★★★★★
What may have started as a nostalgic novelty band in the early 70s had, by the time 10 was released in 1987, become one of the most cherished acts of the country circuit. Asleep At The Wheel took the bygone delights of western swing and reupholstered them for a modern audience - not that they allowed anything too modern to taint the purity of their sound...
- recordcollectormag.com
2013-04-01
★★★★★
Bob Wills' 1930s fusion of square-dancefiddles with jazz, blues, and polka rhythms was fierce and audacious;on this tribute album, Tribute to the Music of Bob Willis and the Texas Playboys, it's just nostalgic. Garth, Dolly, Lyle, andeven Huey Lewis drop by the ranch, but the only star who swings withhalf of Wills' gumption is George Strait, in a ribald number called"Big Ball's in Cowtown."
- ew.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
Many members (and 25 years) after its inception, this band is still modern Western swing's premier ensemble. The Wheel Keeps on Rollin' runs the gamut from two-steppin', line-dancin' fare to '40s-style big-band romps. With guests Albert Lee, Johnny Gimble, and Bela Fleck, the picking fits into one category: mighty fine.
- ew.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
This collection of modern classics and originals done
Western-swing-style fares better with the reliable stuff
(''Feliz Navidad,'' featuring Tish Hinojosa) than the novelty
numbers (''Xmas in Jail''). But throughout Merry Texas Christmas, Y'all, the musicianship
measures up to Asleep At The Wheel's superb standards. B-
- ew.com
2009-06-12
★★★★★
Asleep at the Wheel remains unique in its overview of American music, with a repertoire ranging from be-bop to western swing to classic rhythm & blues. The only trouble in the past was that, in order to experience the excitement, you had to see them live. Their two previous albums were stiff and forced. Finally, with Texas Gold, they have released an album worthy of their talents...
- www.rollingstone.com
2009-06-08
★★★★★
A lot of conceptual work went into the choice of material here. But what's made the Wheel's records come across have been new Ray Benson and Leroy Preston songs that played off and framed the borrowings and rediscoveries. This offers wonderful countrifications of Count Basie and Randy Newman; the other covers are nice, rarely more.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-03-20
★★★★★
Side one is playable, although "God Bless the Child" was born under a bad sign, and the hot live performances don't suit the living room as well as the more delicate studio versions available on three out of five songs. Side two, however, sounds terribly forced. Not only does John Nicholas's overstated, bloozey original make clear that Leroy Preston's songwriting is going to be missed, but his duet with Chris O'Connell is too close to Peggy Scott and Jo-Jo Benson to remain so far away...
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-02-27
★★★★★
Now that its musicianship and production values are established, the album quality of this excellent but marginal band will depend mostly on the song quality. Except for "Miles and Miles of Texas," this LP singles out no really striking nonoriginals, and Leroy Preston, touring hard of late, contributes only two new ones.
- www.robertchristgau.com
2009-02-27
Loading...
