Chet Atkins - Relaxin' With Chet (1969) {1999, Reissue}

"Relaxin' with Chet" is exactly that a laid back album with some fine playing. Chet (or RCA Camden) seemed to want to make an album similar to his two masterpieces from 1957-8, "Chet Atkins at Home" and "Hi-Fi in Focus". This is confirmed by the presence of four tracks from the former (7-10 on this album) to pad out the six tracks newly recorded, as well as the fact that the liner notes are almost exactly the same as on "At Home". Also, the repertoire of the new music is similar to that of the older albums, as the theme of all three is "what Chet plays for his own enjoyment". Here Chet really lets his love for jazz shine through, tackling Tin Pan Alley as well as names like Jerome Kern and Duke Ellington. He also plays solos that are much more jazz-inflected than what is expected of him, although his finger-pickin' talents emerge notably on "Vilia" and "Say Si Si" through his use of his "Octabass" Gretsch (which is a guitar with the two lowest strings replaced by bass strings!). ~ Connor L., Amazon