category: country / easy listening

Album review:
The so called "Alabama Wild Man" was a triple threat talent in the seventies, playing hotshot session guitar for everyone from Elvis (who covered both his GUITAR MAN and U.S. MALE) on down, scoring charismatic smashes of his own including the swampy ode AMOS MOSES and the catch-phrase classic WHEN YOU'RE HOT YOU'RE HOT, and serving as Burt Reynolds' motion picture makin' cronie in GATOR and SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT. THE ESSENTIAL JERRY REED is exactly what the title suggests: all the witty, gritty good ole boy antics you could ever ask for, and probably more. From the autobiographical GUITAR MAN to the introspective SMELL THE FLOWERS to the sprightly instrumental THE CLAW, Reed adroitly covers all the bases. Still, it's the novelty numbers he's best known for, and he hardly disappoints in that category. LORD, MR. FORD is one of the wittiest "car-tunes" since Chuck Berry wrote NO MONEY DOWN, while SHE GOT THE GOLDMINE (I GOT THE SHAFT) is as much fun as divorce songs get, and ANOTHER PUFF is the SMOKE, SMOKE, SMOKE THAT CIGARETTE of its era. Toss in SMOKEY AND THE BANDIT trucker favorite EAST BOUND AND DOWN, and THE BIRD, about a biped that imitates George Jones and Willie Nelson, and you've got yourself an album that's both funny AND funky. Make no mistake son, this is the BEST "best of" Jerry Reed that your dollar can buy. RATING: FOUR GUITAR PICKS -- Juke Box Dave (Record Town, USA) 2005

CD Track Listing

  1. Guitar Man (Jerry Reed) (2:26)
  2. Alabama Jubilee (Cobb / Yellen; arr. J.R.Hubbard) (2:58)
  3. Amos Moses (Jerry Hubbard) (2:19)
  4. A Thing Called Love (Jerry Hubbard) (2:20)
  5. When You're Hot, You're Hot (J.R.Hubbard) (2:19)
  6. Smell The Flowers (Jerry Hubbard) (2:28)
  7. Ko-Ko Joe (J.R.Hubbard) (2:52)
  8. You Took All The Ramblin' Out Of Me (Jerry Hubbard) (2:15)
  9. The Uptown Poker Club (Vodery / Williams / Havez / Huffman; arr. J.R.Hubbard) (3:30)
10. The Claw (instrumental) (Jerry Reed) (1:59)
11. Lord Mr. Ford (Dick Feller; arr. J.R.Hubbard) (3:17)
12. A Good Woman's Love (Cy Coben; arr. J.R.Hubbard) (2:55)
13. East Bound & Down [from the motion picture "Smokey & The Bandit"] (Hubbard / Feller) (2:46)
14. Let's Sing Our Song (J.R.Hubbard) (2:51)
15. The Crude Oil Blues (J.R.Hubbard) (2:52)
16. I Love You, What Can I Say (Dick Feller; arr. J.R.Hubbard) (3:37)
17. The Bird [w/excerpts from: (1) Whiskey River (John Bush Shinn); (2) He Stopped Loving Her Today (Braddock / Putman); (3) On The Road Again (Willie Nelson)] (Hal Coleman; arr. J.R.Hubbard) (3:16)
18. Texas Bound & Flyin' [from the motion picture "Smokey & The Bandit II"] (J.R.Hubbard) (3:19)
19. She Got The Gold Mine (I Got The Shaft) (Tim Dubois; arr. J.R.Hubbard) (3:16)
20. Another Puff (Jarett / Hubbard) (4:04)

Total timing: 57:41

Label/No: RCA 66592-2

Release date: 1995