'm not really that versed in Chet Atkins lore, but I know for a fact that he's one of the best, if not the best, country guitarist to ever come down the pike. And this album is a great collection of some of his best. With special guests like Dire Strait's Mark Knopfler, it's an amazing collection of great guitar work. Finally, the entire album is worth the price meerly for the amazing instrumental version of Don Mclean's classic Vincent.
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Read My Licks
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