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- Artist: Jimmy Bryant
- Rating:
- Release Date: November 25, 2003
- Type: Compilation (best of)
- Genre: Country
Review
Here's the kind of gargantuan production that only Bear Family in Germany has usually undertaken for vintage American country artists: a three-CD set, encompassing 75 songs and nearly three hours of music recorded by guitar great Jimmy Bryant from 1950-1967. This is on Sundazed, however, and it's good to see an American label taking a chance on a major archival collection on a not-too-famous performer that by its nature is going to rule out casual buyers. Many listeners will be sated with a single-disc compilation of Bryant's work (particularly the tracks on which he collaborated with pedal steel guitar master Speedy West), and the wholly instrumental format might make this hard to listen to in one sitting even for committed fans. But Bryant's guitar is consistently inventive -- and unsurpassed in its sheer speed -- throughout these sides, making it worthwhile not just for specialist Bryant and country swing fans, but also for students of virtuoso guitar in general. The highlights of this package are, as you would expect, Bryant's 1950s Capitol collaborations with West, which take up about half the three CDs. These two brought out the best in each other, and if West might be a little better known due to the relatively exotic flavors of his flashy steel playing, Bryant was his equal for mind-bending fluidity. Some of the compositions are less memorable than others, but at their best, as on "Bryant's Bounce," "Bryant's Boogie," "Stratosphere Boogie," "Pickin' the Chicken," and "Arkansas Traveler," they're truly astounding, landmark achievements in high-paced country swing and boogie music. Although much Bryant-West material has been reissued elsewhere (particularly on the Bear Family box Flamin' Guitars), this set does offer much even to those who have other Bryant-West anthologies in its inclusion of 37 tracks that Bryant recorded without West in the 1960s. True, these weren't up to the groundbreaking level of the earlier recordings, due to both generally less impressive compositions and less sterling instrumental support. Bryant's skills and speed, however, were undiminished, at times yielding tracks on par with anything he recorded, like the dazzling "Laughing Guitar" and "Blow Your Hat in the Creek," and the shrieking remake of "Whistle Stop." At other times some contemporary trends impinged on the arrangements, not always to bad effect; he sounds a little like the Ventures on 1962's "Ha-So," and between Link Wray and Duane Eddy on "Long Walk Home." It's not always enjoyable when touches of exotica and easy listening jazz make their way into the proceedings, though Bryant almost always maintains command of the tracks, with help from some highly esteemed Hollywood and Nashville session players, including Charlie McCoy, Barney Kessel, and Shelly Manne. And even hardened Bryant collectors will find something new here in the form of five previously unreleased 1966-1967 recordings, including an impressive remake of "Frettin' Fingers" (the 1955 original, done with West, is also here). The 32-page booklet, with extensive commentary by country expert Rich Kienzle as well as some appreciative memories from family members, is assembled with as much high-standard care as the rest of the release. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music GuideTracks
CD 1
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Bryant's Boogie | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:35) |
| Red Headed Polka | Jimmy Bryant, |
Jimmy Bryant | (2:32) |
| Railroadin' | Speedy West | Jimmy Bryant | (2:15) |
| Stainless Steel | Speedy West | Jimmy Bryant | (2:09) |
| T-Bone Rag | Billy Strange, Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:16) |
| Truck Driver's Ride | Speedy West | Jimmy Bryant | (2:13) |
| Liberty Bell Polka | Billy Strange, Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:19) |
| Bryant's Shuffle | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:17) |
| Yodeling Guitar | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:09) |
| Georgia Steel Guitar | Jimmy Bryant | (1:57) | |
| Pickin' the Chicken | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:16) |
| Comin' On | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:13) |
| Lover [#] | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | Jimmy Bryant | (2:17) |
| Serenade to a Frog | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:07) |
| Bryant's Bounce | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:22) |
| Whistle Stop | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:17) |
| Hometown Polka | Billy Strange, Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:20) |
| Jammin' With Jimmy | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:29) |
| Two of a Kind [#] | Speedy West, Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:17) |
| Old Joe Clark | Traditional | Jimmy Bryant | (2:23) |
| Arkansas Traveler | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:07) |
| Country Capers | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:14) |
| Low Man on a Totem Pole | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:39) |
| Cotton Pickin' | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:29) |
| Sleepwalker's Lullaby | Jimmy Bryant | (2:08) |
CD 2
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Stratosphere Boogie | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:12) |
| Flippin' the Lid | Speedy West | Jimmy Bryant | (2:08) |
| Deep Water | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (3:02) |
| Shuffleboard Rag | Speedy West | Jimmy Bryant | (2:16) |
| Caffeine Patrol | Speedy West | Jimmy Bryant | (1:52) |
| Pickin' Peppers | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:13) |
| Chatterbox | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:10) |
| Frettin' Fingers | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:03) |
| Pushin' the Blues | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (3:12) |
| Rolling Sky | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:27) |
| The Night Rider | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:24) |
| Hillcrest (Opus 3) [#] | Jimmy Bryant, Stuff Smith | Jimmy Bryant | (2:05) |
| China Boy [#] | Jimmy Bryant | (6:16) | |
| Ha-So | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (1:55) |
| Tobacco Worm | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (1:53) |
| Strings [#] | Jimmy Bryant | (2:47) | |
| Long Walk Home [Take One][#] | Chip Taylor | Jimmy Bryant | (2:41) |
| Frettin' Fingers [Take One][#] | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (1:23) |
| Whistle Stop [Take One][#] | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (1:55) |
| Peach Grove Express | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:03) |
| Rattle Dance | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:12) |
| Scottish Eagle | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:04) |
| Julie's Gone | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:10) |
| Buggy Ride | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (1:57) |
| Blow Your Hat in the Creek | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (1:39) |
CD 3
| Track Title | Composers | Performers | Time |
| Fender Bender | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:05) |
| Model 400 Buckboard | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (1:56) |
| Laughing Guitar | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (2:01) |
| Joy Ride | Jimmy Bryant | (2:21) | |
| Corn Ball | Jimmy Bryant | (2:13) | |
| In the Heart of a Clown | Jimmy Bryant | (2:00) | |
| Tabasco Road | Jimmy Bryant | (1:49) | |
| Come Alive Polka | Jimmy Bryant | Jimmy Bryant | (1:44) |
| Lazy Guitar | Jimmy Bryant | (2:18) | |
| Shinbone | Jimmy Bryant | (2:02) | |
| Trevor's Theme | Jimmy Bryant | (2:23) | |
| Liverpool [#] | Jimmy Bryant | (2:39) | |
| Boogie for Guitar | Jimmy Bryant | (1:38) | |
| Steel Guitar Rag | Merle Travis, Leon McAuliffe, Cliffie Stone | Jimmy Bryant | (1:24) |
| Twelfth Street Rag | Jimmy Bryant | (1:43) | |
| Little Rock Getaway | Carl Sigman, |
Jimmy Bryant | (1:54) |
| Caravan | Irving Mills, Duke Ellington, Juan Tizol | Jimmy Bryant | (2:33) |
| Down Yonder | Jimmy Bryant | (1:43) | |
| Georgia Boogie | Jimmy Bryant | (1:53) | |
| Tico Tico | Jimmy Bryant | (2:01) | |
| Indiana (Back Home Again in Indiana) | Jimmy Bryant | (2:07) | |
| Ten Wheels | Jimmy Bryant | (1:50) | |
| Stumbling | Zez Confrey | Jimmy Bryant | (1:59) |
| Voxwagon | Jimmy Bryant | (1:55) | |
| Sugar Foot Rag | Hank Garland | Jimmy Bryant | (1:29) |
