Bonnie Guitar - By The Fireside - The Velvet-Lounge (2011) torrent

Bonnie Guitar - 2011 - By The Fireside - The Velvet-Lounge (Bear Family BCD 16731)


A most unusual release even by the standards of archive compilations of unissued material, this CD has 15 previously unavailable tracks recorded by Bonnie Guitar in early 1959 that feature her singing with only her own electric guitar playing as accompaniment. (Note that while the back cover refers to these as unissued 1958 recordings, the detailed discography of the sessions in the booklet makes clear that these were cut in January and February of 1959.) The sparse, though clear, production and arrangements give these performances a demo feel, though Guitar herself recalls in the liner notes that the material laid down in these three sessions (which actually produced nearly 30 songs in all) were not intended as demos. There's some original material by Guitar and Don Robertson (co-writer of Eddy Arnold's hit "I Really Don't Want to Know"), but the emphasis is on covers of well-known songs popularized by the likes of Hank Williams, Elvis Presley ("I Forgot to Remember to Forget"), Jimmie Rodgers ("Honeycomb"), and Ivory Joe Hunter ("I Almost Lost My Mind"). Although this was recorded not long after Guitar had a Top Ten pop hit (with 1957's "Dark Moon"), the oddity of these performances probably does mostly confine their appeal to serious Guitar fans, or at least to serious fans of country-pop from that period. Within those confines, however, it's a likable and highly professional-sounding set. Guitar has a pleasant clear voice, if one a little lacking in individuality of expression. Her guitar is cleanly picked with a good sense of dynamic rhythm, albeit in a subdued fashion that makes it seem a little like an "unplugged" session although the instrument's electric. ~ Richie Unterberger EU collection of unreleased tracks from the Country vocalist. For several sessions in 1959, Bonnie and her friend, songwriter and producer Don Robertson, holed up in RCA Victor's Hollywood studios in an unusual experiment: recording Bonnie's voice with solo guitar accompaniment. The repertoire ranged from standards, some of which she'd been singing for years in clubs, to new originals, and a couple of Roberson's own classics. Why were these tracks recorded? Bonnie says they were master sessions, though such informality was virtually unprecedented in 1959 (even Johnny Mathis's 'Open Fire: Two Guitars' had a second guitar and a bass). Bonnie's By The Fireside includes 15 of the songs Bonnie and Don recorded back then, which are available here for the first time. Todd Everett's liner notes include quotes from three recent interviews with the artist.