Customer Reviews

Steelin It-the Steel Guitar Story

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

 

 

A long overdue Steel Guitar box collection beginning with an entire CD devoted to pretty early Hawaiian and Hawaiian style performances including an example of Sol Hoopii's pre-jazz/pop playing. As a steel guitar player myself I find very little of this NOT interesting! There is definitely a mix of instrumentals vs. vocal performances demonstratiing what the steel
can do as a a dynamic blending element, a mood under-liner and the center of the melody. One fascinating blunder is the graphic on the cover has a PICTURE of BUD ISAACS in the circle all the way to right on the cover and the name above the picture is BUDDY EMMONS when neither of these HIGHLY influential performers are credited or from what I have noticed even INCLUDED in this box anywhere!! Both Buds are exceptional and original players from somewhat overlapping periods that probably deserve to be in this anthology somewhere for sure. Not really a problem though just because this collection is quirky and interesting anyway and fun to listen to.

Most of the recordings are pre-1960....so the sound quality is going to be an issue, especially the stuff recorded in the 1930's. That having been said, the Bob Wills, Milton Brown, and Speedy West stuff is the primest of the prime. Top drawer stuff. If you like western swing and honky tonk, this is a great place to start.

Great collection of some classic recordings not heard in many years. Some recordings are obscure, others are remembered fondly. It's so nice that someone has taken the time and effort to rescure these old recordings so that a new generation of listeners can hear what real music sounds like in a world of mostly noisy racket we are constantly subjected to in today's world. Steel guitar remains the mystic instrument with a haunting sound unequaled by any instrument, and is sadly absent from today's music scene. A top-notch collection of some really great old songs and sounds!

What I expected to be a box set of steel guitar solos turned out to be almost a series of
obscure Western Swing band recordings. The Hawaiian steel guitar disc 1 is quite good, the rest merely mediocre as collected. Make no mistake, some of the stuff by Milton Brown, Bob Wills, Spade Cooley and Hank Penny is good (especially Hank Penny who is sadly overlooked). It's just that there isn't enough of Boggs, Emmons, McAuliffe as solo artists and none of Alvino Rey and Jerry Byrd.

Whether you play Lap steel,Dobro or just like listening to steel guitars, this album demonstrates styles used over the years.

Disappointing box set. The first cd will give some interesting hawai steel guitar playing the rest of the set is not giving you the pleasure of being outstanding, in fact the last 3 CD's are very boring. I was expecting so much more of it...

I am so disappointed with this set of cds. Recording quality as well as material. I was expecting some great steel guitar music....Not so.Wouldn't recommend this to anyone.