Description
Asleep at the Wheel, the long-running and influential Western-swing band, will mark 50 years together with a new album featuring a number of all-star guests. Amongst the A-list collaborations: George Strait, Emmylou Harris, Lyle Lovett, Lee Ann Womack, and Bill Kirchen all pop up, all doing their best to get you swooping or shuffling or waltzing around the dance floor. Because that’s what this music is, it’s swing music with a country western flare.. Willie Nelson, who paired with Asleep at the Wheel for 2009’s Willie and the Wheel, appears on no less than three tracks. He also earns a shout-out in the title song. “I might catch up to Willie one of these days,” Benson ad libs, paying homage to the enduring road warrior.
The 19-track, hour playing time album of both new and classic songs, zips along with so much enthusiasm that it feels half as long. Even though it’s a bit of a mish-mash of re-recorded Asleep material with new songs, Half a Hundred Years is a constantly delightful recording that never takes itself too seriously.
Those new to Asleep at the Wheel’s proudly retro charms can start here and work their way back through a thick catalog with few missteps.
