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Thread: Chet Atkins as Proto Progressive Rock

  1. #1

    Chet Atkins as Proto Progressive Rock

    Anyone know much about him? I am listening to him now and he has the skills. I wonder if he was an early influence on Howe and others.
    He has a lot of material and the LP I'm listening to, Chet Atkins - Finger-Style Guitar, I don't think is on Youtube. He can do classical well.

  2. #2
    Quote Originally Posted by regenerativemusic View Post
    Anyone know much about him? I am listening to him now and he has the skills. I wonder if he was an early influence on Howe and others.
    He has a lot of material and the LP I'm listening to, Chet Atkins - Finger-Style Guitar, I don't think is on Youtube. He can do classical well.
    He was most definitely an influence on Steve Howe.

    Chet could pretty much do anything. The only thing is, like with Les Paul, a lot of it sort of falls into "easy listening" territory, for want of a more polite way of describing it.

    I've always intended to pick up more of his albums, but never got around to it. I remember borrowing the two albums Les and Chet did together (one was called Chester & Lester, the other was called Guitar Monsters) from the library. Chester & Lester won a Grammy at the time.

    Chet also appeared on Austin City Limits a number of times. He also did a Cinemax Sessions show, where he was joined by The Everly Brothers, Mark Knopfler, Michael McDonald (!) and a back up band stocked with top flight Nashville studio guys. The only thing was, there was like three keyboardists in the band, and all of them had a DX-7, as you can tell from listening to the program. There's a lot of the dreaded "Rhodes" patch. But other than it's a pretty good program.

    I forget whether it was the Cinemax Sessions show or one of the Austin City Limits shows, where he's telling a story about how he grew up on a farm. "In the back was a swimming pool shaped like a guitar...(pauses for dramatic effect)...amplifier", which gets a good laugh from the audience.

  3. #3
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    EVERYBODY was influenced by Chet!

    Chet's "Picks on the Beatles" was the soundtrack of my growing up. In some cases I like his arrangements better than the Beatles'.

    A few years ago I made myself a comp of his best tracks - you're right, some of it swerves rather alarmingly into schmaltz. But there was enough good stuff -- particularly "Chet Atkins Workshop" -- to fill a good solid CD-R. Monster player. But still, I wouldn't label him "progressive." He was pretty straight down the line, a fancy picker, but not an innovator.

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    I'm pretty sure I read once where Howe stated he was influenced by Chet. For sure when you listen to "Clap" you can hear an influence there. I've said many times that Howe has a definite country sound especially in the Relayer lp.


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  5. #5
    Quote Originally Posted by Fracktured View Post
    I'm pretty sure I read once where Howe stated he was influenced by Chet.
    More specifically, I can tell you Steve talks about Chet in his guitar collection book. There's even pictures a few of Steve's favorite Chet records scattered throughout the book, whenever he talks about a particular guitar model he has that Chet played.

    And yeah, there's definitely a sort of warped "country" thing going on with Relayer, though I think that's not just the Chet influence but also players like James Burton and Jimmy Bryant. And of course, Steve flirted with lap and pedal steel from And You And I onwards, and there's a lot of that on Relayer too.

    BTW, Chet was apparently also one of the architects of "the Nashville Sound", ie one of the record producers who helped bridge the gap between "country and western" music and more middle of the road pop. If you're one of those people who abhors "today's country", well, Chet's one of the people who can blame that on.

  6. #6
    this guy here, John McClellan was about 1 or 2 years behind me in school. used to sit on a buddies front porch years ago as a teenager and listen to them play. you would be hard pressed to find anyone else that knows as much about Chet. his brother James is the attorney for the business I work for. he pops in on occasion. he was one of Chet's best friends when he passed and recorded/produced this album in tribute among other things.



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  7. #7
    Outraged bystander markwoll's Avatar
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    One of the best guitarists I have ever heard.
    I am happy to have seen him a couple of times live.
    I am not a musician, but it is easy to see ( or hear ) how he has influenced and is emulated by many in all genres.
    "It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it."
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  8. #8
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    When I took guitar lessons as a kid (from age 10-14 & then foolishly stopped), my guitar teacher (Carlos Nazario from Spain-this info included only because I surprised myself just now when I remembered his name) was a huge Chet fan, and bought me a Chet album with a red Gretsch hollow body taking up the whole cover (don't remember the name) that I loved and played constantly interspersed with the Elvis, Gene Vincent, Eddy Cochran etc. albums that were my usual music of the day.

    Not even debatable whether or not he influenced a shitload of guitarists across all genres. He did.
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

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  9. #9
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by progeezer View Post
    bought me a Chet album with a red Gretsch hollow body taking up the whole cover (don't remember the name)
    Which one???



  10. #10
    Geriatric Anomaly progeezer's Avatar
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    Bingo! It's the one in the middle with Swedish Rhapsody.
    "My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"

    President Harry S. Truman

  11. #11
    Well, I remember reading at one time that Jan Akkerman was getting into country and western guitar playing inspired by him. This was in an interview made in his Focus days, where he explained that he was into all kinds of music.

  12. #12
    I recall learning just a few of his arrangements at age 13. I was being classically trained during that time , ('69), and I did have an idea what he was doing from that experience alone....but the left hand positions where upon the left hand may hold down a series of notes to be sustained, while the right places more emphasis on a bass line was very difficult for me. I was sneaking into the basement to learn his pieces by ear after my parents were asleep. I spent a entire 3 nights without sleeping and going to school in the day. I must have been out of my flippin' mind..lol! This was when I woke up to the realization that Chet Atkins was a monster. He was very technical and his passages required special concentration on various techniques as opposed to certain Fusion guitarists , (for example), where once you master their obvious few techniques, it becomes second nature to play their pieces. He seemed to have taken the "Travis Style" steps beyond . I recall when I saw him on television playing a Spanish piece on his Chet Atkins classical guitar. I tried the guitar out in a music store and it felt like it had been designed to play for you and so if you were talented ..you would sound like a God on it. This was a Classical nylon string guitar that was also electric. When I saw him playing the piece with finger picks...I mentioned to the Classical snobs in the room.."It's forbidden to use Fingerpicks in the Classical world..isn't it?" People responded: "Yeah..we know, now shut up and listen" It was amazing how he pulled the piece off with precision and perfection in clarity. His tone was universal and I said to everyone.."Well...I guess this can be done" Andrea Segovia would never allow that kind of freedom/experimentation on altering technique and rules...particularly in the Classical movement.


    When a Classical piece is transcribed for guitar ...the fingering for the right hand is written out through an easy system by applying letter names to each individual finger. Obviously during transcription there must have been an experiment of altering finger methods and detailed choice of individual finger placed on string before deciding the best suitable overall affect the piece would have regarding sound. The tonal quality of a musician can change for the better depending on what finger they use for a note or the way they hold their wrist. Much of this is pre-planned in the finalizing of a composition. Chet Atkins used fingerpicks....??? That alone is a challenge. First you have to pick the notes of the piece with your fingers and compare it to picking the notes with your fingerpicks. The piece requires soft and loud dynamics . Each picking stroke of a string with flesh does not require an abundance of practice in dynamics because the flesh has a more natural chemistry with Classical music. Using "fingerpicks" to play a complex piece on Classical guitar would obtain perfection only if the guitarist could compare every detail in the tones and volumes of flesh and fingerpicks while playing the piece. It would take hours of developing a tone, hours on memorization of the piece, and the overall practice time would result in cutting off the world. He was an amazing guitarist

  13. #13
    Member Digital_Man's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by regenerativemusic View Post
    Anyone know much about him? I am listening to him now and he has the skills. I wonder if he was an early influence on Howe and others.
    He has a lot of material and the LP I'm listening to, Chet Atkins - Finger-Style Guitar, I don't think is on Youtube. He can do classical well.
    I don't know for sure but I would imagine he was a big influence on Mark Knopfler(from Dire Straits)as well as Steve Howe. I'm sure there are a boatload of other guitarists who would cite him as an influence too.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Digital_Man View Post
    I don't know for sure but I would imagine he was a big influence on Mark Knopfler(from Dire Straits)
    Definitely. They were actually good friends and did an album or two together. Mark also performed on the Cinemax Sessions program.

    Chet was also a funny guy. I remember one time he was on Letterman, back in the mid 80's, and after doing a song with the band, and chatting about how he wanted to do an album with Knopfler, he then tells this joke:


  15. #15
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    "Andrea Segovia"? Any relation to the famous guitar player?

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    Member jake's Avatar
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    I remember when I was a student in Glasgow I gave my 5 cassette collection of Chet Atkins recordings to a now semi-famous classical guitarist - he was so knocked out he never gave me them back the bastard. Lucky I didn't give him my Django collection.
    I keep my iTunes on permanent shuffle - I must hear Chet Atkins at least 3-4 times in any given day.
    The album he made with Lenny Breau is stunning stuff - heres a vid of them together - not from the album

    This video shows how much he saw Lenny as a "son' - very moving to see Chet break down talking about him after Lenny's tragic death

  17. #17
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    "Andrea Segovia"? Any relation to the famous guitar player?
    I remember Guitar Player doing a piece on Chet back in the late 70's, I think. There's a photo of Chet with Segovia, with the caption, "Before Segovia found out I played electric guitar" (apparently Segovia wasn't happy about the advent of the electric guitar).

  18. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by GuitarGeek View Post
    I remember Guitar Player doing a piece on Chet back in the late 70's, I think. There's a photo of Chet with Segovia, with the caption, "Before Segovia found out I played electric guitar" (apparently Segovia wasn't happy about the advent of the electric guitar).

    Well.....that just figures

  19. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Enid View Post
    I recall learning just a few of his arrangements at age 13. I was being classically trained during that time , ('69), and I did have an idea what he was doing from that experience alone....but the left hand positions where upon the left hand may hold down a series of notes to be sustained, while the right places more emphasis on a bass line was very difficult for me. I was sneaking into the basement to learn his pieces by ear after my parents were asleep. I spent a entire 3 nights without sleeping and going to school in the day. I must have been out of my flippin' mind..lol! This was when I woke up to the realization that Chet Atkins was a monster. He was very technical and his passages required special concentration on various techniques as opposed to certain Fusion guitarists , (for example), where once you master their obvious few techniques, it becomes second nature to play their pieces. He seemed to have taken the "Travis Style" steps beyond ...
    Great post, I had a similar experience in my learning years with trying to learn Travis and Atkins style. It's funny that I can play some classical and blues pieces that have moving bass lines, rhythm comping and melody lines all together, but there are just certain guys that write and play stuff that is forever beyond my reach -- Atkins, Travis, Reverend Gary Davis in the blues genre... I can play Steve Howe stuff like Mood for a Day and the acoustic part from The Ancient, but I've attempted and given up on The Clap so many times I've lost count...
    You say Mega Ultra Deluxe Special Limited Edition Extended Autographed 5-LP, 3-CD, 4-DVD, 2-BlueRay, 4-Cassette, five 8-Track, MP4 Download plus Demos, Outtakes, Booklet, T-Shirt and Guitar Pick Gold-Leafed Box Set Version like it's a bad thing...

  20. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Garden Dreamer View Post
    I can play Steve Howe stuff like Mood for a Day and the acoustic part from The Ancient, but I've attempted and given up on The Clap so many times I've lost count...
    I've never really tried them, but from watching video footage, Mood For A Day and The Ancient at least look like they might be relatively easy to play. You just have to practice.

    The one that's always confounded the frell out of me was Sketches In The Sun. I still have no idea how he's able to play that droning low E-B-high E thing in the bass and play the melody on top of it. I know he's in open E tuning, but beyond that, it just seems like he's doing something physically impossible.

    (Oh, and now that I think about it, I recall Howe said when he was interviewed in Guitar Player circa GTR that Sketches In The Sun was sort of a Chet tribute).

  21. #21
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Garden Dreamer View Post
    I've given up on The Clap so many times I've lost count...
    Antibiotics.

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