This is not a traditional country album, not by today’s standards, and especially not by 1957 standards, the year of it’s release. In fact, based on the albums being promoted on the back cover; a Mario Lanza release, “Madame Butterfly”, and The Chicago Symphony; RCA didn’t even have country listeners in mind on this release.
And yet, while the album is a collection of pop and classical selections of the time, there’s still somewhat of a country feel to the overall presentation by Mr. Atkins.
This is a good album, though. I think this is Chet Atkins at his best; playing a varied selection of songs, all with minimal backing, which gives the listener an almost unimpeded access the Chet’s virtuoso playing.
The disc begins with the bouncy “Swedish Rhapsody”, a cut which certainly has to be considered one of the album’s many highlights. “Liza” is another; a close listen really shows off Chet’s incredible talent. I won’t even try to describe how this song is; words are useless. One has to hear to understand.
Chet takes Glenn Miller’s classic “In The Mood”, strips it down, slows it’s tempo just a bit, and the result is another of the album’s highlights.
Those who are old enough to remember the 1940’s, or else are well-versed in 1940’s pop music, will be familiar with the Ted Weems hit, “Heartaches”. Chet glides through this one seemingly so effortlessly, as he does with most songs.
“Dance Of The Goldenrod” and “Petite Waltz” may not be standout tracks, but Chet’s handling of these two selections, makes them more than merely listenable.
Much like “Heartaches”, “Adelita” is another track where the word effortless comes to mind when I hear it. This is a song that just sounds like it would be difficult to play for most people. But Chet just effortlessly glides through the continual switches between major and minor chords, like it’s no big deal.
Chet tackles classical music with “Gavotte in D” and Brahm’s “Waltz In A Flat”. Both are excellent cuts, but “Waltz In A Flat” is especially worthy of praise. Intimate, tender, beautiful.
“Unchained Melody” is the first of at least two versions Chet recorded in his career (the other, on a later album with Hank Snow). Again, the words intimate and beautiful are the only ones worthy of description for this cut. When hearing this version, one feels like this is what the song’s writer surely had in mind, when he first set the melody to paper.
Chet wraps up the album with the Spanish-flavored “Malaguena”, a song that I’ve heard guitar players say is very tough to play. As expected, though, Chet breezes through it, and the result is yet another outstanding cut from the master.
This album is actually available on CD (an import) and MP3 download. And although now discontinued, you may still find some CD copies of a package in which this was released with another of his albums, “Stringin’ Along”, though it looks to be somewhat pricey. I was also a bit surprised to see so many vinyl copies on the market, most in the $5-$15 range. There were even a few copies for sale of the album on extended play 45’s. Remember those?
This is the best Chet Atkins album in my collection, and in the opinion of many of his fans, one of his best, ever. This one easily rates a 5 out of 5.
I once read a quote from Eddy Arnold about Chet. While I don’t recall it, word-for-word, basically he said that when they debate the world’s greatest guitar players, the argument starts with who’s number two, because everyone agrees who’s number one, Chet Atkins.
Though it may be hard to believe, if you judged from her work of the past twenty years, but there was a time when Reba McEntire was considered one of the cornerstones of traditional country music. During the 1980’s, when the pop influence was very strong, Reba, along with George Strait, Ricky Skaggs, George Jones, and later, Randy Travis, were the flag wavers for a purer country sound. Today’s album, “What Am I Gonna Do About You”, is from that era, released in the fall of 1986.
The album kicks off with a rollicking “Why Not Tonight”, where we hear her asking her latest flame “why not fall in love with me”. It’s a good number, and a good track to begin things with.
Of course, the title track, “What Am I Gonna Do About You”, was a number one hit, and one of her best songs of that era.
The album begins to get a bit uneven, at this point. “Lookin’ For A New Love Story” is good, but not great, while “Take Me Back” sounds like an attempt to clone the song “Bop”, which had been a big Dan Seals hit, just a year earlier. Not a bad song, but not “Bop”.
“My Mind Is On You”, is a classic country weeper, in which she sings of the bar where she drinks, the men who are wooing her, and the man she is now starting to regret leaving. One wonders why this was never a single. It could have been a hit, in my estimation.
One song that was a single, though now a somewhat forgotten tune, despite it’s top ten showing, is “Let The Music Lift You Up”. While Reba was still mainly a traditional country singer at this stage, on this track in particular, we are starting to hear the direction that she will take more and more on ensuing releases, which is a smoother, slicker, more pop-like sound. The song, itself, is good, but nothing special.
Even today, Reba is still at her best with the simple, straight-ahead country song, like “I Heard Her Crying”, a song of a child’s heartbreak over the impending split of her parents, and another song that could have easily been a single.
Remember the old Carl Smith hit, “Loose Talk”? “No Such Thing” was the 1980’s attempt to emulate that country classic. Does it work? For me, not really. It’s literally a song that I listen to and can’t find anything to say, good or bad, about. It’s just there.
On the other hand, “One Promise Too Late” is not just there. It’s one of her best-ever recordings. If you haven’t heard this song, recently, go back and give it a listen, and then try to tell me it’s not one of the best hits of the 1980’s, and one of Reba’s best-ever releases.
“Till It Snows In Mexico” is the grand finale of the disc. It’s a nice, light, positive way to end the album, and a song that most Reba fans would likely have been humming along, as they spun this album.
Released in 1986, almost twenty-four years ago, it’s still available on CD, as well as MP3 download. And of course, if you’re really retro, you shouldn’t have too much trouble finding a used vinyl copy, either.
Overall, it’s a good, but not great, album. The album doesn’t really have any weak tracks, but also, only a couple of standout tracks. Most of the album fall into somewhere between; nice music, but not groundbreaking by any means. I rate it 3.5 out of 5.
I remember the label, the album photo with a white border that’s not on the actual vinyl version. The label was attached to a black shell. It was one of, if not the first 8 track tape I ever listened to. While 8 tracks are long gone, for the most part, I am fortunate to have a vinyl copy of one of the classic country-pop albums of the 1970’s, Charlie Rich’s “Behind Closed Doors”.
The album is an outstanding piece of work, bringing an almost perfect mix of country and pop. Producer Billy Sherrill was the perfect architect for building a successful style for “The Silver Fox”.
The album begins with the title track, a number one hit for Charlie, in 1973, and in my opinion, one of the ten best hits of the decade. One of those rare songs that I never get tired of hearing. ‘Nuff said.
Another brilliant work is the love song “If You Wouldn’t Be My Lady”. A mix of up tempo and ballad, an almost perfect vehicle for Rich’s country-blues style.
“You Never Really Wanted Me” is the most pure pop arrangement on the disc, and for this song, I don’t think any other arrangement would really work. Rich’s blues influence really comes out on this cut. A haunting melody, that one can get lost in. Great lyrics, as well.
“A Sunday Kind Of Woman” is yet another standout track, that is just the right mix of country and blues for Rich’s voice. A power ballad that asks why a “Sunday kind of woman would want an everyday man like me”. C’mon guys, admit it, we all wonder that about our women, right?
“Peace On You” is not a protest song, of any kind, just a song wishing peace on an ex, who’s done wrong. That being said, this song is 1970’s through and through.
Much like “Behind Closed Doors”, there’s really not much that needs to be said about “The Most Beautiful Girl”, a huge country-pop smash for Rich. It’s as great as you’d expect a hit of that magnitude to be. Now, if for some reason, you have not heard this song, before (maybe because you’re only 18 years old, for example), then just let me say, you need to. It’s a classic, a great song with a melody that stays with you.
“I Take It On Home” was actually Charlie’s first top ten hit of any kind, reaching country’s top ten in 1972. Typical country-pop fare of the era, in which many would say there’s nothing particularly special about it. They’re probably right. But I still like the song.
“Til I Can’t Take It Anymore” might sound familiar, to some who will remember it as a 1990 hit for Billy Joe Royal. Whereas Royal gave it more of a power ballad treatment, here Rich pulls off a nice version, in a more tender, intimate style.
It’s been at least 30 years, since I last listened to this album, before listening to it now, for this review, yet even despite that, “We Love Each Other” is a song I still remembered well (Ditto for “Peace On You”). It’s yet another great track on the album, that is enhanced with the bluesy pop style, especially the sliding guitar note that is heard throughout the song.
When “I’m Not Going Hungry Anymore” begins, one almost thinks “Easy Lovin’” is beginning, as the intros are strikingly similar. In fact, the whole song is one that I could easily hear Freddie Hart performing. And there’s a good reason for that, as Hart did include it on his “Bless Your Heart” album. Charlie’s version is good, and is the most country song on the disc, both in feel and arrangement.
The last song on the disc, “Nothing In The World (To Do With Me)”, is the cut in which Charlie gets to show off a little big band/jazz styling. This cut actually sounds more like many of the cuts from his RCA days in the 1960’s. It’s not bad, but nothing special.
Availability-wise, no trouble getting a copy, if you want one. It’s still available on CD, as well as an MP3 download. And, if you’re feeling retro, there are numerous used vinyl copies available, along with a few still sealed. I even saw a couple of 8 tracks and cassettes for sale. Talk about retro!
37 years after it’s release, I still think this is a great album. This was Charlie Rich at his absolute peak. Needless to say, it won’t be another 30 years before I listen to it, again. May well not be 30 days, for that matter. Overall, this album is a 5 out 5.
Last week, the Country Music Hall Of Fame announced it's four newest inductees. Three mild surprises, and one that should have already been in. The three that were a bit of a surprise were Jimmy Dean, Ferlin Husky, and Don Williams, while the the one who should have already been in, was producer Billy Sherrill.
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It's now been fifteen years, since Kenny Chesney's first hit album (second overall), “All I Need To Know”, appeared on the market. In the fifteen years since, Chesney has skyrocketed to the top of his field, becoming one of, if not the top concert draw in country music, winning awards, selling millions of albums.
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The story of Waylon Jennings' rise in country music is well known. Early on, he was taking traditional country, western swing, folk, and rock, trying to find a perfect mixture, while also battling the constraints of the Nashville establishment. He would eventually find that perfect blend, once he left Nashville for Texas, and was one of the first to show us what an awesome result could come from mixing the Allman Brothers and Hank Williams, while throwing in a little Bob Wills on the side. Waylon was a true original.
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A look back at the first week in March, 1981.
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February, 15th
It was Sunday, and on this day was the 17th running of the Daytona 500. The disqualification of the top 3 cars in qualifying brought Ramo Stott to the pole position, but by race's end, it was down to Richard Petty and David Pearson.
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Remember the 1990's? That was the midst of the “New Traditionalist” movement, where we saw a large influx of new talent into country music. Several, such as Toby Keith, Alan Jackson, and Martina McBride, would continue to be radio staples well into the new century. However, there were several more whose hit-making careers would last only 2-3 years, if not shorter. See how many you remember.
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While doing some reading, last night, I stumbled across an article about an upcoming appearance, here in Raleigh, this weekend, by “The Queen Of Rockabilly”, Wanda Jackson. For those who are not very familiar with Ms. Jackson, she first gained notice, in the mid 1950's, while touring with Elvis.
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