Search - Spade Cooley :: Swinging the Devil's Dream

Excellent career survey of the King of Western Swing

Kevin Fontenot | New Orleans, LA United States | 07/01/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Cooley was the first proclaimed "King of Western Swing," though Bob Wills came before him. Cooley established his career on the west coast during the Second World War and became an early star of televison after the war. Cooley's brand of Western Swing was sophisticated and at times approached the experimental, making him something of a Stan Kenton of the genre. His "Swinging the Devils Dream" opens with a sweeping floor harp and then segues into rapid, yet fluid, twin fiddling. Cooley was never as funky as Wills or Milton Brown, but he was clearly cutting his own path with a smooth sound. Unfortunately, his later recordings were rather lackluster and reflected a move toward mainstream pop and occasional cornball treatment of material. But during the period of the war and immediately after, Cooley swung beautifully. This collection is essential and is the best introduction to Spade. Let's hope there is a box set in future!"

Quality western swing from CA

S. D. Abbott | Austin, TX | 09/30/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This release covers an extended stretch and seems to document/sample the duration of Cooley's career pretty well. There is some really hot stuff in this collection, specifically 'three way boogie' and 'spadella'. The accordion play throughout sounds terrific. I will say, however, that much of this is a somewhat stark contrast to what Bob Wills was putting out in the same time period. Spade Cooley's sound seems to be MUCH more polished...hardly any fiddle improvisation, in fact, it is mostly fiddle in groups of 3. In my opinion, much more polished, than the Wills, Milton Brown, Adolph Hofner, or Cliff Bruner stuff that was coming out in the same era. Truthfully, some of the fiddle parts -- specifically the orchestration -- tends to sound a bit like the very last recordings of Oscar Aleman. hot stuff -- just not very "folksy".



Anyways, Tex Williams does have a golden voice, the standard guitar work is very respectful and entertaining throughout and Cooley's playing on the earlier stuff is also very respectful/refined. a good collection from Prosper records."

Good music out of the past!

Wayne Scarberry | Tulsa, Oklahoma | 08/21/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is sometimes hard to find music from my past, that I grew up on and enjoyed so much on a disk that sounds so good, thanks!"