Album Review

by Stephen Thomas Erlewine [allmusic.com]

As the title indicates, Teensville is Chet Atkins' attempt to cut a record that appealed to the teenage audience weaned on rock & roll. Though he records a fair amount of rock, rockabilly, R&B, and country songs -- and the Everly Brothers, who he produced, wrote the line notes -- he never captures the raw spark of rock & roll. What shines through is Atkins' understated elegance. All of the numbers are arranged as pop instrumentals and his guitar playing is so tasteful that it makes the half-hearted execution almost forgiveable.