The Guitar Genius is one strange album -- good, but strange -- beginning with its title. Of course there's plenty of guitar here, but there's also a surprising number of pieces that rely on vocals. It opens up with Chet Atkins' delightfully bluesy instrumental rendition of "Heartbreak Hotel," a song on whose original recording session with Elvis Presley he played -- he adds enough wrinkles of his own to it to make it work as an instrumental. From there, however, this album is somewhat of a very mixed stylistic bag, proceeding with a pop-style rendition (complete with vocal, and dizzying string pyrotechnics) of "Swanee River"; a sound effects- and vocal-laden rendition of "Blackjack" is more distracting than anything else, despite the high standard of playing -- much better is "I'll Be with You in Apple Blossom Time," which forces a vocal (albeit a very tasteful one) on you for part of its length but gives you enough solo guitar to impress; "Out of Nowhere" is patterned similarly, but "It's Now or Never" is purely instrumental. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
TRACKS
1. Heartbreak Hotel 2. Swanee River 3. Blackjack 4. I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time 5. Daar's 'N Wind Wat Waat 6. It's Now or Never 7. Out of Nowhere 8. Hidden Charm 9. Even Tho' 10. When Day Is Done
Released 1963
© 2006 All Music Guide, LLC