Bob Wills Anthology (1935-1973) CD

Rhino's double-disc Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys retrospective provides an invaluable service in collecting material from every phase of the group's career. From 1935's "Maiden's Prayer" to 1973's "What Makes Bob Holler," ANTHOLOGY follows Wills's journey through a flurry of different labels, vocalists, and band members, collecting along the way some of the most exuberant, accomplished Western Swing ever put to tape. Wills's mark on the genre is indelible; he not only helped make country danceable, he also combined it with soulful blues, folk idioms, boogie-woogie, and virtuoso jazz flourishes.

Each disc of ANTHOLOGY features 16 tracks cherry-picked to represent one of the band's many stylistic dimensions--ranging from honky tonk ("Time Changes Everything") to jump blues ("Big Beaver") to comic songs ("Roly Poly"). The original versions of Wills's biggest hits, including "New San Antonio Rose," the infectiously singable "Take Me Back to Tulsa," and "Bubbles in My Beer" (featuring the smooth croon of beloved Playboys vocalist Tommy Duncan), are here. In its breadth, arrangement, and quality, this is a definitive Bob Wills overview and--consequently--a slice of the best Western swing in the world.