Guitar Legend: The RCA Years

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Editorial reviews

Amazon.com
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." Though he recorded frequently over the years with A-list country sidemen under various names, his most enduring work remains the scintillating sides with guitarist Homer Haynes and mandolinist Jethro Burns (and you thought they were just a novelty act). There's also a rare rollicking reading of "Dig These Blues." And any set that follows the sweet timing of "Guitars on Parade" with the high-stepping "Bells of Saint Mary's" and the piercing "Country Gentleman" is indeed irrefutable testimonial to a guitarist who often hid his own virtues. This is the one Atkins album you really need to own. --John Morthland

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2008-01-25 rating:
Guitar Lengend: The RCA Years--Chet Atkins
These are wonderful CD's--every selection is great! I find that his wonderful renditions of the tunes run through my mind even when I'm not listening to the CD's. I find myself irresitably dancing to many of the selections as I enjoy listening to them--good exercise. And they bring back so many memories. My favorite is "Jitterbug Waltz" which was the reason I bought the CD's originally, but I find that I now have many favorite selections. I don't think I'll ever tire of listening to these wonderful tunes by Chet Atkins.

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review by: Scott date: 2006-02-20 rating:
Stellar collection from the greatest guitarist ever
No self respecting guitar player should be without Chet Atkins in his or her collection. Atkins' virtuosity, taste and almost incomprehensible range of playing are simply unparalled.
"The RCA Years" is a superb compilation of his work starting in 1947 with "Canned Heat" and follows through to the late '70's before Chet jumped ship to Columbia to pursue a more jazzy path than RCA was willing to allow.
Every track in this 50 song double CD is indispensible. We hear shred guitar before the term and the hot shots of the 80's, including Vai and Satriani were even born. Never hokey, Atkins was a living breathing slice of American music history. Rock and roll, bluegrass, country, blues and jazz are blended together in a musical soup that astonishes the listener, usually in the space of a single song.
The accompanying booklet is interesting, along with early photos of the great man. It's the best place to start for the serious Atkins fan and beginner alike, and damn hard to beat, although his "Essential" CD's are good company. Guitarists, pay your dues today.

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review by: computerjazzman date: 2005-10-14 rating:
great stuff from a great guitar player
Chet Atkins was truly a great musician, although he recorded a lot of crap over the years. This CD showcases his guitar talent, ranging from 1947-1978. Not every song is a classic, but there are some truly good ones here, it will open up your eyes a lot.

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review by: date: 2004-02-25 rating:
Excellent sampler of the first 30 years of Chet's career...
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.


review by: date: 2003-02-18 rating:
Nashville Cat
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.

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