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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Outrageously Talented Jerry Reed, November 27, 2001
Jerry Reed's talents as a singer and songwriter have long been a source of wonder for me. Listen to any of his albums, including this one, and find out for yourself. His sense of humor in such
original songs as "When You're Hot, You're Hot," "Lord, Mr. Ford" and "Another Puff" are highly entertaining, and his way with a ballad can truly touch the heart.
On a personal level, being a professional musician AND a guitar
player, I have constantly been blown-away by Mr. Reed's awesome capabilities on the guitar. His instrumental compositions such as "The Claw" and the lesser-known "Lightning Rod" are terrific examples of his mastery of the instrument. In this respect, he has been a tremendous inspiration in making me a better musician. Does anyone know that he was once praised by Jazz critic Gene Lees in Downbeat Magazine? And did I mention that ole Jer is a pretty good actor, as well? Just check out his Bama McCall role in "Gator." A real natural.
But I agree with another reviewer, in that a CD Boxed Set is called for. Having once had a complete collection on vinyl, there are just too many gems missing from what is currently available on CD. And lest we forget, we all owe a great deal of thanks to the great, and sad to say, late Chet Atkins for having discovered this good ole Georgia boy.
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15 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Definitive Jerry Reed Collection, albeit a few omissions, March 15, 2002
Of all the words in the English language which can be used to sum up Jerry Reed's remarkable career, both as a musician and as an actor, perhaps these four words can best apply: "Been there, done that". These four words are most apropos, due to Jerry's longevity in the entertainment industry, which spans upwards of almost five decades. It is because of the many different musical styles displayed on "The Essential Jerry Reed" (ranging from country to swamp rock), why Mr. Reed has paved the way for many a future artist, including the likes of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Lynyrd Skynyrd, The Allman Brothers, Charlie Daniels, etc. - each a successful artist/group in their own right. Therefore, Jerry is credited with starting the swamp rock/southern rock genre, and some of the songs featured in this collection ("Amos Moses", "When You're Hot, You're Hot", "The Uptown Poker Club" and "Ko-Ko Joe") contain a healthy dose of this well-crafted style of music. The lyrical homespun humor Jerry brings to many of the songs in this rather "definitive" collection adds profound depth to the music, as is the case in such numbers as "The Uptown Poker Club" and in "She Got The Goldmine (I Got The Shaft)", where the latter selection finds Jerry once again in hot water with the same judge in a kangaroo court of law filled with mayhem and hijinks, a recipe which is also the order of the day in the up-tempo "When You're Hot, You're Hot" (poor, poor Jerry!). Jerry Reed shows that he's quite the balladeer, as he croons with an unmistakeable vocal depth and precision, found in such tender moments that are nicely supplied in the compromising "A Thing Called Love", "A Good Woman's Love" and in "Smell The Flowers" as well. The latter title pretty much sums up Jerry's philsophy in life - in just taking things as they come, letting the chips fall where they may, complete with a touch of "happy-go-luckiness" present in a majority of the songs in this "almost" well put together collection of Jerry's credible compositions. However, "The Essential Jerry Reed" contains some major-minor flaws, none of which are contained in the movie music selections found in the first two "Smokey And The Bandit" pictures ("East Bound And Down" [from "SATB"] and "Texas Bound And Flyin'" [from "SATB 2"] - both of which are marvellous and are fine, upstanding numbers, no doubt). One big mistake RCA made in preparing this compilation, was omitting "Smokie's" other songs, such as both "The Legend" and "The Bandit", also performed amicably by the talented Jerry Reed. Some other important cuts RCA left behind, are the untamed "Alabama Wild Man" and "U.S. Male". It is due to these aforementioned omissions the reason why "The Essential Jerry Reed" gets only a four-star rating. But, nevertheless, it is a worthwhile body of "The Alabama Wild Man"'s guitar pickin' delights, and is thus worthy of being in any music collector's CD library. So, it all adds up to more of an "essential", rather than a "definitive" purchase!
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
SON!-SATIONAL, October 27, 2005
The so called Alabama Wild Man was a triple threat talent in the seventies, playing hotshot session guitar for everyone from Elvis (who covered both his GUITAR MAN and U.S. MALE) on down, scoring charismatic smashes of his own including the swampy ode AMOS MOSES and the catch-phrase classic WHEN YOU'RE HOT YOU'RE HOT, and serving as Burt Reynolds' motion picture makin' cronie in GATOR and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. THE ESSENTIAL JERRY REED is exactly what the title suggests: all the witty, gritty good ole boy antics you could ever ask for, and probably more. From the autobiographical GUITAR MAN to the introspective SMELL THE FLOWERS to the sprightly instrumental THE CLAW, Reed adroitly covers all the bases. Still, it's the novelty numbers he's best known for, and he hardly disappoints in that category. LORD, MR. FORD is one of the wittiest "car-tunes" since Chuck Berry wrote NO MONEY DOWN, while SHE GOT THE GOLDMINE (I GOT THE SHAFT) is as much fun as divorce songs get, and ANOTHER PUFF is the SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE THAT CIGARETTE of its era. Toss in SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT trucker favorite EAST BOUND AND DOWN, and THE BIRD, about a biped that imitates George Jones and Willie Nelson, and you've got yourself an album that's both funny AND funky. Make no mistake son, this is the BEST "best of" Jerry Reed that your dollar can buy. RATING: FOUR GUITAR PICKS
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by Jerry Reed 
