category: instrumental country / easy listening

Album review:
"If Buck Owens was a key builder of the sharp-edged Bakersfield honky-tonk sound, then Don Rich was his hammer. The tart Telecaster guitar licks and cutting tenor harmony vocals that distinguished Owens's sound came courtesy of his chief Buckaroo, not to mention some nifty fiddling to boot. This tangy and twangy 24-cut compilation gives Rich his proper due. With Owens churning out hit after hit in the 1960s, the Buckaroos themselves were given plenty of opportunities to produce their own albums, and these records are the sources of most of the material here.

There are many examples on this CD of Rich's nimble fiddle work and even a few nice vocal turns, but it was his snappy guitar licks that really influenced the course of the music. Melding the fluidity and imagination of jazz with the aggressive attack of rock--and making the low strings ring out brightly--he set country guitar in new directions while helping to expand the genre's audience in the process. His work recalls a time when a sideman was a first lieutenant, not a hired gun." -- Marc Greilsamer

CD Track Listing

  All compositions by Don Rich except where noted

  1. Buckaroo (B.Morris) (1:58)
  2. Orange Blossom Special (Ervin Rouse; arr. B.Owens) (2:06)
  3. I'm Layin' It On The Line (2:24)
  4. The Happy-Go-Lucky-Guitar (B.Owens / D.Rich) (1:54)
  5. Cajun Fiddle (B.Owens / D.Rich) (1:42)
  6. Out Of My Mind (R.Simpson / D.Rich) (3:20)
  7. Round Hole Guitar (B.Owens / D.Rich) (2:19)
  8. Tumwater Breakdown (1:51)
  9. Chicken Pickin' (D.Rich / B.Owens) (2:05)
10. Love's Gonna Come A Knockin' (B.Owens / D.Rich) (1:53)
11. Buckersfield Breakdown (B.Morris / D.Rich) (1:57)
12. I'll Be Swingin' Too (D.Rich / B.Owens) (2:01)
13. Sad Is The Lonely (H.Wilcox / B.Warren) (2:44)
14. Pretty Girl (1:42)
15. Chaparral (B.Morris / D.Rich) (1:55)
16. I'm Coming Back Home To Stay (2:12)
17. Spanish Moonlight (2:07)
18. Saturday Night (1:47)
19. I'm Goin' Back Home Where I Belong (2:16)
20. Aw Heck (1:49)
21. Georgia Peach (1:16)
22. Tim-Buck-Too (2:19)
23. Pickin'-Nickin' (2:32)
24. Country Pickin' (D.Rich / B.Owens) (1:42)

Don Rich
lead guitar - tracks 1, 3-4, 6-7, 9, 12-13, 15, 17, 20, 22-24
fiddle - tracks 2, 5, 8, 11, 14, 18, 21, 24
vocals / guitar - tracks 3, 6, 7, 10, 12, 16, 19

Total timing: 45:10

Label/No: Sundazed Muisic 11091

Release date: (c)1963-70, 2000 reissue