Jerry Reed Album: “A Golden Classics Edition”

One of the most versatile performers in show business...Jerry seems just as comfortable on the silver screen as he has always been as a musician...This two album CD catches Jerry at one of the several high points in his career...from tender love ballads like "with you (missing you)"...to raucous, humor filled quick pickin' romps like "when you're hot you're hot"...he even shines in the bluesy instrumental "turned on"...it almost seems there is more than one Jerry Reed on this CD...all sides of Jerry are satisfying...and there's more to Jerry Reed than the big hits in this package...i've found plenty to love in the other tracks too...the sensitive regret of "i'll be around (in all the old places)...the soft and mellow beauty of Jerry's version of Gordon Lightfoot's "early morning rain"...and the casual humor of "another puff" never goes out of style...i predict that if you listen to this CD, that you'll want to hear more Jerry Reed...it's kind of hard to stop...once you've started.

This is a compilation of two classic Jerry Reed albums from his hitmaking day in the early 1970s -- "When You're Hot You're Hot" and "Ko-Ko-Joe," plus a hit single -- "Lord Mr. Ford" -- thrown in for good measure. WYHYH is marred by a lot of filler (did the world really need yet another version of Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town?), but Ko-Ko Joe is top flight.

For some reason, Amazon has been showing the wrong cover shot for a couple of years now. Don't worry -- this is not "Hot Movies"...

Pick up any and all of Reed's cd's, you won't be disapointed.

In the '70's, the "novelty song" was a fun part of Top 40 radio. "Kung Fu Fighting", "The Streak (Ethyl! Get yer clothes on!)", and "Mr. Jaws" were all popular examples of what was basically a two and a half minute comedy or satire routine. Weird Al surely owes some of his success and inspiration to those goofy songs.

Jerry Reed might be considered the father of the novelty song, although I believe he should be remembered just as much for his awesome guitar-playing skills. Those in the know, know that this man could do some serious pickin'--and his skills are amply showcased on this double-disc.

"When You're Hot, You're Hot" may be Jerry's best-known song besides "East Bound and Down" (from the Smokey & the Bandit soundtrack). It's the immortal tale of a man who gets busted for shooting dice in an alley and gets hauled before a judge who happens to be an old fishing buddy of his. Jerry's indignation at his sentence is so exuberantly corn-pone that I never fail to smile when hearing it. "Amos Moses" is another biographic song about a man who hunts alligators in the "Loozyanna" swamp (he'd just knock 'em in the haid with a stump!) The producers of the reality show "Swamp People" fumbled the ball by not selecting what should have been the only choice for theme song of the series.

Now, Jerry could play with an emphasis on the funk like few white boys ever could, and the few samples of his funkiness make this double-disc worth the price of admission. The drawbacks to this disc are some of what might be called the "serious" songs. They remind me of everything bad about Vegas lounge music, and sound seriously dated. (Some musical historians undoubtedly might argue that these are reasons to buy.)

I encourage the listener to skip over the large lapelled, gold-chained stuff and dig Jerry for his endearing style of pickin' & grinnin'. "Big Daddy's Alabama Bound," "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," "Ruby, Don't Take Your Love to Town," and more to be found here will more than make up for the filler.