Customer Reviews

Teensville

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"Teensville" blends the inimitable style of Chet Atkins with both popular hits of the early 60's and some unknown gems. "Take A Message To Mary", "Oh Lonesome Me", and "Come Softly To Me" bear the essence of the light, sweet sounds of the original versions with the a touch of Chet's intepretation, as do "White Silver Sands", "Night Train", and "Sleep Walk". "Boo Boo Stick" and the albums title track "Teensville" capitalize on the rhythmical ifluence of Bo Didley. "D'jango's Castle" is a tribute to the great jazz/ragtime guitar master D'jango Rinehart. "Hot Toddy" ( "not Hot Today" as the title lists here ) is a sweet melding of a Chet chordal melody with some fine , breathy sax work. And my personal favorite "One Mint Julep" captures Chet's wry country jaunt with some innovative volume pedal work on the last verse. To anyone who loves and values the style that is singularly Chet Atkins, this album and any others of his from the 1960's such as "Hi-Fi in Focus" or "Chet Atkins at Home", I highly recommend "Teensville" .

It is rather common for a masterpiece to be overlooked because it fails to satisfy a narrow popular preference. The cover of Teensville depicts a '50s sock hop, evoking a rock and roll dance album. You can not do aerobics to this music.

Unfortunately for RCA in 1960, instead of a rock and roll dance album, "Teensville" is a lush sonic exploration, alternately meditative and seductive. It is a work of artistic genius.

There are big-band standards, 1930s jazz, broadway songs, '40s blues, covers of great rock and roll like Santo and Johnny's "Sleepwalk" and the Fleetwoods' "Come Softly To Me", and several strong originals.

Beyond genre, it is played with spice, restraint, love of harmony, inspired musicianship. Atkins' gentle optimistic spirit subtly conceals oceanic depth and deadly commitment.

Bob Moore plays bass, Bud Harman drums, Boots Randolph sax, Anita Kerr's group vocal harmony, and on piano the incredible Floyd Cramer.

The original Teensville LP was my first exposure to Chet Atkins ... the start of a lifelong appreciation for an amazing talent. For my money, Atkins is the best guitar player ever recorded. In a conversation earlier this week, I said to my wife that he could be considered the Segovia of pop music, and that he and Segovia could probably trade music and they'd both come out sounding fine. I was almost right. Atkins recorded plenty of classical guitar in his time, so I found a piece that both he and Segovia had done, and played both versions. Segovia's performance was brilliant. Atkins performance was just as technically excellent, yet his performance was also cleaner and more vibrant.

On Teensville, we have a selection of jazz masquerading as rock, since the intent of this album was to cross over. It is a bit unlike a lot of other Atkins albums in that here Chet is at times more part of the ensemble than the sole focus of the music. However, there is PLENTY of Chet in this music, including his unmistakable and very original techniques. Some will say that the sound of this album doesn't sound like typical Chet Atkins. However, it is probably closer to the real Chet Atkins than a number of his albums, as for a long time Chet was a jazz musician trapped in a country world. I don't think he minded that, he was quite successful in that world and was responsible for the sound of country music for decades to come, but he did bristle at being referred to as a "country guitarist".

I don't have the liner notes in front of me, and even if I did I don't know if they'd say, but the sax on this album is almost certainly Boots Randolph (another reviewer makes that statement and if it isn't, somebody copied Boots' style exactly). The pianist is almost certainly Floyd Cramer. Atkins helped Cramer get his start, Cramer was the lead studio pianist at RCA for years at that time, and he also helped Atkins create the "new country sound". Its hard for me to imagine that he wasn't the studio pianist for this album, which came along in the thick of all that.

I like country, but I also like jazz, and I'm telling you ... nothing country here baby. Even the "slow" songs are up tempo with a beat that will keep you moving.

Great music. Very different and very entertaining.