Walks the Strings and Even Sings

by Eddie Pennington

Overview

Kentucky's Eddie Pennington has been rightly recognized as a national treasure on the guitar. His thumb-picking style, which he developed in the native region of his home state, is purely American, and perhaps best exemplified by the late, great Merle Travis. But Pennington himself is very much in the same class, a fluid, inventive player who can pick with the very best of them. Just how well he shows on the thrilling opener, "Walking the Strings," where he makes the impossible seem perfectly natural. Whether on blues ("Mose's Blues") or country (the influence on fully half the tracks here) or jazz ("Sweet Georgia Brown" and "Over the Rainbow"), he's completely at home, letting his fingers do the talking. He's no great shakes as a singer, but there's a self-deprecating pleasantness to his voice that's somehow charming. What keeps you listening, however, is the playing, which is equally powerful with both hands; any guitarist listening to "Stealing Time" will be hard pressed to even begin to replicate it -- the man is simply that good. These performances, recorded more than a decade ago, are simply stunning. ~ Chris Nickson

Product Details

Release Date:	04/27/2004
Label:	SMITHSONIAN FOLKWAYS
UPC:	0093074014622

Tracks

1. Walking the Strings
2. Mose's Blues
3. Wabash Canonball
4. Information Please
5. John's Smoke Turns Blue
6. Home
7. Nine Pound Hammer
8. Pig Ankle Rag
9. Raindrops
10. Fertile Liza
11. Stealing Time
12. Sweet Georgia Brown
13. The Pig Got Up
14. Stone's Rag
15. Bye, Bye Blues
16. So Round, So Firm
17. The Panic Is On
18. Bluebell
19. Duncan and Brady
20. Over the Rainbow

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Eddie Pennington   Primary Artist,Guitar

Technical Credits

Pete Reiniger   Audio Engineer,Audio Production,Mixing,Engineer,Producer,Mastering
Joe Wilson   Audio Production
Red Murrell   Composer
David Bennett   Composer
Bert Lown   Composer
D.A. Sonneborn   Production Supervisor
Ben Bernie   Composer
Frederick Hamm   Composer
E.Y. "Yip" Harburg   Composer
Harry Clarkson   Composer
Harold Hensley   Composer
Geoff Clarkson   Composer
Hezekiah Jenkins   Composer
Jacob Love   Editorial Assistant
Mose Rager   Composer
Mary Monseur   Production Coordination
Edward Madden   Composer
Joe "Flip" Wilson   Producer,Tray Photo,Liner Notes,Photography
Theodore Morse   Composer
Kenneth Casey   Composer
Harold Arlen   Composer
Chauncey Gray   Composer
Cliffie Stone   Composer
Maceo Pinkard   Composer
Merle Travis   Arranger,Composer
Nick Spitzer   Cover Photo,Photography