Neck and Neck
Studio album by
Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler
ReleasedOctober 9, 1990 (1990-10-09)
RecordedCA Workshop, Nashville,
Sound Emporium, Nashville,
Hillbilly Heaven, London,
1990[1]
GenreCountry, country rock, western swing
Length38:26
LabelColumbia
ProducerMark Knopfler
Chet Atkins Collaborations chronology
Standard Brands
(1981)		 Neck and Neck
(1990)		 Sneakin' Around
(1991)
Mark Knopfler chronology
Missing... Presumed Having a Good Time
(1989)		 Neck and Neck
(1990)		 Screenplaying
(1993)

Neck to Neck is a collaborative album by American guitarist Chet Atkins and British singer-songwriter and guitarist Mark Knopfler, released on October 9, 1990, by Columbia Records. "Poor Boy Blues" was released as a single.

At the 33rd Annual Grammy Awards in 1991, the track "Poor Boy Blues" won Best Country Vocal Collaboration, while the track "So Soft Your Goodbye" won Best Country Instrumental Performance.[2]

Atkins originally recorded "Yakety Axe", a parody of Boots' Randolph's "Yakety Sax", on his 1965 album More of That Guitar Country. This new recording features lyrics and a new arrangement that were composed by Merle Travis. Atkins also previously recorded "I'll See You in My Dreams" on an album with Travis.

The track "There'll Be Some Changes Made" was later included as track 10 of the 15-track 1996 Rolls-Royce Sound System Demonstration Disc and accompanying cassette.[3]

Critical reception

In his review for AllMusic, Stephen Thomas Erlewine gave the album four out of five stars, calling it "the most focused and arguably the most rewarding record Atkins has released."[2] Erlewine singled out Knopfler's influence on the legendary guitarist:

Working with Dire Straits guitarist Mark Knopfler had a rejuvenating influence on Chet Atkins. Knopfler has Atkins moving toward his country roots, but both guitarists still play with a tasteful, jazzy sensibility—however, Atkins has abandoned the overt jazz fusion pretensions that sank most of his '80s records.[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic [2]

Track listing

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Poor Boy Blues"Paul Kennerley4:01
2."Sweet Dreams"Don Gibson3:24
3."There'll Be Some Changes Made"William Blackstone, Benton Overstreet[Note 1]6:28
4."Just One Time"Don Gibson4:11
5."So Soft, Your Goodbye"Randy Goodrum3:16
6."Yakety Axe"Boots Randolph, James Rich, Merle Travis3:24
7."Tears"Stéphane Grappelli, Django Reinhardt3:54
8."Tahitian Skies"Ray Flacke3:18
9."I'll See You in My Dreams"Isham Jones, Gus Kahn2:59
10."The Next Time I'm in Town"Mark Knopfler3:21
Total length:38:26

Personnel

Music
Production
  • Mark Knopfler – producer
  • Mike Poston – engineer
  • Guy Fletcher – engineer
  • Vanelle – assistance engineer
  • Ron Eve – assistance engineer
  • Bill Schnee – mixing engineer
  • Doug Sax – mastering at The Mastering Lab in Los Angeles
  • Alan Yoshida – mastering at The Mastering Lab in Los Angeles
  • Deborah Feingold – photography[4]

Charts

Albums

Chart (1990) Peak
Canadian Albums Chart 71
Norway Albums Chart 5
Sweden Albums Chart 8
Swiss Albums Chart 3
UK Albums Chart 41
US Billboard 200 Chart[2] 127
US Billboard Top Country Chart[2] 27

Singles

Year Single Peak positions
CAN Country
1990 "Poor Boy Blues" 92

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Parody lyrics were written by Margaret Archer, Chet Atkins, and Mark Knopfler.
Citations
  1. ↑ "Neck and Neck". Discogs. Retrieved 27 November 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Neck and Neck". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 November 2012.
  3. ↑ Doug DeMuro (9 May 2017), Here's What a $300,000 Rolls-Royce Was Like... in 1996, archived from the original on 15 December 2021, retrieved 13 July 2017
  4. ↑ Neck and Neck (booklet). Chet Atkins and Mark Knopfler. New York: Columbia Records. 1990. pp. 1–3. CK 45307.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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