Picks on the Beatles

Chet Atkins | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 1996)
• Original Release Date: 1966
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002WF0
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #39,725 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #31 in Music > Country > Instrumental

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As a sideline to his main job as producer and executive at RCA in the '60s, Atkins recorded many instrumental albums of contemporary pop and country hits, but this 1966 disc stands out from the others because of what it reveals about Nashville's influence on the Beatles and vice versa. It was Atkins, after all, who produced the Everly Brothers' early Cadence singles and played the limpid, lyrical lead guitar on them, and those records had a profound effect on Paul McCartney's songwriting and George Harrison's guitar playing. Atkins obviously has fun with these early Lennon-McCartney compositions. He plays slide guitar on "I Feel Fine," gives "Yesterday" an arpeggiated Appalachian feel, transforms "Can't Buy Me Love" into a Buck Owens Bakersfield song, emphasizes the Johnny Cash-like, low-string guitar figure on "I'll Cry Instead," and turns "She's a Woman" into a honky-tonk two-step. --Geoffrey Himes

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Nashville Meets The Beatles On This Classic Reissue, April 13, 2000

By 

Anthony G Pizza "trivialtony" (FL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Picks on the Beatles (Audio CD)

"Chet Atkins Picks On The Beatles" is a virtuoso performance by one of music's renaissance men: guitarist, producer, executive Chet Atkins. With a first-rate band (including harmonica master Charlie McCoy) Chet and friends find hidden countermelodies and deeper meanings in 12 Beatle songs already standards by this 1966 release.

Atkins clear, ringing guitar burrows in and out of low blues grooves in "Hard Day's Night," and "She's A Woman," both featuring ace McCoy solos. The guitar nearly sings the lyrics of "And I Love Her," and "If I Fell," catching the wistfulness and melancholy in Paul McCartney's melodies. "Things We Said Today" slows down one of McCartney's prettiest melodies and allows Atkins to cherish its opening verses. Only "Michelle," with its easy-listening string background, falls flat. (Atkins disciple George Harrison is not represented in the song set, but wrote the terse liner notes. You wonder what this band might have done with the C&W-flavored "Help" songs released the previous year.)

So with such an influential album and superb remastering, why did RCA/BMG cheap out on the packaging? No extra tracks (the set comes in at 30:47), no new liner notes, session information, or new photos; just a repeated photo of Atkins wearing a silly Beatle wig and holding a telephone. (Alfred Hitchcock wore the wig better on TV, but he was behind a drum set and had the accent down better.) Nonetheless, "Chet Atkins Picks On The Beatles" is a first-class session, worthy of a sequel, and is recommended for fans of the artist, subject, or guitar playing in general.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant!, February 14, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Picks on the Beatles (Audio CD)

"Chet Atkins Picks on the Beatles" is a little-known gem that is essential listening for fans of both the Beatles and the electric guitar. Atkins deftly brings out the beauty of several of the Fab Four's early melodies, rendering them in a distinctive style that is equal parts country, surf and lounge music -- a style that improbably combines 1960's Nashville, Southern California and Las Vegas without in any way detracting from the original songs. His interpretations of "If I Fell," "Things We Said Today," "A Hard Day's Night" and "She Loves You" are particularly refreshing, and increased my appreciation for the originals. I bought this disc expecting goofy, period-piece kitsch, but found instead a very listenable collection that captures Atkins' intelligence as a guitarist and Lennon and McCartney's enduring strength as songwriters.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best guitar instrumental collections of all time., December 12, 1999

By 

Gerry Lehn (Lawrenceburg, Indiana) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Picks on the Beatles (Audio CD)

If Chet Atkins does not go down in history as one of the ten best guitarists of all time, something isn't right. And this c.d., originally released in the '60's on vinyl, bridges generations by mixing such Beatles classics as "I Want to Hold Your Hand" and "I Feel Fine" with the smooth finger-pickin' style of Chet Atkins. George Harrison, who wrote the c.d.'s liner notes, states, "I got the feeling that these songs had been written specifically with Chet in mind". Atkins slick style is every bit as mesmerizing as such guitar greats as Mark Knopfler and Eric Clapton, and his lightning-fast fingers throw a whole new light on a bunch of Baby Boomer classics: Atkins version of "If I Fell" has got to be one of the most beautiful and moving guitar instrumentals, backed by Charlie McCoy on a moody harmonica.If you appreciate great guitar playing and remember the "Fab Four", you will very much appreciate this collection of guitar classics.