"The Intimate Jim Reeves"

[electra225]

One of the last albums Jim Reeves cut before his death. One of the last that is not a compilation of his previously-recorded material. "Oh, How I Miss You Tonight". Probably one of the songs that got him the handle of "The Perry Como of Country Music". SMMMOOOOTH. Like a Straight 8 Packard. Jim Reeves was the poster boy for the Nashville Sound. A pretty fair country crooner, the Nashville sound slowed him down, he went from a tenor to a baritone and was accompanied by the Nashville Mafia, led by the famous late, great Floyd Cramer. Anita Kerr and the Bergen White Strings completed his orchestration. Many of his Nashville Sound material featured oboes, flutes and French horns, unheard of in country music previous to the Nashville Sound era. He had a band, "The Blue Boys" with Leo Jackson playing lead guitar. He never recorded a Nashville Sound recording with his band. He always used the Mafia.

Try these:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awT3-4Y2vs4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5bohGOyLEs

[Firedome]

I always liked Gentleman Jim back then even though I was pretty young... he died way too soon. I think there may be fans that can still appreciate that smooth but not fake or over-produced country.

[hermitcrab]

I have a couple of his albums , always liked his voice and style ...If I recall he was piloting the plane and missed the runway in the fog? too many music stars lost due to plane crashes ...

[electra225]

He was a better singer than he was a plane pilot, unfortunately. He was only 40 when he died. As far as I know, I have every note Jim Reeves ever recorded. Even the duets they made after his death where he sang with Patsy Cline and Debbie Allen. Jim Reeves never recorded a bad note, ever. I have a 78 that Jim Reeves recorded in the early 1950's. I forget the label, but I never heard of it. Jim Reeves might have been a major league baseball player if he had not suffered an injury that sidelined that career. IIRC, the St. Louis Cardinals, but don't quote me on that. His recording career with RCA only lasted about five years or so.

[back-2-mono]

Well, now it looks like I'm going to be on the hunt for a couple of his lp's, in mono of course, to play on the SHF-3D

[electra225]

I have "The Intimate Jim Reeves", "The Best of Jim Reeves" and "Moonlight and Roses" all in the Mono Dynagroove version. "Intimate" and "Moonlight" will send chills up your spine playing a mono record on a good stereo machine. I can't really tell much difference between mono and stereo in many of his songs. I only have one mono Magnavox record player. I look forward to hearing a Jim Reeves record on it one of these days. Good luck.

"When You Are Gone" that I linked above showed all the goodies that RCA Nashville and the versatile Chet Atkins created for Jim Reeves. You may notice a device that sounds like bells. That is the doodad that I call a vox that Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer came up with. I saw Floyd Cramer playing it one time on one of the Nashville shows on TV, maybe the Wilburn Brothers show. He sat the vox and his upright piano at 90 degree angle. He put his piano bench kind of in the center of the two, then played the vox with his right hand and the piano with his left hand. This, and Anita Kerr's soprano gave that song a unique sound.

[William]

Greg! Someday I hope to see that VOX, just to see what you are talking about.

Bill

[electra225]

Lawrence Welk had a manual version that Jack Imel played. LW specifically referred to it as a vox. He used these little bone mallets on it. Chet Atkins and Floyd Cramer came up with this contraption. I only saw it once. I read about it in the Music City News, where it was referred to as a vox. I have tried to find a reference to it lately, but came up with nothing. As I remember, it was about a third the size of a spinet piano, was white, and had a short keyboard like an accordian. There was an effects pedal that Cramer would use, and it would change the tone of it. This unique sound is only found on RCA records. The one exception is some of Patsy Cline's recordings. How Cramer got this past the RCA correct police is beyond me. Chet Atkins was known for his electronic prowess, so this may have been a creation of Atkins and Cramer. RCA Nashville was pretty much run carte blanche by Chet Atkins in those day, so he could do pretty much what he wanted. Cramer was in such demand as a studio musician that he could lose his recording contract and still stay busy enough to make himself a millionaire playing a piano.

[William]

Thanks Greg! I have seen/heard the "VOX" being played on LW and just thought it was some kind of new keyboard thing. I should start looking for the Nashville "VOX" and see if I can find it.

Bill

[back-2-mono]

I just ordered, what appears, as a nice clean copy of The Intimate. Looking forward to it.

[electra225]

Gary, I hope you enjoy that album as much in mono as I have in stereo. RCA records in general, and Jim Reeves records specifically are frequently found in good shape. ENJOY!

[back-2-mono]

It's on the way. Looking forward to giving it a spin!

[electra225]

So....did you enjoy "The Intimate Jim Reeves" album in mono? Another suggestion I might offer is another RCA album from 1963 by Duane Eddy "Twang A Country Guitar". I have this album in all five of its versions, Mono, Mono Dynagroove, Stereo, Stereo Dynagroove and Living Stereo. I've commented on this album in the past. It's basically the Nashville Mafia hijacking a Duane Eddy record, but it's pretty good. It should be titled "Floyd Cramer and Lloyd Green Play Country And Let Duane Eddy Play With Them". The regular Mono version played on a stereo sounds the best of the two mono versions. The Living Stereo version sounds best on a stereo, IMHO. I'd like to hear the Stereo Dynagroove version played on an RCA New Vista stereo. We probably should start a conversation about Dynagroove one of these days.

Another Duane Eddy record that sounds really good in mono is his 1964 RCA effort "Dance with the Guitar Man". This album is much more rock and roll oriented, with minimal aid from Floyd Cramer. Lots of Boots Randolph sax on this album. You might see if you can find a copy of this one as well.

[back-2-mono]

Yes, I like it. Very relaxing. Great recording too.
I do have a few of Duane Eddy's singles. One on RCA and a couple on Jamie. I also have one on a 78. My all-time favorite of his is Because They're Young.
Great tune with a full orchestra background.

[Hi-Fi-Mogul]

Yes, I like it. Very relaxing. Great recording too.
I do have a few of Duane Eddy's singles. One on RCA and a couple on Jamie. I also have one on a 78. My all-time favorite of his is Because They're Young.
Great tune with a full orchestra background.

I really like Because They're Young, also.
A very soaring kind of tune, with a taste of pre-Ennio Morricone.