And His Guitar/The Guitar Genius

AMG Review of And His Guitar/The Guitar Genius

Bruce Eder
All Music Guide

This is an enjoyable reissue from the RCA Chet Atkins catalog, combining two adjoining albums -- The Guitar Genius and Chet Atkins and His Guitar -- from the mid-'60s onto one very clean if spare CD, with no annotation or session information. Guitar instrumental fans will probably find more to like in the 12 songs off of Chet Atkins and His Guitar than the ten from The Guitar Genius -- which are weighted down with vocals a bit too frequently -- but it's all a serious sonic pleasure, very clean and bright, if at times a bit too languid for ock & roll, though the version of "Heartbreak Hotel" here will even impress fans on the latter level.