Swing West! Vol. 2: Guitar Slingers
Here's where that vaunted Hollywood professionalism shines. The emphasis in West Coast country instrumentals is definitely on speed, but these pickers fly with precision and clarity.Jimmy Bryant's "Little Rock Getaway" is mind-boggling, but who'd have thoughtJoe Maphiscould match him on "Fire on the Strings," which rolls and tumbles without ever forgetting melody?Les Paul's cleanness on "San Antonio Rose" is to be expected, but is that reallyFerlin Huskyleading a Nashville band through this flat-out amazing take onDuke Ellington's "Caravan"? Among other gems are the pure joyMerle Travisbrings to "Merle's Boogie Woogie,"Roy Clark's whacked-out humor on the rock-flavored "Dented Fender," and the casual complexity ofGlen Campbell's "12-String Special" and the James Burton-Ralph Mooney duet "Corn Pickin'." Not to mention the deceptively relaxed gait guitarist Roy Nichols and steelman Norm Hamlet ofMerle Haggard's Strangers supply on "Champagne" and "Swing High."--John Morthland