The Best of Merle Travis: Sweet Temptation 1946-1953

Amazon.com
Merle Travis made everything he did sound so effortless that it's easy to overlook his considerable gifts. Travis is best remembered today for the distinctive finger-picking-guitar style that often bears his name: "Travis picking," learned initially from the home folks in Kentucky, allows players to accompany their lead lines (picked with the index finger) with their own bass support (provided by the thumb). And while Travis certainly impressed with this technique, he was also a droll and resourceful songwriter and an easy-going and appealing singer. The combination of his talents resulted in a spry musical style that fused appealing pop melodies with touches of jazz improvisation and early honky-tonk. Travis had a hand in writing 15 of the 20 tracks here (exceptions include two Jimmie Rodgers covers, the traditional blues "Dry Bread," and a guitar showcase on the standard "I'll See You in My Dreams"), and most of the originals conform to this jovial formula, often featuring trumpet and accordion. He's supported along the way by many of Southern California's finest players of the day such as steel guitarists Speedy West, Joaquin Murphey, and Noel Boggs, and six-stringers Joe Maphis, Roy Lanham, and Johnny Weis. His most famous composition, however, remains the coal-miner's lament "Sixteen Tons," a tune that many assume is a traditional folk song but is in fact a Travis creation, heard here in a solo-acoustic performance. --Marc Greilsamer

The Best of Merle Travis: Sweet Temptation 1946-1953,Merle Travis,Razor & Tie,Country,Country & Western,Country Boogie,Country Traditional,Instrumental Country,Pop,Traditional Country,United States of America

Average customer rating: Good compilation of a Country Giant

The Best of Merle Travis: Sweet Temptation 1946-1953 Merle Travis Manufacturer: Razor & Tie ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Western Swing | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music Similar Items: Pachuco Boogie Folk Songs of the Hills (Back Home/Songs of the Coal Miners) The Merle Travis Story: 24 Greatest Hits Midniters - Greatest Hits Strictly Guitar ASIN: B00004SBUY Release Date: 2000-04-18

Tracks:

1. Cincinnati Lou
2. No Vacancy
3. Divorce Me C.O.D.
4. So Round, So Firm, So Fully Packed
5. Sixteen Tons
6. Steel Guitar Rag
7. Blue Yodel No. 1 (T For Texas)
8. Any Old Time
9. Three Times Seven
10. Kentucky Means Paradise
11. Sweet Temptation
12. Fat Gal
13. Dry Bread
14. Cannon Ball Rag
15. Lawdy, What A Gal
16. Guitar Rag
17. Deep South
18. Re-Enlistment Blues
19. Kinfolks In Carolina
20. I'll See You In My Dreams

Amazon.com

Merle Travis made everything he did sound so effortless that it's easy to overlook his considerable gifts. Travis is best remembered today for the distinctive finger-picking-guitar style that often bears his name: "Travis picking," learned initially from the home folks in Kentucky, allows players to accompany their lead lines (picked with the index finger) with their own bass support (provided by the thumb). And while Travis certainly impressed with this technique, he was also a droll and resourceful songwriter and an easy-going and appealing singer. The combination of his talents resulted in a spry musical style that fused appealing pop melodies with touches of jazz improvisation and early honky-tonk. Travis had a hand in writing 15 of the 20 tracks here (exceptions include two Jimmie Rodgers covers, the traditional blues "Dry Bread," and a guitar showcase on the standard "I'll See You in My Dreams"), and most of the originals conform to this jovial formula, often featuring trumpet and accordion. He's supported along the way by many of Southern California's finest players of the day such as steel guitarists Speedy West, Joaquin Murphey, and Noel Boggs, and six-stringers Joe Maphis, Roy Lanham, and Johnny Weis. His most famous composition, however, remains the coal-miner's lament "Sixteen Tons," a tune that many assume is a traditional folk song but is in fact a Travis creation, heard here in a solo-acoustic performance. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

Good compilation of a Country Giant.......2000-05-26

"Travis-pickin" is what is was called and it was a style of guitarplaying that Merle Travis popularized that influenced every Country picker from Chet Atkins to Scotty Moore and even Jerry Reed. This fine CD spotlights this overlooked giant. It's sad that Merle Travis never gets mentioned with the greats of Country Music but this CD is a sturdy reminder that he was indeed a great one. While it is his guitar playing that often gets Merle Travis mentioned in Country history books he was also a consistent chart topper during the period that this CD covers. His songs had a sense of humor ("Fat Girl"), addressed issues of the day ("No Vacancy" about the lack of housing Veterans faced when they returned from World War II, and he also wrote "Sixteen Tons". This CD is basically a replacement for Rhino's Best of from 1990 which is now out-of-print. While that CD had 18 songs this has 20 (with 13 of Rhino's appearing here, also). But the sound is better on this CD. With one glaring omission: the absence of Merle's classic coal miner anthem: "Dark as a Dungeon" (how could they skip that song!). You can find "Dungeon" on Folk Songs of the Hills, which is in print. If you haven't added Merle Travis to your CD collection this is the one to own. It's a good place to get to know a forgotten Country great.

Music Album:

1. The Buck Owens Collection (1959-1990) [Box set]
2. The Heart of Hank: The Monument Sessions
3. The Hummingbirds
4. The Judds Reunion Live [Live]
5. The Truckin' Sessions
6. The Way You Love Me [CD-single]
7. To: Kate - A Benefit for Kate's Sake
8. Together Again/My Heart Skips a Beat
9. Tracy Lawrence
10. Treasures Money Can't Buy

Music Album