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This is my 3rd Jimmy Raney recording and by far, my favorite. Captured in 1954 and 1955 in the infamous Hackensack studios of Rudy Van Gelder, this selection of 12 swing standards, ballads and original compositions might just be Raney's finest work. Accompanied by several competent (if not well-known) sidemen, Raney plows through these charts with a relaxed and confident style and easily outshines his partners when it comes to soloing. One of the more interesting features in the addition of two guitar lines - both played by Raney and then combined - on a few tunes creating some interesting countermelodies and even dueling cadenzas. This is a classic and worth your time (47 minutes) if you're a fan of classic swing guitar. Highly recommended.

Everything on this album is first class - parts of it are just sublime (e.g. Raney's solo on the incredibly tender 'Some Other Spring'). This is BE-BOP guitar playing. The only other true exponent of the art is Tal Farlow - who seems to me to play with less heart than Raney (but no more technical accomplishment). Kessel, Ellis, Burrell, Montgomery, Hall - these guys don't really do be-bop. This is not to criticize those players (Wes just has to be number 1 in the jazz guitar rankings) - but if you love be-bop as i do there is something utterly compelling about Raney's unsentimental, harmonically insightful phrasing. This album is gorgeous (this is just the second review???). Perhaps its most obviously distinctive feature is the inclusion of passages of over-dubbed single note counterpoint playing (a la Bach's two-part inventions). For me the best thing is Raney's phrasing. Every single line is interesting (yes -every single one) - many downright beautiful. If you like intelligent sensitive music (regardless of whether you like jazz or jazz guitar) you should have this record.