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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Various - Buddy Holly: Listen To Me

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s

Time: 43:49

Size: 100.3 MB

Styles: Rock

Year: 2011

Art: Front

[3:57] 1. Stevie Nicks - Not Fade Away

[2:26] 2. Pat Monahan - Maybe Baby

[2:42] 3. Brian Wilson - Listen To Me

[2:05] 4. Imelda May - I'm Lookin' For Someone To Love

[3:04] 5. Jackson Browne - True Love Ways

[2:49] 6. Cobra Starship - Peggy Sue

[3:27] 7. The Fray - Take Your Time

[1:49] 8. Ringo Starr - Think It Over

[2:27] 9. Chris Isaac - Crying Wishing Hoping

[2:32] 10. Linda Ronstadt - That'll Be The Day

[2:02] 11. Jeff Lynne - Words Of Love

[2:25] 12. Lyle Lovett - Well All Right

[3:27] 13. Natalie Merchant - Learning The Game

[2:39] 14. Patrick Stump - Everyday

[2:52] 15. Zooey Deschanel - It's So Easy

[2:58] 16. Eric Idle - Raining In My Heart

Songmasters has launched a series called Listen to Me which pays tribute to the true, great and original icons of rock music. Listen To Me: Buddy Holly inaugurates the series in an album produced by Peter Asher, featuring music greats Stevie Nicks, Pat Monahan, Brian Wilson, Imelda May, Jackson Browne, Cobra Starship, The Fray, Ringo Starr, Chris Isaak, Linda Ronstadt, Jeff Lynne, Lyle Lovett, Natalie Merchant, Patrick Stump, Zooey Deschanel, Eric Idle.

Buddy Holly, the true, great, and original recording artist featured in Listen To Me programs this year, continues to be an essential component of rock ‘n’ roll’s historical catalog as seen from Universal Music Enterprises (UME) continuous sales of its Buddy Holly: Millennium Collection, which is the No. 1 seller of the Holly catalog. More than fifty years later, new fans continue to discover the genius of Holly and his accolades continue to grow through projects such as Listen To Me: Buddy Holly.

Buddy Holly: Listen To Me

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Lyle Lovett - Lyle Lovett & His Large Band

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:49
Size: 93.4 MB
Styles: Country-jazz
Year: 1999
Art: Front

[2:24] 1. The Blues Walk
[4:01] 2. Here I Am
[2:27] 3. Cryin' Shame
[3:13] 4. Good Intentions
[3:56] 5. I Know You Know
[3:04] 6. What Do You Do/The Glory Of Love
[3:13] 7. I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You
[2:42] 8. Stand By Your Man
[4:08] 9. Which Way Does That Old Pony Run
[3:04] 10. Nobody Knows Me
[4:07] 11. If You Were To Wake Up
[4:24] 12. Once Is Enough

While from the outset Lyle Lovett sounded like a hard artist to pigeonhole, his sponsors at Curb Records and MCA Records seemed determined to sell him as a country artist, though the blues and retro-jazz leanings of Lovett's second album, Pontiac, suggested that strategy would only be practical for so long. With his third album, 1989's Lyle Lovett and His Large Band, Lovett seemingly sidelined any career aspirations as a mainstream country act he or his handlers may have held. The album kicks off with a lively cover of Clifford Brown's "The Blues Walk," and the next five tunes all bear the smoky, late-night vibe of a low-key jazz joint, with top marks going to the hilariously off-kilter "Here I Am," the witty scenario of potential infidelity "What Do You Do/The Glory of Love," and the marvelously sly "Good Intentions." The second half of the album is steeped in twang, but it was hardly more comforting for country radio programmers; "I Married Her Just Because She Looks Like You" is a "sweet on the outside and sick on the inside" tale of romantic obsession, "Nobody Knows Me" bears a punchline that makes "God Will" sound generous, and Lovett's straight-faced cover of "Stand By Your Man" stubbornly refuses to either announce itself as a joke or suggest another interpretation. Wherever you choose to file it, Lyle Lovett and His Large Band made it clear that Lovett was only getting better with each album; the songs are uniformly well-crafted, Lovett's vocals are full of subtle nuance, and his band is in brilliant form throughout (with special kudos to Lovett's frequent vocal foil, Francine Reed). If you're going to burn your bridges, you could hardly find a better way to do it than this. ~Mark Deming

Lyle Lovett & His Large Band

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Lyle Lovett - Release Me

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 51:40
Size: 118.3 MB
Styles: Country
Year: 2012
Art: Front

[3:05] 1. Garfield's Blackberry Blossom
[2:45] 2. Release Me
[3:31] 3. White Boy Lost In The Blues
[3:16] 4. Baby, It's Cold Outside
[4:48] 5. Isn't That So
[3:41] 6. Understand You
[3:35] 7. Brown Eyed Handsome Man
[2:35] 8. Keep It Clean
[2:58] 9. One Way Gal
[6:10] 10. Dress Of Laces
[3:56] 11. The Girl With The Holiday Smile
[3:25] 12. Night's Lullaby
[5:05] 13. White Freightliner Blues
[2:44] 14. Keep Us Steadfast

Lovett says he wanted "Release Me" to be "a punctuation mark for this whole part of my career." The album is comprised primarily of covers, "some songs that have been important to me and have been an important part of my career. Several of these songs I've played since 1976 and just had never recorded." Among them are tunes by Jesse Winchester, Townes Van Zandt, Michael Franks, Frank Loesser and Chuck Berry, as well as the traditional instrumental "Garfield's Blackberry Bottom."

Lovett contributed two originals to the set: "The Girl With the Holiday Smile" came from a real-life 1978 encounter at a Houston 7-11 "where I met this young lady hiding out from the cops" and also appeared on his 2011 holiday EP "Songs For the Season;" and he composed "Night's Lullaby," which features Nickel Creek's Sara and Sean Watkins, for a 2011 run in the Shakespeare Center Los Angeles' production of "Much Ado About Nothing" that the three appeared in. Lovett co-produced the album with Nathaniel Kunkel, and other guests include k.d. lang and Kat Edmonson.

Release Me

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Lyle Lovett - Smile: Songs From The Movies

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 44:37
Size: 102.2 MB
Styles: Easy Listening
Year: 2003
Art: Front

[3:11] 1. Blue Skies - From The Motion Picture With Honors
[3:09] 2. Straighten Up And Fly Right - From The Motion Picture Dear God
[4:57] 3. Gee Baby, Ain't I Good To You - From The Motion Picture Kissing Jessica Stein
[3:38] 4. Smile - From The Motion Picture Hope Floats
[4:42] 5. Moritat (Mack The Knife) - From The Motion Picture Quiz Show
[2:52] 6. Summer Wind - From The Motion Picture Love Of The Game
[3:59] 7. What I'd Say - From The Motion Picture Where The Heart Is
[3:48] 8. Till It Shines - From The Motion Picture Munford
[2:38] 9. You've Got A Friend In Me - From The Motion Picture Toy Story
[3:13] 10. Walking Tall - From The Motion Picture Stuart Little
[4:58] 11. Pass Me Not O' Gentle Savior - From The Motion Picture Leap Of Faith
[3:27] 12. I'm A Soldier In The Army Of The Lord - From The Motion Picture The Apostle

Since The Road to Ensenada in 1996, Lyle Lovett has released a collection of covers in 1998, a live album in 1999, a predominately instrumental soundtrack in 2000, and now, in 2003, Smile, a collection of songs he recorded for movie soundtracks between 1992 and 2002. None of these were on his official albums and none of them are originals (meaning that it's been nearly seven years since he's released a collection of new songs; this may or may not be a sign of writer's block). Most are covers of pop standards, with a couple of R&B and gospel standards thrown in for good measure (the one contemporary tune is "You've Got a Friend in Me," the Randy Newman duet from Toy Story). All are given perfectly tasteful, perfectly pleasant Large Band-styled arrangements; they're very faithful to the songs yet are styled to Lovett's idiosyncratic delivery. Overall, it's a nice listen and it's nice for collectors to get these all tunes in one place, but it's not essential and it's hard not to wish that Lovett would just finally do an album of new material already. ~Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Smile: Songs From The Movies

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