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With a guitar style so innovative that it has its own name (Travis picking), a comfortable, warm voice, and considerable skills as a songwriter, Merle Travis was a triple-threat performer, merging folk and country with jazz and swing textures, all rolled into a comfortable, down-home populist tone. This collection features live performances drawn from the Jimmy Wakely Radio Show in the mid-'50s, and while it is titled The Very Best of Merle Travis, it really isn't, with only "16 Tons" (a huge crossover hit for Tennessee Ernie Ford in 1955) falling into the "best-of" category. That said, this is a charming set of tunes, with the live setting giving Travis a little room to stretch out and improvise on guitar (he was playing electric by this point in his career), and the radio format is perfect for letting loose his natural good old boy charm. The sound quality is clear and uncluttered, making this an ideal compilation for die-hard Travis collectors. It isn't, however, the place to start for the casual listener. One of the tracks here, the instrumental "Bye Bye Blues," was recorded two decades later, in 1976, and for some reason was inserted in the running order.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
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Merle Travis, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Wesley Tuttle, MainArtist - Merle Travis, MainArtist - Jimmy Wakely, MainArtist - Paul Westmorland, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Merle Travis, MainArtist - Jimmy Wakely, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Merle Travis, MainArtist - Bert Williams, ComposerLyricist - Alex Rogers, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Traditional, ComposerLyricist - Merle Travis, MainArtist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Gus Kahn, ComposerLyricist - Isham Jones, ComposerLyricist - Merle Travis, MainArtist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Smiley Burnette, ComposerLyricist - Merle Travis, MainArtist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Merle Travis, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Merle Travis, MainArtist - J. Lowe, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Chauncey Gray, ComposerLyricist - Bert Lown, ComposerLyricist - Dave Bennett, ComposerLyricist - Frederick Hamm, ComposerLyricist - Merle Travis, MainArtist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Merle Travis, MainArtist - Jimmy Wakely, ComposerLyricist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Merle Travis, MainArtist, ComposerLyricist - Jimmy Wakely, MainArtist
℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
Album review
With a guitar style so innovative that it has its own name (Travis picking), a comfortable, warm voice, and considerable skills as a songwriter, Merle Travis was a triple-threat performer, merging folk and country with jazz and swing textures, all rolled into a comfortable, down-home populist tone. This collection features live performances drawn from the Jimmy Wakely Radio Show in the mid-'50s, and while it is titled The Very Best of Merle Travis, it really isn't, with only "16 Tons" (a huge crossover hit for Tennessee Ernie Ford in 1955) falling into the "best-of" category. That said, this is a charming set of tunes, with the live setting giving Travis a little room to stretch out and improvise on guitar (he was playing electric by this point in his career), and the radio format is perfect for letting loose his natural good old boy charm. The sound quality is clear and uncluttered, making this an ideal compilation for die-hard Travis collectors. It isn't, however, the place to start for the casual listener. One of the tracks here, the instrumental "Bye Bye Blues," was recorded two decades later, in 1976, and for some reason was inserted in the running order.
© Steve Leggett /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:28:52
- Main artists: Merle Travis
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Varese Sarabande
- Genre: Blues/Country/Folk Country
© 2002 Varese Sarabande Records This Compilation ℗ 2002 Varese Sarabande Records
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