Asleep At The Wheel - Half a Hundred Years

File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:24
Size: 161,8 MB
Art: Front

(3:34) 1. Half a Hundred Years
(3:06) 2. It's the Same Old South
(3:46) 3. I Do What I Must
(4:00) 4. There You Go Again (feat. Lyle Lovett)
(3:34) 5. My Little Baby
(4:08) 6. Paycheck to Paycheck
(2:38) 7. Word to the Wise (feat. Bill Kirchen)
(2:59) 8. That's How I Remember It
(2:55) 9. The Photo
(3:34) 10. I Love You Most of All (When You're Not Here)
(3:43) 11. The Wheel Boogie
(4:01) 12. Take Me Back to Tulsa (feat. George Strait and Willie Nelson)
(3:37) 13. The Letter That Johnny Walker Read (feat. Lee Ann Womack)
(4:04) 14. Bump Bounce Boogie (feat. Chris O'Connell, Katie Shore, and Elizabeth McQueen)
(3:18) 15. Miles and Miles of Texas
(3:11) 16. (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66 (feat. Leroy Preston, Johnny Nicholas, and Ray Benson)
(3:33) 17. Marie (feat. Willie Nelson)
(3:24) 18. Spanish Two Step (feat. Johnny Gimble and Jesse Ashlock)
(4:11) 19. The Road Will Hold Me Tonight (feat. Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson)

Asleep at the Wheel, the long-running and influential Western-swing band, will mark 50 years together with a new album. The aptly titled Half a Hundred Years will be released in October and features a number of all-star guests. The Wheel preview the upcoming LP with the title track, released on Friday. Elevated by buoyant horns and singer Ray Benson’s drawling baritone, the track is the ultimate road song: “I’ve been on the road for half a hundred years,” Benson boasts. “I was trying to get across the sacrifices you have to make in 50 years on the road and the other positive side of it. The great experiences, the places I’ve been, and all the amazing people I’ve had the opportunity to meet and play music with,” Benson said in a statement.

The album Half a Hundred Years spans 19 songs includes a number of A-list collaborations: George Strait, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Lee Ann Womack, and Bill Kirchen all pop up. Willie Nelson, who paired with Asleep at the Wheel for 2009’s Willie and the Wheel, appears on no less than three tracks. He also earns a shout-out in the title song. “I might catch up to Willie one of these days,” Benson ad libs, paying homage to the enduring road warrior. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country/asleep-at-the-wheel-50th-anniversary-new-album-1208853/

Half a Hundred Years

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Asleep At The Wheel - Still The King: Celebrating The Music Of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 70:09
Size: 160.6 MB
Styles: Country, Western Swing
Year: 2015
Art: Front

[1:11] 1. Texas Playboy Theme (Feat. Leon Rausch)
[3:29] 2. I Hear Ya Talkin' (Feat. Amos Lee)
[2:29] 3. The Girl I Left Behind Me (Feat. The Avett Brothers)
[4:05] 4. Trouble In Mind (Feat. Lyle Lovett)
[3:30] 5. Keeper Of My Heart (Feat. Merle Haggard & Emily Gimble
[3:17] 6. I Can't Give You Anything But Love (Feat. Kat Edmonson & Ray Benson)
[2:54] 7. Tiger Rag (Feat. Old Crow Medicine Show)
[3:05] 8. What's The Matter With The Mill (Feat. Pokey Lafarge)
[3:04] 9. Navajo Trail (Feat. Willie Nelson & The Quebe Sisters)
[3:25] 10. Silver Dew On The Bluegrass Tonight
[4:18] 11. Faded Love (Feat. The Time Jumpers)
[4:14] 12. South Of The Border (Down Mexico Way) [feat. George Strait]
[2:43] 13. I Had Someone Else Before I Had You (Feat. Elizabeth Cook)
[2:30] 14. My Window Faces The South (Feat. Brad Paisley)
[3:35] 15. Time Changes Everything (Feat. Buddy Miller)
[2:35] 16. A Good Man Is Hard To Find (Feat. Carrie Rodriguez & Emily Gimble)
[3:23] 17. Ding Dong Daddy From Dumas (Feat. Robert Earl Keen & Ray Benson)
[4:18] 18. Brain Cloudy Blues (Feat. Jamey Johnson & Ray Benson)
[2:39] 19. Bubbles In My Beer
[2:52] 20. It's All Your Fault (Feat. Katie Shore)
[4:01] 21. Twin Guitar Special (Feat. Tommy Emmanuel, Brent Mason, & Billy Briggs)
[2:23] 22. Bob Wills Is Still The King

Technically, it's been 16 years since Asleep at the Wheel last saluted Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys -- with 1999's Ride with Bob, recorded for the short-lived DreamWorks Records -- but it's never like Ray Benson's ensemble ever strayed far from Western Swing. Their first album in 1973 was chock-full of Wills standards and their last, 2010's It's a Good Day, showcased former Texas Playboy Leon Rausch, so Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys is squarely in the group's comfort zone. Fortunately, Asleep at the Wheel never sound too comfortable on this generous 22-track tribute. Part of that is down to the decision of Benson and company to construct Still the King as an outright party, inviting old and new friends to sit in and sing both classics and nuggets from the deep Wills songbook. Having star after star take the center stage keeps things lively, particularly because the guest list is sharply balanced between old friends like Merle Haggard, George Strait, and Lyle Lovett -- fellow disciples of Wills, one and all -- with newer roots acts like the Avett Brothers, the Old Crow Medicine Show, Kat Edmonson, the Time Jumpers, and Elizabeth Cook. Everybody is welcome, no matter if it's Jamey Johnson slurring his way through "Brain Cloudy Blues" or Brad Paisley running roughshod across "My Window Faces the South," or Carrie Rodriguez and Emily Gimble joshing through "A Good Man Is Hard to Find," and it's fun to hear Asleep at the Wheel accommodating each of their styles. This casual versatility points out who the real star of the show is, though: it remains Benson's group, whose way with Western Swing has only grown more soulful over the years. Clearly, Asleep at the Wheel draw sustenance from the music of the Texas Playboys, finding life within these old songs, and their love remains infectious and palpable after all these years. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Still The King

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Asleep At The Wheel - Miles And Miles Of Texas

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 90:32
Size: 207.2 MB
Styles: Western swing
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:23] 1. Miles And Miles Of Texas
[3:27] 2. Take Me Back To Tulsa
[3:57] 3. The Letter (That Johnny Walker Read)
[4:30] 4. Bump Bounce Boogie
[6:04] 5. Sittin' On Top Of The World
[2:24] 6. Bob's Breakdown
[4:20] 7. Under The Double Eagle
[3:27] 8. House Of Blue Lights
[3:31] 9. Goodbye Liza Jane
[3:37] 10. Texas, Me And You
[4:10] 11. Cotton-Eyed Joe
[4:09] 12. Big Ball's In Cowtown
[6:37] 13. Hot Rod Lincoln
[3:00] 14. Ain't Misbehavin'
[3:45] 15. I Wonder
[3:47] 16. Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
[4:02] 17. Cherokee Maiden
[2:50] 18. Don't Fence Me In
[3:17] 19. Get Your Kicks On Route 66
[2:48] 20. You're From Texas
[5:08] 21. Wonderful World
[5:00] 22. Choo Choo Ch'boogie
[3:07] 23. Old Cowhand

Since the early '70s, Asleep at the Wheel have been the most important force in keeping the sound of Western swing alive. In reviving the freewheeling, eclectic sensibility of Western swing godfather Bob Wills, the Wheel have earned enthusiastic critical praise throughout their lengthy career; they have not only preserved classic sounds that had all but disappeared from country music, but have also been able to update the music, keeping it a living, breathing art form. Typically featuring eight to 11 musicians, the group has gone through myriad personnel changes (at last count, over 80 members had passed through their ranks), but 6'7" frontman Ray Benson has held it together for four decades, keeping Asleep at the Wheel a viable recording and touring concern and maintaining their devotion to classic-style Western swing. ~Steve Huey

Miles And Miles Of Texas

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Asleep At The Wheel - Ride With Bob

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 60:02
Size: 137.4 MB
Styles: Country, Western Swing
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[3:38] 1. Bob's Breakdown (Feat. Vince Gill)
[3:01] 2. New San Antonio Rose (Feat. Dwight Yoakam)
[3:31] 3. I Ain't Got Nobody (Feat. Don Walser)
[3:14] 4. Roly Poly (Feat. Dixie Chicks)
[3:25] 5. Heart To Heart Talk (Feat. Lee Ann Womack)
[3:22] 6. Cherokee Maiden (Feat. Ray Benson)
[2:40] 7. Maiden's Prayer (Feat. Squirrel Nut Zippers)
[3:13] 8. You're From Texas (Feat. Ray Benson)
[2:41] 9. Right Or Wrong (Feat. Reba McEntire)
[4:26] 10. Faded Love (Feat. Lyle Lovett)
[4:33] 11. St. Louis Blues (Feat. Merle Haggard)
[2:46] 12. End Of The Line (Feat. Jason Roberts)
[3:08] 13. Take Me Back To Tulsa (Feat.Clay Walker)
[5:51] 14. Milk Cow Blues (Feat. Ray Benson)
[2:57] 15. Stay All Night (Feat. Ray Benson)
[2:49] 16. Bob Wills Is Still The King (Feat.Clint Black)
[4:38] 17. Going Away Party (Feat. The Manhattan Transfer)

Asleep at the Wheel devoted its entire career to Western swing, which is commonly known as the music Bob Wills created. They became the standard bearers for the genre, making sure that it was still an integral part of the country music mainstream. Since their entire career feels like a living monument to Wills, it almost seems unnecessary for them to record tributes to the "King of Western Swing" -- that is, until you hear the records. Ride With Bob, their sequel to the award-winning Tribute to the Music of Bob Wills, has more guest appearances than its predecessor, but it's every bit as enjoyable. The fact of the matter is, Asleep at the Wheel played this music better than anybody else at the close of the century, and these are some of the greatest songs in popular music -- "New San Antonio Rose," "Roly Poly," "Cherokee Maiden," "Right or Wrong," "Faded Love," "Take Me Back to Tulsa," and "Stay All Night" always sound fresh, and the band draws out excellent performances from Dwight Yoakam, the Dixie Chicks, Ray Benson, Reba McEntire, Lyle Lovett and Shawn Colvin, Clay Walker, and Mark Chesnutt, respectively, on these songs. It's a testament to both the group and the songs that nobody here -- not the Squirrel Nut Zippers or Manhattan Transfer -- sounds out of place. This is warm, generous, rich music that's endlessly listenable, much like Wills himself. And the Clint Black-sung cover of Waylon Jennings' tribute "Bob Wills Is Still the King" is a nice touch. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Ride With Bob

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Asleep At The Wheel - The Very Best Of The Asleep At The Wheel

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 48:49
Size: 111.8 MB
Styles: Western swing
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:46] 1. The Letter (That Johnny Walker Read)
[3:23] 2. Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
[3:09] 3. Get Your Kicks On Route 66
[3:31] 4. Take Me Back To Tulsa
[3:45] 5. My Baby Thinks She's A Train
[3:12] 6. House Of Blue Lights
[3:18] 7. Miles And Miles Of Texas
[3:31] 8. Sugarfoot Rag
[3:17] 9. Choo Choo Ch' Boogie
[3:31] 10. Dance With Who Brung Ya
[3:26] 11. Big Balls In Cowtown
[3:34] 12. Last Meal
[3:24] 13. Boogie Back To Texas
[3:55] 14. Texas Me And You

Recorded at the end of 2000, this album contains classic Wheel cuts re-recorded with the current lineup (at the time). The 14 tracks sound as good if not better than the original versions. Ray Benson and company really make the effort to make these songs as powerful as ever. A worthy pickup for any country or western swing fans out there. ~uselessgoo/amazon

The Very Best Of The Asleep At The Wheel

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