Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review
(20 customer reviews) 24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Well worth it with a lot more than What Amazon tells You,
March 15, 2004 Tony Thomas (SUNNY ISLES BEACH, FL USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys (Audio CD)
Ray Benson and various aggregations of Asleep at the Wheel have been making records for almost 30 years now. The truth is that there are a bunch of standards of Western Swing that just have to be done and done again. Recently he has tried to get the variety in by doing live albums, and so-called tribute albums like this one, a tribute to Bob Wills. They are a nice excuse to do covers of Bob Wills Songs that Asleep at the Wheel has already recorded. This works well because a lot of the people he uses on the record are veterans of the Western Swing revival Merle Haggard and Ray launched in the 1970s from different directions, although you might not know it now. It works because the band sounds looser, a bit wilder, and not as concerned with perfection and style as it does on their studio records, which, by the way I think are terrific.
Of course the Amazon listing here is incorrect. All of these tunes have guests. Red Wing for example has the one the only, the Tyler...Read more
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Swing boys, Swing!,
April 19, 1999 Steven H. Hulme "Idaho Spud" (Boise, ID USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys (Audio CD)
I went to Tulsa on business a couple years back, and made a pilgrimage to Cain's Ballroom, where Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys were the "house band" whenever they were in town. The place was dark and dusty (I went on a Sunday morning), but I could almost hear the distant echoes of that joyful music from years gone by. Asleep at the Wheel, in my opinion, captures the exuberance of the Texas Playboys. For years, they have been at the forefront of "western swing," and they revere this material. They have also gathered some outstanding guests for this venture. Suzy Boggus singing "Old Fashioned Love" is my favorite. Boy howdy, can that lady SING?!! I've got several Bob Wills reissues and compilations; this music has the same feel, but benefits from modern recording techniques. (Bob's stuff sounds kind of "hissy and poppy" these days.) If you like that western swing - treat yourself to this CD!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Excellent,
October 3, 2002 John DeRoos (Mammoth Spring, AR USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys (Audio CD)
I like this music better than the original sounds of Bob Wills. Ray Benson really did a good job putting this together with such people as George Strait, Garth Brooks, Huey Lewis, Brooks & Dunn, Johnny Rodriguez, Chet Atkins & many others. It really has an upbeat & spirit lifting sound that is crisp & clear. One of the best albums I have ever heard.
