Speaking of those infernal tribute albums.......
(Courtesy of your friends at E-Pulse)
1. WESTERN SWING ADVANCE OF THE WEEK:
It could be said that ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL owes much of its career
trajectory to the path blazed by BobWills. For over a quarter century, the
revivalist Western swing combo has been wowing audiences with an eclectic
blend rooted in the hard-swinging hybrid country-jazz style pioneered in
the 1930s by Wills, Milton Brown and others. And on the forthcoming 'RIDE
WITH BOB' (DreamWorks, 8/10), the Wheel has assembled an all-star cast of
characters, drawn from Nashville's talent pool and elsewhere, to celebrate
this eternally cool stream of music from the Southwest. What's most
amazing is how well (and how seamlessly) everything works; multi-artist
collaborations like this always run the danger of turning into the
equivalent of a dozen Patti LaBelles turned loose on a one-mic stage at
once. But who with country in his or her soul can't avoid loving the music
of Bob Wills? And who could turn down a chance like this? Not Merle
Haggard, who cut his own Bob Wills tribute album almost 30 years ago, and
who lays down a fine 'St. Louis Blues' here. Or Dwight Yoakam, who puts
the hillbilly swing into 'San Antonio Rose.' Or Steve Wariner and Vince
Gill ('Fiddle Medley'), Don Walser ('I Ain't Got Nobody'), the Dixie
Chicks ('Roly Poly'), Lee Ann Womack ('Heart to Heart Talk'), Asleep at
the Wheel main man Ray Benson ('Cherokee Maiden'), the Squirrel Nut
Zippers (whose Katherine Whalen does a smart take on 'Maiden's Prayer'),
Tracy Byrd (whose 'You're From Texas' is the album's biggest surprise),
Reba McEntire ('Right or Wrong'), Shawn Colvin and Lyle Lovett ('Faded
Love'), new Wheel singer/fiddler Jason Roberts ('End of the Line'), Clay
Walker ('Take Me Back to Tulsa'), Mark Chesnutt ('Stay a Little Longer').
The disc closes with a twin punch of Clint Black singing Waylon Jennings'
'Bob Wills Is Still the King', which leads into Willie Nelson on 'Goin'
Away Party,' backed by the Manhattan Transfer on what sounds like one of
those schlocky sides he cut for Liberty in the '60s with the Anita Kerr
Singers. Overall, though, it's Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel that
make this thing jump. The group tried it once before on 'Tribute to the
Music of Bob Wills' (Liberty [now Capitol Nashville], 1993), but this time
Benson had the smarts to leave noted Wills interpreter Huey Lewis -- who
had two cuts on that album -- out of the picture. The resulting album
makes a joyful noise from start to finish; it's clear that Benson must've
pushed hard to override any questionable judgment calls from some of the
more, ahem, aesthetically challenged participants. Whatever the story is,
it swings hard and good. Didn't know Bob, but I'm guessing he'd approve.
(Griffith)
6. TRIBUTE OF THE WEEK (PART TWO):
There's not a whole lot of Nashville on the upcoming 'GRIEVOUS ANGEL: A
TRIBUTE TO GRAM PARSONS' (Almo Sounds, 7/13), unless you count Emmylou
Harris, Steve Earle, Lucinda Williams and the Mavericks, and while those
artists may live within the city limits, they pretty much go their own
way. No, this is a rock-leaning collection, with contributions from the
Pretenders, Cowboy Junkies, Beck, Sheryl Crow, Whiskeytown and Wilco. What
it means is that time has caught up to Gram Parsons, that the seeds he
planted -- particularly through the influence of his pals the Rolling
Stones -- sprang up and bore fruit. The versions of his songs on 'Grievous
Angel' are respectful but insightful, and it shows how today's rockers
have absorbed country -- not just the notes but the feel. Unfortunately,
there's no Stones track here. But Emmylou Harris is on three, singing with
the Pretenders ("She"), Beck ("Sin City") and Sheryl Crow ("Juanita"), and
her spirit hovers over the album. It sounds like every artist on here
actually gave a damn, wanting to be respectful to Parsons and his legacy.
Even lightweight Evan Dando turns in a decent "$1,000 Wedding" (with
Juliana Hatfield), and the Pretenders, who haven't mattered in a long
time, do a fine "She." Earle (with old Parsons bandmate Chris Hillman on
"High Fashion Queen"), Costello ("Sleepless Nights"), Williams (with David
Crosby on "Return of the Grievous Angel"), Wilco ("100 Years"), Gillian
Welch and David Rawlings ("Hickory Wind") do their usual inspired work. If
you have to pick a standout here, it's the Mavericks' version of "Hot
Burrito #1," with singer Raul Malo wrapping his powerful pipes around a
gorgeous love song with a silly title. If there's any justice, it'll be
such a huge hit that Nashville will forget it ever checked into the Hotel
California. (Melton)
