Customer Reviews

Mel Bay Chet Atkins in Three Dimensions, Volume 1: 50 Years of Legendary Guitar

5 star:		(5)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

Every serious guitarist should have a copy of this beautiful book. Chet Atkins may be the most influential guitarist America has produced, and this is a wonderfully wide ranging, impeccably produced sample of his talents.

It includes jazz (Ellington/Tizol's `Caravan', Desmond/Brubeck's `Take Five'), classical (`Recuerdos de la Alhambra'; a Bach minuet), some rockin' country funk (2 Jerry Reed pieces, "Drive In" and "Jerry's Breakdown"), "Going Home" (the adagio from Dvorak's New World Symphony, now frequently used as a funeral elegy), a 'genial' version of "La Vie en Rose", and - the reason I got the book in the first place - the guaranteed show stopper "Stars & Stripes Forever" by John Phillip Sousa, with the whole darn marching band arrangement fully transcribed by fellow fingerpicking wizard Guy Van Duser... including even the high piccolo part. Let me tell you, if you can learn that piece, you've got one that will have them laughing and cheering more than anything else in your repertoire.

That's IF you can learn it. These are complete transcriptions of the work of a great guitar player. There's nothing dumbed down or 'made easy' here. They are not for the faint of heart. You need to be an intermediate to advanced player looking for some new challenges to tackle the music in this book. But if you're willing to work at it - the rewards are terrific. Get this stuff in your fingers, and you will have learned some wonderful music.

The book is a beautiful production, clearly a labor of love from people who cared a lot about Chet and about music. About half of it is the 22 complete transcriptions of guitar pieces in both musical notation and tablature, and the other half is photographs and reminiscences of Chet. The tab is as pretty, complete and accurate as any that I have seen in a lifetime of serious guitar study. The photographs and reminiscences of Chet are as fond and as broadly based as you might expect about a guy who was one of Nashville's most successful record producers for many years, a kingpin in the country music industry who was respected by players in jazz, rock and classical as well. However, the book should have been spiral bound for easier study. Standard binding is fine for the coffee table, but not for the music stand. We owe McClellan and Bratic thanks for a fine job here - but since they clearly had serious players in mind, why not use spiral binding next time.

I came to Chet's music long ago as a rock, blues and jazz fan and amateur player who thought of Chet as the producer of too many middle of the road country records with strings and `heavenly choirs' (he and Owen Bradley pretty much invented the `Nashville Sound' in the 1950's). I quickly learned that there was far more to him than that. If you had any doubts about his music, this collection will wipe them out in a hurry. There's not much here but great music.

Which brings me to one final point: the version of "Vincent" (`Starry, Starry Night') transcribed here is simply lovely, IMHOP. In fact, it's one of the highlights of the collection, saved for last because it clearly meant something to Chet. I can't understand why one reviewer didn't like it. But, hey, check it out and judge for yourself.

This book is a must for fans of Chet Atkins, both players and non-players. For the musician this book is well-written and nails Chet's arrangements. It is clear and concise, but not for the brginning musician... For the non-player, it is a look into one of the most influential musicians of all times, as seen from the perspective of his family, friends, and peers. I highly recommend this book... cannot wait for Vol.2 to be published.

This is a brilliant book. A great selection displaying many different styles of Chets' playing. A lifetime of study is presented here for the serious guitarist (and you have to be SERIOUS about it if you want to play like Chet!) Wherever you take your guitar, take this book.

I ordered the book because someone on YouTube recommended it for a song he played. I started with "Vincent." I'm not a fluid reader of music notation or Tabs. By surprise, ... I found my son had started learning this song on his own. He used Tabs found on the Internet and watched Chet playing on You-Tube. As we both progressed, ... he finished first, ... having more time to devote and having taken classical guitar classes. I found that his version seemed much more "Chet-like," than what I was trying to produce using this book. I have started breaking down the song myself, ... using ideas from this book and my own way of organizing chord-melody, to develop a technique that works best for me. I think the book provides "a way" to play his famous interpretations, but it's helpful if you know something about fingerstyle, chord-melody technique to blend your own style and more of what Chet actually does. If you like breaking things down and analyzing compositions, ... this helps you cut to the chase.

I would recommend this book to any advanced guitarist wanting to dig deeper into the music of Chet Atkins.
This is more than just a great tab book, as it includes a lot of interesting interviews and anecdotes from some of Chet's friends and associates.
Songs transcribed are Caravan, Black Mountain Rag, Minuet, Streets of Loredo, Lagrima, Take five, Going Home, Music To Watch Girls By, Avalon, Minute Waltz, Mainstreet Breakdown, Stars and Stripes forever, Drive in, Jerry's Breakdown, Choro da Saudade, Recuerdos de la Alhambra, When You Wish Upon A Star, Oh By Jingo, Nashtown Ville, La Vie en Rose, and Vincent.
So it covers a wide range of Chet's work and different technical styles.
My only complaint is that the tab is often in a different neck position to how Chet Atkins played it, even if the notes are accurate- I only know this from watching videos of Chet playing these songs- so a combination of this book and a bit of video research will help you get the most out of it.
DVD instructional lessons are a bit easier to follow, but for the price and the extra stories and photos, this book is well worth it.

I really got this book just to learn Chet's version of "When You Wish Upon A Star". The notation is a little different from the recording I have, but close enough for me to fill in the blanks. I've enjoyed learning many other songs from this book as well, I highly recommend if you want to learn some Chet.

THIS IS A GREAT BOOK! Authors John McClellan and Deyan Bratic have crafted an amazing resource, featuring transcriptions ranging from Chet's earliest arrangements to his (in our opinion) best work in his final 2-CD set Chet Atkins - Solo Sessions

Not withstanding the cover, this book has excellent photos inside as well. However, as a fingerstyle guitarist and an admirer of Chet's music I was extremely disappointed with the transcriptions. I purchased this book mainly for the arrangement of Vincent (Starry, Starry Night). I've listened to Chet's performance of this great song and watched him play it numerous times on video. This book does not represent Chet's playing of the piece. If you are a guitar player I do not recommend the book. However, if you want some great stories of Chet and some pictures it does have some positives.