Live Wire! - Phil Baugh

Live Wire! is actually pretty much a straight reissue of Phil Baugh's mid-'60s LP Country Guitar, with a different title, historical liner notes, and one bonus cut (the 1966 single "One Man Band"). While Baugh's quick, fluent picking is justifiably compared to virtuosos such as Jimmy Bryant, Baugh's not quite the same. He's speedy, but a little more relaxed, not quite as jazzy, and a little more rock-influenced, if only because of the mid-'60s times in which these sides were produced. Also, he didn't stick to wholly instrumental outings on these tracks, with about half the material including vocals by pleasant but journeyman honky tonk singer Vern Stovall. It's a good though not stunning collection of performances, spearheaded by the country novelty single "Country Singer," in which Baugh imitated many top guitarists, from Merle Travis and Les Paul to Duane Eddy. While the instrumentals tend to have the flashier soloing, the songs with Stovall vocals aren't bad by any means; "Good Times" and "Brand New World," in fact, are quite respectable hard honky tonk numbers. ~ Richie Unterberger, All Music Guide