Search - Bob Wills :: Tiffany 1

Get kicked in the pants and like it...

ewomack | MN USA | 07/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Years ago I read an article reviewing volume 1 of "The Tiffany Transcriptions" in which the author said: "I have yet to meet someone who, after hearing Wills' music, did not like it." Though this is an obvious hyperbole, you would have to be pretty downcast to not like this stuff. It's as uplifting as a shot of caffeine or a good kick in the pants.This is not purely "country" music, though it has some elements of country music in it. The cover art with bucking broncos, cowboy hats and lasso font betrays the rich music inside. True, the band uses a lapsteel, a banjo, and fiddle is omnipresent. Nonetheless, the music is more a mixture of ska, jazz, blues, and swing than it is purely "country." The guitar solos sound more out of jazz than Willie Nelson, and there are trumpet, saxophone, and piano solos. In it's day this music would not have been called "country." In today's parlance "Country Swing" would probably be the most fitting description. Sometimes the sound resembles Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives, other times it sounds right out of Django Reinhardt (whose band also used fiddle and banjo with great effect).Since these recordings were made live in a radio studio in the mid 1940s there is an energy there that is absent on a lot of today's recordings that subscribe to the "let's compartmentalize all of the instruments and destroy their acoustic interaction" recording philosophy. The band members interact with one another, and there is undeniable acoustic interaction between the live instruments. One band member adds running commentary through whoops, hollers (which reminded my finacé of "Mr.Hanky" from South Park) and banter that sometimes cracks up the lead singer (who pleads on one track "You're killin' me!"). Energy is not lacking.The lyrics are also clearly from another time. They sometimes show a heightened sense of absurdist or Dr. Seussian-type humor. Here are the first lines of "The Girl I Left Behind Me":I wrote her a letter when I should've known better
And asked her to be my wife
Along come a feller and he hit me on the smeller
And it almost took my lifeTruly, as is said, "they" don't write lyrics like this anymore.Anyone interested in just plain good music played by incredible musicians in a fun atmosphere will love this CD. Let go and enjoy."

A great starting point for a Bob Wills review!

Tony Thomas | 06/14/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a life-long Bob Wills fan, and the daughter of a Bob Wills super-fan, I've listened to almost every version of his recordings. The Tiffancy Transcriptions are excellent, and the sound quality cannot be better. This is a really enjoyable start to a great collection."

WESTERN SWING LOST GOLDEN NUGGETS

COMPUTERJAZZMAN | Cliffside Park, New Jersey United States | 10/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"THERE ARE NINE VOLUMES OF CD'S OF BOB WILLS' AND THE TEXAS PLAYBOYS "TIFFANY TRANSCRIPTIONS" RECORDED IN THE LATE 40'S EARLY 50'S WHICH WERE NOT RELEASED AS BOB WILLS RECORDS AT THE TIME, I THINK THEY WERE RECORDED TO BE BROADCAST ON RADIO PROGRAMS. I HAVE ABOUT SIX OR SEVEN OF THESE, GET THEM ALL IF YOU CAN FIND THEM ANYMORE. THESE ARE MY FAVORITE BOB WILLS RECORDINGS, BETTER THAN ANYTHING THEY LAID DOWN ON WAX, THESE RECORDINGS SEEM TO SWING MORE THAN THOSE OLD 78'S. BOB WILLS AND THE TEXAS PALYBOYS WERE ONE OF THE FIRST BANDS TO EMPLOY THE USE OF ELECTRIC GUITAR (WITH A BIG BAND!) AND AMPLIFICATION, AND FREQUENTLY USED TWIN GUITARS PLAYING THE MELODY, THEY WERE LIGHT YEARS AHAEAD OF THEIR TIME. NOT QUITE JAZZ, NOT QUITE COUNTRY, A LITTLE BIT OF BOTH, BUT DIFFERENT FROM EACH OF THEM."