Bob Dunn - Steel Guitar Classics

 Every so often I come across something new'n'different to me and I put it in a wish list and when I find a good deal on it, I'll buy it even when I don't remember how or why I came across it in the first place. This is another example of that! I have become a sucker for well played steel guitar over the last few years and this CD has been in my list for a while and I just got it. According to Wikipedia, Dunn was "a pioneer Western swing steel guitarist" and he was one of the first to record an electrically amplified instrument!

This 24 song compilation does not focus solely on Dunn, but showcases his work with a number of projects where his steel guitar adds a fine flavor to the proceedings. I would say that "Western Swing" pretty much encapsulates the style here in general, but there are some tunes that are more bluesy ("St. Louis Blues" being an obvious one), some are more Tin Pan Alley-ish, some are jumpin'n'jivin', some are ballad-y but they all share his distinctive style. He doesn't always get a chance to show off - his playing fits the mood of the song - but when he does, he is mighty impressive!

A number of the tunes remind me of songs (especially ones like "Mary Jane") that R.Crumb's band would do (in fact, I'm certain that Crumb has done some of these) - whatever style you want to call that - so fans of his band, as well as fans of early country and Western swing in general will most likely dig this. I found it at a discounted price and it's a fun one!