Customer Reviews

Hillbilly Jazz

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

During the '70's, fiddlin' Vassar Clements was in such high demand as a side man that it was damned near impossible to purchase an album that did NOT feature his remarkable playing.In addition to his key roles in ground breaking efforts such as "Will the Circle be Unbroken" and "Old and in the Way", Vassar made the rounds among such disparate pop stars as Paul McCartney, Elvin Bishop, and Dickie Betts - and put out some product of his own, as well.

"Hillbilly Jazz" mostly features the Bob Wills/Texas swing side of Vassar's playing, ably assisted by a strong backup group featuring David Bromberg on acoustic and slide guitars and some great pedal steel work by Doug Jerrigan. In addition to covering the Wills hits "San Antonio Rose" and "Take Me Back to Tulsa", there's a great version of Benny Goodman's "Breakfast Feud" (Jerrigan particularly shines on this one), a bluesy "Sittin' on Top of the World", and closes with a gorgeous instrumental version of Bromberg's "Last Song for Shelby Jean." What really makes this collection work is while there's some wonderful picking going on, nothing ever sounds forced. The vocals (shared by Vassar and Gordon Terry) give the session a relaxed feel that someone still keeps the listener's attention.

This effort is a must-have for fans of Vassar, and a whole lotta fun for fans of swing, country, and bluegrass music.

This is Bar-B-que music at it's best. The line up is incredible! Lovers of Vassar Clements take note, he had some good recording days making this one. Bromberg was cooking along with the others, I bought it for the Vassar element, but this recording is just S'wonderful, Texas Swing players like Strait and Gimbel, Asleep at the Wheel etc... probably all own a copy and should. This is a masterpiece, in a live-sounding setting. Dig in and enjoy!

I purchased the vinyl version of this album in 1979 after first hearing it at the Maintenance Shop, a bar/music venue on the Iowa State University campus. I've long entertained the notion of purchasing a new turntable just so I could listen to it again. What a pleasure to find it on CD ! A perfect introduction to road house country and bluegrass...

If you are going to own one Texas Swing album this is it. It is not at all clear how you can eat barbecue and drink beer on a hot evening if this isn't on the play list. 'Course the problem is that you might have to wipe off your hands and do a bit of dancin' with your best girl. Everybody appropriately lauds Vassar Clements playing on this, but he is not playing alone, and the other musicians (David Bromberg, guitar; D.J. Fontana, drums; Doug Jernigan, steel guitar, Dobo; Benny Kennerson, piano; Michael Melford, guitar, mandolin, piano, and others I suspect) make this a must have album.

For those unfamiliar with country swing/jazz, who may have only crossed it with Asleep At The Wheel, this album will hurl you full force into the genre. With a star studded band that includes Vassar Clements the great fiddle virtuoso, Doug Jernigan's precision speed picking on pedal steel and David Bromberg's old timey guitar work, Hillbilly Jazz stands as a monument album to a music style and some great musicians who revived it for the sheer joy of playing it. The music is spontaneous and flowing and one would never suspect the album was put together with little rehearsing and few takes - that is testament to the skill level of the musicians. My personal favorite tracks are some old jazz standards that have been treated to Jernigan's fast tempo steel playing and Clement's instinctive swing time accompaniment - Benny Goodman's "Breakfast Feud" will get you hopping as well as "Back Home in Indiana" - "Panhandle Rag" profiles Jernigan's peddle steel mastery, "San Antonio Rose" and "Take Me Back To Tulsa" pay excellent tribute to Bob Wills (the granddaddy of country swing)- while "Little Rock Getaway" provides a great jam opportunity for the whole band. The other tracks are original material masterfully done in the same sound and style. That's the up side.

The reason I purchased this CD version of HB Jazz was that I wore out 2 previous Flying Fish produced vinyl albums learning the HB Jazz chops. The unfortunate part of this CD reissue by Rounder records is that they cut the one track which defined the original album (and in my opinion, the whole genre of Hillbilly Jazz) - "Cherokee" the Ray Noble classic is missing from this CD release. That's the downside. For those Vassar Clements or Doug Jernigan fans who have heard this album before this is a real let down. If you are new to this album the omission won't bother you much but it really ticked off this fan. I would have given this reissued album 5 stars but with the vital track "Cherokee" missing I can only give it a 4/5.

Western tilt to the album. It's all fun, one of my favorite driving CD's.
Buy it if you wan to smile and dance.

This disc is flawed with increasing static the further into the disc you listen until, after the first 6-7 tunes, it is unbearable to listen to. This is unforturnate because there is some great music I remember from the LP. We have tested this disc with relentless scientific scrutiny and the antithesis, being disproven, support the claim that the flaw in the disc is, in fact, a result of the disc and not our playing devices.