Pickin' My Way followed 1970's Me & Jerry, a duet album by
Atkins and
Jerry Reed that was a genuine hit, going all the way to 13 on the country charts.
Reed steps into a co-producer's chair for
Pickin' My Way and the record shares some tonal and structural similarities with its predecessors: once again there are covers of
Paul Simon ("The Boxer") and
the Beatles (solo
McCartney in the form of "Junk") lying amid the standards. Despite the presence of "Black Mountain Rag," "Wabash Blues," and "Floatin' Down to Cotton Town," most of these standards come from Tin Pan Alley, not Tennessee, suggesting that this might be a somewhat sleepy affair but that's not the case. Certainly,
Pickin' My Way is mellow but it's also nimble and shaded, making it a nice blend of Music Town virtuosity and middle-of-the-road easy listening. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine