VA - Country Guitar Revisited: Great Country / Western Hits (2018)

Here's a new Jasmine compilation that will stir a memory or two in the minds of all long-term lovers of what used to be called 'Country And Western'.

Back in the 1950s, the 'Country Guitar' series of EPs introduced UK record buyers to many of Country's biggest artists of the period - most of whom subsequently went on to become true legends of the genre.

Artists such as Jim Reeves, Porter Wagoner, Skeeter Davis, Hank Locklin and Don Gibson received their first regular exposure here via 'Country Guitar', which eventually ran to 16 volumes over a six-year period (1957-63).

This double Jasmine CD brings together many of the finest moments from the series, and features just about all of the artists who featured on the original Eps - with information in the booklet as to which volume each track appeared on originally. Truly an important documentation of the Golden Age of the Nashville Sound as well as a bunch of great country tracks by great country artists.

Though almost all of the featured performers have passed away now, it's performances such as those heard here that helped to establish their reputations as all-time Country greats. Many of these tracks have never been previously available on any UK CD. A few have never been reissued in any format.

Remastered from the best available sources and featuring as much music as could fit onto two CDs. A copiously annotated booklet gives much detail about the history of the series. Even the cover image is designed to look like one of the original EPs! With all this in mind, what else could we call it but 'Country Guitar Revisited'?