More of That Guitar Country

The followup album to Guitar Country, More of That Guitar Country spawned a bigger hit than anything on its predecessor -- or anything in Chet Atkins' long career for that matter. That tune was "Yakety Axe" -- a retitled cover of Boots Randolph's "Yakety Sax," which itself was inspired by the Coasters' "Yakety Yak" -- a rapid-fire, barnyard-flavored tune that rose to number four on the country singles charts of 1965. As it happens, this was a deceptively flamboyant leadoff track for one of Atkins' least-cluttered, mostly reined-in, and most musical albums of the mid-'60s, searching for good material wherever he can find it, even outside the cloistered world of Nashville. With a subdued intro as a temporary decoy, "Old Joe Clark" gets exactly the kind of fingerpicking, fingerbusting performance fans expect from this guitarist. The Johnny Cash hit "Understand Your Man" gets a neat, genteel, two-beat rendition that reminds one of its close resemblance to Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" -- and Dylan himself is represented by an early (for Nashville) countrified cover of "Blowin' in the Wind." Jerry Smith (piano) and Charlie McCoy (harmonica) are among the session regulars who keep the Nashville music machine running smoothly behind Atkins. ~ Richard S. Ginell