Rick Allred playing "Over the Rainbow"

[George Beasley]

Here is another one from my iPhone achieves.....Rick playing a great version of Over the Rainbow, with a little "If I only had a heart" thrown in. This is also at the 2011 CAAS convention.

Enjoy!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BQKQ7j6q ... ata_player

[Roger Pratt]

AWESOME!!! Paul Yandell told me that Rick was the closest thing to Chet he had ever heard.

[Steve Moran]

I remember 3 years ago or so Paul Yandell introducing Rick in one of the CAAS workshop rooms and speaking very highly of his playing! Rick played a great version of Time in a Bottle that day. He also has a heck of a good version of Me and Bobby McGhee on Youtube! Thanks for posting George and Roger.
Steve

[keener]

Rick's one if the best pickers on the planet. Thanks for sharing the videos George!

[Roger Pratt]

May God Bless!

[keener]

My, my, Jack ... you really do love to stir the pot don't you?

I think Roger says it so well: trying to choose who's the best picker is kinda like splitting hairs. I personally consider Richard Smith to be the best ... he can play such a huge variety of styles and his techniques are enviable to say the least. I asked him a couple of weeks ago which method he would recommend for playing a particular riff in The Claw (you can see my latest video and blog post), and he showed me about a half-dozen ways of getting it, all of which sounded great.

But, when it comes to "number 2," if there really is such a thing as number 1 and number 2, it gets real, real tough for me. There's Tommy Emmanuel, Steve Wariner, Rick Allred, Pete Huttlinger, Craig Dobbins, John McClellan, John Knowles, Michael Chapdelaine, Roger Hardin ... (that's just from the top of my head, and I know there's plenty more top-notch talent).

I do know that Rick has been picking like a super star for Years. I remember back about 30 or 35 years ago, when I was working for TVA, I had driven back to Atlanta to spend time with my family and a music buddy who owned a great music store and could pick really great. He gave me a tape of some of Rick's playing. He said he told Rick that I couldn't be beat because I could play everything that Chet and Jerry ever played, but in my view Rick's playing was phenomenal ... maybe I could have played some tunes he couldn't but he could play some I couldn't too. One tune on that cassette was Young Thing. I had never heard it but Rick played it exactly like Chet would have. I played that tune over and over and over. Absolutely loved it. And Rick is still playing as good as he ever did.

[RandeDager]

I guess I missed Jack's post. This is also the first time I've seen only the main body of the post removed while leaving the rest in tact. I'm sorry I missed it.

[keener]

Jack,

I felt that you insulted Rick, whether you intended to or not, and I knew he would not defend himself, so I tried on my own to offer some defense for him. Like I said above, although I have never met Rick, he and I go back to a time when there were only a handful of really good pickers, and we were both in that group of really good pickers. He has kept on picking and made a career out of it, and has gotten even better while my talents have declined over the years. Regardless, I feel a sort of kinship with him and thought I should defend his abilities. He's an incredibly good picker, as you yourself point out.

I think anybody can say what they want on the Chet Boards, but when someone is insulted you can expect some flak.

I think it's time we all got over "this ain't the old ChetBoards." Of course it's not. Things change. People change. I can't do half of what I used to on the guitar or on anything else for that matter. That's just life. But I do think this Board is still great, and I learn a lot from it.

Bruce

[keener]

Be well Jack. I hope you also have great holidays.
Bruce

[Roger Pratt]

May God Bless!