We Still Can't Say Goodbye: A Musicians' Tribute to Chet Atkins (CD + DVD)

by Various Artists

This CD's 15 newly recorded tracks includes a 20-page commemorative booklet with "The Journey of Mr. Guitar" by Robert K Oermann, liner notes by award winning journalist Holly Gleason, rare photos and extensive session notes by Grammy winning producer Carl Jackson. Few artists have been as influential in multiple music industry roles and reached across genre as smoothly as the charming Chet Atkins, the original C.G.P. (Certified Guitar Player). This CD is a hot-picking homage to this legendary, almost instrument-defining legend, performed by the A-list of pickers and voices including Vince Gill, Tommy Emmanuel (CGP), Eric Clapton, Brad Paisley, Jerry Douglas, Ricky Skaggs, James Taylor, Alison Krauss, Charlie McCoy, Michael Cleveland, Bryan Sutton, Ashley Campbell, Brent Mason, Guthrie Trapp, Sierra Hull , and vocalist Bradley Walker. Vince Gill's vocal performance on the title track, "I Still Can't Say Good Bye," offers the depth of humanity that Atkins conjured across his career. Gill also teams with Clapton, who plays three different guitars, and gospel/bluegrass vocalist Bradley Walker for a miraculous "So Sad (To Watch Good Love Go Bad)," which allows the guitars to be as subtly potent as the voices. Sierra Hull matches her playing prowess with a shimmering vocal on "All I Ever Need Is You." The Guitar Country signature, "Freight Train," is delivered by an all-star collaboration of the Chester Bees. To hear Jackson, Clapton, Trapp, Sutton, and Campbell run one into another, followed by Mason, Emmanuel, Skaggs, Hull, Gill, Knowles, Paisley, Pearson, Atkins protégé Isaac Moore, and upstart Thor Jensen is to understand how deep Chet's legacy reaches.

Released the year of what would have been Chet's 100th birthday, this tribute is sure to become a collector's prize as these extraordinary performers celebrate the genius of Chet as C.G.P., Producer, Songwriter and Mentor to so many in the music world who have been inspired by the one and only "Mr. Guitar." Includes Exclusive DVD, "The Making of" produced by Opry Entertainment.