The Jerry Reed Thread

I did think the recent SMOKEY CD issue left a lot to be desired, sound-wise. I'd made my own CD from a cassette my pal found on eBay several years ago, and the new CD didn't sound any better than that. I'd hoped that somehow we'd get previously unreleased tracks (or versions of the songs without the film dialogue over them), but it's just the soundtrack for the first two films (and I do love "Texas Bound And Flyin'"" from 2) as they were originally released.

 

Jerry as a songwriter. Among the great covers....

 

I ended up purchasing the new BGO 4fer with Ko-Ko Joe to compare to the old Collectables 2fer and can confirm that the BGO is 100% worth the upgrade.

WYHYH on the BGO is light years better than the one on the Collectables disc. The mastering is not bass boosted like on the Collectables version which also sounds like it is from a lower generation source then the BGO.

Ko-Ko Joe is also better on the BGO because the mastering isn't boosted, but the sources for this album do sound similar.

I have to pull out my One Way Records cd to compare Roses and Me and Chet to the new BGO versions and once I have done that I will post again.

 

Any info on future BGO releases?

 

I have to say, this video makes me think Jerry Reed is the coolest most confident cat in country music. Right from the start you see Jerry sitting down like he's on a front porch WITH ONE SNEAKER OFF! That socked foot is propped up on a block of wood and never leaves. Now it is the seventies and he is dressed appropriately for walking around. It's either a big FU to the industry he has to use to promote or he is the most casual guy on tv. I like to think the latter. While he plays he seems a bit more interested in engaging with the guitarist, then at the end he very calmly picks at his sock and starts putting his sneaker back on. One cool guy.

 

I'm not sure but RCA/Legacy released several of the other albums in HD this month (January). A Good Woman's Love (1974), Mind Your Love (1975) and and East Bound and Down (1977)... I haven't gotten them yet but I find the recent RCA HD transfers like these to be excellent SQ.

Jeff

 

It drove me crazy when I was so excited to see someone on Hee Haw and when it came time for them, they were obviously lip syncing. They did this with Sonny James, Eddie Rabbitt and Lynn Anderson a lot.

 

I'm disappointed by the lip syncing but I get it. I grew up with Bandstand so it doesn't throw me off. I thought the guitar was the recording also and it may be but Jerry and the guitarist are plugged in - you can see the cords. He also turns his gutar up I think when it comes time for his solo. More likely they were probably just playing for each other. Does anyone know who the guitarist is?

 

But no physical release for those?

 

Excellent news! Another four Reed albums hit store shelves at the end of the month. My understanding is BGO will be re-issuing these four-on-two editions up through the 80's. This is awesome because that includes one of his finest albums, "Both Barrels". You can pre-order the newest batch on Amazon. This particular edition should be exceptional.

 

One has to wonder why Jerry didn't recut this track while on RCA...it's a monster.

 

How many of those tracks were recorded for this album? I recognize the first 2 tracks ("Alabama Jubilee" from the 1970 lp Cookin', and "Remembering" from the Nashville Underground lp.
Wondering if this is a compilation of earlier tracks?

[EDITED POST]
OK, I'm embarrassed. While listening to the RCA/BMG cd THE ESSENTIAL Jerry Reed, I was looking at the liner notes, and the credits for ALABAMA JUBILEE show that it was from the 1976 LP BOTH BARRELS. As a huge Jerry Reed fan, I know this song quite well, and I knew this version was ABSOLUTELY from the Cookin' lp. So.........the liner notes are incorrect. I went to youtube and listened to ALABAMA JUBILEE and REMEMBERING from Both Barrels, and they are definitely new recordings.

 

Both Barrels is mostly new material, though there are a couple of tracks culled from previous albums. I'm guessing that there weren't enough tracks recorded for "Gator" to constitute a full-length so they padded it with a few older cuts to extend the running time. The last two BGO release emails haven't mentioned anything about another Jerry release. I sure hope they haven't abandoned the plan. I would love to hear a clean remastered "Miller's Cave". An outstanding Reed cut.

 

The only track recorded for "Gator" was "Gator". Unlike the "East Bound and Down' album, none of these tracks are culled from previous albums. Jerry frequently rerecorded/ updated his songs, so I really had nothing to do with padding...

 

I purchased the entire RCA HD 24bit remasters released earlier this year.

RCA does a fantastic job of (IMO) crystal-clear flat-sounding transfers.

From 1973's The Uptown Poker's Club (both the BGO and the RCA HD sound great) through 1983's Ready.

Both Barrels sound fantastic as do the others.

And yes, there are several duplicates on many of the albums, but not a bother to me as there are great "new" cuts on each and I play all the albums regularly. Jerry is my favorite "country" artist. Humor and incredible talent.

(For example "She Got the Goldmine" appears on both The Bird and The Man with the Golden Thumb albums, but "Bad Bad Leroy Brown" on Sings Jim Croce is a cut from the sessions for that album and different than the earlier one on Mind Your Love)

Jeff

 

He would often improve on his previous versions, although I certainly appreciate both versions of any song he updated...

 

I found this page to be very enlightening and informative, in regard to Jerry's recording sessions...

Praguefrank's Country Discography 2: Jerry Reed, part 1

 

Jeff Beck and The Big Town Playboys pay tribute to Gene Vincent with Jerry's song Crazy Legs.