Noel Boggs - The Very Best (The Shasta Masters) (2000)

The only extant collection of Boggs' solo career on CD, The Very Best of Noel Boggs is made up of a dozen recordings by his quintet from 1958, augmented by four performances by his trio six years later, all recorded for Jimmy Wakely's Shasta Records. Boggs' own "Steelin' Home" takes the greatest advantage of the steel guitar as a pure instrument, with a slashing sound that isn't exploited often elsewhere here. The rest is engaging enough, showing off his steel guitar (usually in tandem with Ivan Ditmars' organ, and lead guitarist Neil Levang) carrying melodies of such familiar tunes as "Beer Barrel Polka," "Coquette," "September Song," "The Birth of the Blues," and "Tenderly," the latter the prettiest track in this collection and a great showcase for Paul Smith's piano; all of it is entertaining, although in at least one instance, the waltz "Lover" by Richard Rodgers, the underlying composition is sort of lost in the rendition. The music, much of it obviously drawn from the highlights of Boggs' stage act, all has the feel of stripped down, light jazz rather than country music, showing off the direction in which Boggs turned after the early '50s. Juan Tizol's "Caravan" is probably the best track here for sheer virtuosity, a scintillating high-speed workout for the two guitars and organ.