The Guitar Genius

• Artist: Chet Atkins
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1963
• Type: Compilation (best of)
• Genre: Country

Review

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

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Heartbreak Hotel	Elvis Presley, Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden	Chet Atkins	(2:28)
Swanee River	Stephen Foster	Chet Atkins	(1:41)
Blackjack	John D. Loudermilk	Chet Atkins	(2:27)
I'll Be With You in Apple Blossom Time	Neville Fleeson, Albert Von Tilzer	Chet Atkins	(2:11)
Daar's 'N Wind Wat Waat	Nico Carstens	Chet Atkins	(2:28)
It's Now or Never	Wally Gold, Aaron Schroeder	Chet Atkins	(2:05)
Out of Nowhere	Johnny Green, Edward Heyman	Chet Atkins	(3:02)
Hidden Charm	James Rich	Chet Atkins	(2:32)
Even Tho'	Webb Pierce, Willie Jones	Chet Atkins	(3:18)
When Day Is Done	Buddy DeSylva, Dr. Robert Katscher	Chet Atkins	(2:30)

Credits

Chet Atkins (Guitar), Chet Atkins (Vocals), Chet Atkins (Main Performer), Duane Romanell (Design), James "Jimmy" Atkins (Vocals)