Rick360

Good analogy, actually, and it's part of my justification for choosing the 1948-56 era.

Chet Atkins is a superb guitarist. And I know some will argue that his "big productions and smoother sound" was necessary to rescue country music from the threat posed by rock 'n' roll.

But from my perspective, he had a large role in wrecking what I most love about country. It goes without saying that, in my view, the Anita Kerr singers have jack **** to do with genuine country music. But it's more than that; Atkins' productions from around 1956 onward have a thin, brittle sound that drives me nuts. The guitars become more trebly, the steel guitars more whiny (I'm actually more of a fan of lap steel than I am pedal steel...there's a purity about it).

Contrast this with the fat, warm, intimate sound of a typical Don Law production from the years prior to that. Think Ray Price, Lefty Frizzell, Carl Smith, early Marty Robbins, etc.

These guys, plus of course Hank Williams, Ernest Tubb, Webb Pierce, The Louvin Brothers, and selected others...that's the era I love most. I also love George Jones's Starday sides. They're not much for fidelity, it's true, but they're just so down and dirty and funky.

I just find the distinctiveness of these artists' vocals, plus the spare but beautifully played instrumental backing, speaks to me more profoundly than other eras. Not to say I don't like country music from most any decade...just that this is...well, my favorite.


P.S. to Janszoon: All of the artists I mentioned are a great place to start. Just make certain that you get the original recordings from the 50s. Some of these guys (e.g., Frizzell, Smith, Price, Pierce) rerecorded some of their original 50s hits with more "modern" production and instrumentation — and frankly, these remakes suck.