Eye Notes

One night, a friend and I were sitting up chatting and whatnot late into the wee wee hours when we both found ourselves gripped by an overwhelming sense of fear and terror.

An evil presence had disturbed the ambiance, and it emanated from the record cover leaning alongside the hi-fi across the other side of the room.

We'd tried to ignore it, but slowly over the course of the evening Chet's intense glare had haunted us both.

Eventually, at my friend's request - although I was happy to comply - the record cover was turned around, releasing us both from Chet's unnerving stare.
The tension eased immediately.

Talk about eyes following you around the room; Chet was giving us the evil, and boy, did he give us the fear.

Great album though.

Chet - despite the intense visage - was an ever so jolly plucker; and he plays with an exuberant style, squeezing in as many notes as his seemingly rubber digits can muster.

He's one of those guitarists who's played with, and produced, just about everybody; especially those associated with the Nashville Scene.

Chet's brother Jim croons his way through several of the tracks.
'Swanee River' is hilarious; 'Blackjack' is just absurd; but Jim does become a bit of a bore (although you can cheer the tracks up by singing along. Adopting the drunken club singer stylee definitely works the best I find), and it's the instrumental tracks that really do the business.

'Heartbreak Hotel', the intriguingly titled 'Daar's 'N Wind Wat Waai' and 'Hidden Charm' make the bother of downloading well worth while.

Generally lot's of fun for everybody.
But don't look into his eyes. Don't look into his eyes!

Chet Atkins - The Guitar Genius (1963)

Heartbreak Hotel
Swanee River
Blackjack
In Apple Blossom Time
Daar's 'N Wind Wat Waai
It's Now or Never
Out of Nowhere
Hidden Charm
Even Tho'
When Day is Done

Decent vinyl rip @320kbs, enriched by the sound of forty-seven year old shellac.
Let Chet mesmerise you here,