-This DELUXE VERSION includes postcards, stamps and bonus tracks- — Asleep at the Wheel has been reviving western swing music for almost forty years and Willie Nelson has been playing, well, just about every type of music (... more »except maybe rap) for well over forty. The two acts come together on February 3 to salute the western swing sound on Willie and the Wheel .
Ray Benson told the 9513 - Willie s our lead singer, and we do all the Western swing stuff and I mean the old stuff. Milton Brown, Cliff Bruner, Spade Cooley, Bob Wills. It s got Willie, the Wheel, and some horns. It s gonna be pretty cool.-
In a separate interview with Live Daily, Benson explained the origins of the album - Jerry Wexler originally came up with this concept back when Willie was on the Atlantic label but before the record could be made, Willie left Atlantic for CBS Records and so the idea was shelved.-
Jump ahead to 2007 when the Wheel went out on the Last of the Breed tour with Nelson, Ray Price and Merle Haggard. Wexler went to one of the shows and started pushing to do the album again.
- Jerry wanted us to do this album and I'm glad we got to do it for him, and that he heard it before he passed on,- Nelson said in a statement.
Benson says they are also planning a tour together starting February 11 in Red Bank, New Jersey. - Willie and I are cooking up quite a concert. Not only will we be playing songs from the new album, we'll also perform Willie's classics together with Asleep at the Wheel and a full horn section. There will be a few surprises too!-
-This DELUXE VERSION includes postcards, stamps and bonus tracks-
Asleep at the Wheel has been reviving western swing music for almost forty years and Willie Nelson has been playing, well, just about every type of music (except maybe rap) for well over forty. The two acts come together on February 3 to salute the western swing sound on Willie and the Wheel .
Ray Benson told the 9513 - Willie s our lead singer, and we do all the Western swing stuff and I mean the old stuff. Milton Brown, Cliff Bruner, Spade Cooley, Bob Wills. It s got Willie, the Wheel, and some horns. It s gonna be pretty cool.-
In a separate interview with Live Daily, Benson explained the origins of the album - Jerry Wexler originally came up with this concept back when Willie was on the Atlantic label but before the record could be made, Willie left Atlantic for CBS Records and so the idea was shelved.-
Jump ahead to 2007 when the Wheel went out on the Last of the Breed tour with Nelson, Ray Price and Merle Haggard. Wexler went to one of the shows and started pushing to do the album again.
- Jerry wanted us to do this album and I'm glad we got to do it for him, and that he heard it before he passed on,- Nelson said in a statement.
Benson says they are also planning a tour together starting February 11 in Red Bank, New Jersey. - Willie and I are cooking up quite a concert. Not only will we be playing songs from the new album, we'll also perform Willie's classics together with Asleep at the Wheel and a full horn section. There will be a few surprises too!-
- Vintage Vinyl News
"As there are already some excellent album reviews on this release, I'll skip that part. Suffice to say, if you are a fan of Western Swing, it doesn't get much better than this lineup. The music is well executed - if even perhaps too well as the raw live feel of AATW is distinctly missing. Willie is, dare I even think it, a bit beyond his prime, but he still sounds wonderful on this album. He's recorded with AATW before and it's clear he loves it.
As to the "Deluxe" aspect of this version, although you do get an extra song on the CD, it is hardly worth the packaging - which is essentially a gratuitous over-sized 5x7" tri-fold of cardboard and does not include a standard sized CD case. Inside are stamps with pictures of the musicians, except of course they're not real stamps, and vintage looking postcards depicting the songs, except they're printed on thin paper and probably not useful as postcards. Unless you're a hard-core Willie/AATW fan and have a desire for a bunch of useless memorabilia, consider the regular non-deluxe version of this release."
Awesome
F. Schmitt | Rockford, IL | 01/10/2010
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Purchased the Deluxe Edition because of the postcards and cinderella (not real) stamps of the various artists that is included with this CD. That in itself was worth the purchase. Awesome!!"
Willie and the Wheel
Cowboy | NY | 05/12/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"5 star rating! Terrific! If you like western swing this CD is for you.
Well recorded. Packaging is also a knock out on the deluxe package.
"
Willie and the Wheel a Great Collaboration!
Lynne W. Royall | Tar Heel Country | 04/29/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel do a masterful tribute to the great Bob Wills. Vocals are excellent. Texas swing never sounded better!"