August 10, 1999
Web posted at: 3:37 p.m. EDT (1937 GMT)

MULTIMEDIA

"Bob's Breakdowns" (with Steve Wariner & Vince Gill) [195k MPEG-3] or [165k WAV] "New San Antonio Rose" (with Dwight Yoakam) [215k MPEG-3] or [295k WAV] "Roly Poly" (with The Dixie Chicks) [185k MPEG-3] or [250k WAV] (Courtesy DreamWorks Records Nashville)

By Mary Jo DiLonardo
Special to CNN Interactive

"Ride With Bob: A Tribute to Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys"
Asleep At the Wheel
DreamWorks Records
Release date: August 10

(CNN) -- Bob Wills has been called a "musical revolutionary." Back in the 1930s, he took real Texas music -- fiddles, Western sounds, Mexican music and the blues -- and mixed them with pop standards, big band and jazz to create the hybrid sound of Western swing.

Though Western swing is now considered a core part of country music's history, at the time, Wills and Nashville didn't get along. He was denied an encore at the Grand Ole Opry, for example, because he refused to keep his drummer hidden behind the stage curtain. At the time, drums (as well as twin fiddles and honky-tonk steel guitar) just weren't part of the country sound.

Wills' success back then was a bit of a roller-coaster ride. He packed the honkytonks with his swinging dance sound until television was invented, keeping more people at home.

His music has experienced a few revivals both before and after his death, with Asleep at the Wheel leading the push. Ray Benson leads the six-time Grammy-winning Western swing band on guitar and vocals.

On this record -- the group's second tribute to Wills -- Asleep at the Wheel and DreamWorks Records have gathered a wide array of guest artists. Most of them -- including Reba McEntire, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw and Merle Haggard -- hail from country music. However, there are some interesting additions from outside of Nashville such as the Squirrel Nut Zippers, Shawn Colvin and the Manhattan Transfer.

Many of the artists -- like Tracy Byrd, Clint Black, Mark Chesnutt and Clay Walker -- are from Texas. Others, like McEntire, grew up listening to the music. Some -- like Lyle Lovett and the Dixie Chicks -- perform Western swing songs occasionally on records or in their shows.

There are even some surprises in the liner notes. Colvin, for example, was a member of an Austin Western swing band in the '70s called the Dixie Diesels.

Colvin's collaboration with Lovett on "Faded Love" is one of the disc's distinct highlights. The song is one of Wills' best-known and most requested numbers.

For fun, the Dixie Chicks have a blast with the rollicking "Roly Poly" and Steve Wariner and Vince Gill lend some mean guitar picking to "Bob's Breakdowns," the opening number. No one with a shred of rhythm can resist toe-tapping during that one.

For sheer beauty, Texan Lee Ann Womack offers a haunting rendition of "Heart to Heart Talk." Dwight Yoakam never sounded smoother than he does on "New San Antonio Rose."

For those who may not appreciate Western swing (often dubbed a bit "too hillbilly" by detractors), the disc is well worth a listen just for the guest artists.

Where else, after all, can you hear Willie Nelson accompanied by the Manhattan Transfer?