Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau
Encyclopedia
Guitar Sounds from Lenny Breau is an album by Canadian
jazz guitarist Lenny Breau
, first released in 1968.
which resulted in Lenny's first two LP
issues on RCA. Atkins and Breau also collaborated on Standard Brands in 1981. Breau was nearly ubiquitous around Atkins' office in Nashville both during and after these two RCA releases and also played clubs regularly.
Atkins was instrumental in getting Lenny his first recording contract after hearing one of his (Lenny's) studio tapes. Atkins stated in an interview for Frets magazine: "Paul Yandell first brought Lenny to my attention around 1966. I immediately knew that here was one of the great players of this world. He had taken some of my fragmentary ideas, and gone on and on into musical areas I had never dreamed of."
A wide range of styles are found on this release, from bluegrass to pop and jazz standards to Hank Williams and The Beatles
.
The songs were recorded during two sessions under the supervision of Atkins. A technical difficulty delayed the release of the album until late winter. Breau was reportedly displeased with the track selection and sequencing, preferring the more straight ahead jazz tunes the trio had recorded versus the pop-flavored material Atkins chose to include.
reviewer John Burke called Breau's playing "tender" and "understated" and stated in his review: "... part of the fascination in hearing an imaginative player like Breau lies in how he reinterprets each song so that you hear it as if for the first time... Within the pop/country, rock/jazz frame he has set for himself, you feel Breau extend himself to the fullest. A handsome first effort." Music critic Thom Jurek of Allmusic called it "an impressive debut as any you're likely to find because of Breau's startling originality on the instrument."
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
jazz guitarist Lenny Breau
Lenny Breau
Leonard Harold "Lenny" Breau was a musician, guitar player, and music educator. He was known for blending many styles of music including: jazz, country, classical and flamenco guitar...
, first released in 1968.
History
Breau had befriended Chet AtkinsChet Atkins
Chester Burton Atkins , known as Chet Atkins, was an American guitarist and record producer who, along with Owen Bradley, created the smoother country music style known as the Nashville sound, which expanded country's appeal to adult pop music fans as well.Atkins's picking style, inspired by Merle...
which resulted in Lenny's first two LP
LP album
The LP, or long-playing microgroove record, is a format for phonograph records, an analog sound storage medium. Introduced by Columbia Records in 1948, it was soon adopted as a new standard by the entire record industry...
issues on RCA. Atkins and Breau also collaborated on Standard Brands in 1981. Breau was nearly ubiquitous around Atkins' office in Nashville both during and after these two RCA releases and also played clubs regularly.
Atkins was instrumental in getting Lenny his first recording contract after hearing one of his (Lenny's) studio tapes. Atkins stated in an interview for Frets magazine: "Paul Yandell first brought Lenny to my attention around 1966. I immediately knew that here was one of the great players of this world. He had taken some of my fragmentary ideas, and gone on and on into musical areas I had never dreamed of."
A wide range of styles are found on this release, from bluegrass to pop and jazz standards to Hank Williams and The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
.
The songs were recorded during two sessions under the supervision of Atkins. A technical difficulty delayed the release of the album until late winter. Breau was reportedly displeased with the track selection and sequencing, preferring the more straight ahead jazz tunes the trio had recorded versus the pop-flavored material Atkins chose to include.
Reception
Rolling StoneRolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
reviewer John Burke called Breau's playing "tender" and "understated" and stated in his review: "... part of the fascination in hearing an imaginative player like Breau lies in how he reinterprets each song so that you hear it as if for the first time... Within the pop/country, rock/jazz frame he has set for himself, you feel Breau extend himself to the fullest. A handsome first effort." Music critic Thom Jurek of Allmusic called it "an impressive debut as any you're likely to find because of Breau's startling originality on the instrument."
Reissues
- Guitar Sounds was reissued on CD in 2005 by Wounded Bird Records. The re-issue includes one bonus track, "Call Me".
Track listing
- "King of the RoadKing of the Road (song)"King of the Road" is a 1964 song written and originally recorded by country singer Roger Miller.The lyrics tell of a hobo who despite being poor revels in his freedom, describing himself humorously as the "king of the road"...
" (Roger MillerRoger MillerRoger Dean Miller was an American singer, songwriter, musician and actor, best known for his honky tonk-influenced novelty songs...
) – 2:29 - "Taranta" (Lenny Breau) – 6:51
- "Don't Think Twice, It's All RightDon't Think Twice, It's All Right"Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962, and released on the 1963 album The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.-Context:...
" (Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
) – 4:31 - "A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (song)"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
" (Lennon, McCartneyLennon/McCartneyThe Lennon–McCartney songwriting partnership is one of the best-known and most successful musical collaborations in history...
) – 4:12 - "Georgia on My MindGeorgia on My Mind"Georgia on My Mind" is a song written in 1930 by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell . It is the official state song of the U.S. state of Georgia. Gorrell wrote the lyrics for Hoagy's sister, Georgia Carmichael. However, the lyrics of the song are ambiguous enough to refer either to the state or...
" (Hoagy CarmichaelHoagy CarmichaelHoward Hoagland "Hoagy" Carmichael was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing "Stardust", "Georgia On My Mind", "The Nearness of You", and "Heart and Soul", four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.Alec Wilder, in his study of the...
, Stuart GorrellStuart GorrellStuart Graham Steven Gorrell is best known for writing the lyrics for the song Georgia on My Mind.Gorrell attended Indiana University; there he became friends with fellow student Hoagy Carmichael...
) – 5:21 - "Monday, MondayMonday, Monday"Monday, Monday" is a 1966 song written by John Phillips and recorded by The Mamas & the Papas for their 1966 album If You Can Believe Your Eyes and Ears. It was the group's only number one hit on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100....
" (John PhilipsJohn Phillips (musician)John Edmund Andrew Phillips , was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter and promoter . Known as Papa John, Phillips was a member and leader of the singing group The Mamas & the Papas...
) – 2:30 - "My Funny ValentineMy Funny Valentine"My Funny Valentine" is a show tune from the 1937 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart musical Babes in Arms in which it was introduced by former child star Mitzi Green...
" (Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
) – 4:53 - "Freight TrainFreight Train (song)Freight Train is a song on the 1989 album by Nitro, O.F.R.. In the video for Freight Train, Michael Angelo Batio uses the one-of-a-kind quad guitar, which is a guitar with 4 necks. The top two necks have 7 strings and the bottom 2 have 6 strings. Unfortunately, that guitar was stolen after the...
" (Elizabeth CottenElizabeth CottenElizabeth "Libba" Cotten was an American blues and folk musician, singer, and songwriter.A self-taught left-handed guitarist, Cotten developed her own original style. Her approach involved using a right-handed guitar , not re-strung for left-handed playing, essentially, holding a right-handed...
) – 3:31 - "Cold, Cold HeartCold, Cold Heart"Cold, Cold Heart" is a country music and popular music song, written by Hank Williams. This blues ballad is both a classic of honky tonk and an entry in the Great American Songbook....
" (Hank Williams) – 4:44 - "Music to Watch Girls ByMusic to Watch Girls By"Music to Watch Girls By" was the first Top 40 hit by Bob Crewe using his own name, recorded by his group The Bob Crewe Generation. Crewe first heard the song performed in a "jingle demo" for a Diet Pepsi commercial. The "big-band, horn driven" recording went to #15 on the pop chart and #2 on the...
" (Sid Ramin, Tony Velona) – 4:29 - "Call Me" (Tony HatchTony HatchAnthony Peter "Tony" Hatch is an English composer, songwriter, pianist, music arranger and producer.-Early life and early career:...
) – 4:13
External links
- The Genius of Lenny Breau (PDF document) Retrieved July 3, 2009.