The gap toothed cousin to jazz has to be Western Swing, originated by Bob Wills, but brought to mass popularity later on by violinist Spade Cooley. This two disc, 54 song collection includes A & B sides of his singles from Okeh, Columbia, RCA and Decca during the post war years 1945-52. Grab a partner!
Cooley and his band knew how to swing and boogie, with a VFW inspired accordionist in Pedro DePaul along with a sizzling rhythm section. The band tears through pieces like “Three Way Boogie,” “All Aboard For Oklahoma” “A Pair of Broken Hearts” “ and “Topeka Polka” with abandon as the slide guitars and fiddles rollick like a runaway chuckwagon with dust flying in the wake. The Midwestern baritone vocals provided by Tex Williams are campfire rich and warm on hits like “Shame On You,” “I’ve Taken All I’m Gonna Take From You” and “You Can’t Break My Heart.”
Then, you’ve also got the good time gal voice of Ginny Jackson on recordings from the late 40s, and she takes you to a night at the Moose Lodge on “Mountain Boys Have Fun With Mountain Girls,” “Carmen’s Boogie” and “The Cowboy Waltz.” The Sons of The Pioneers take you to a late night campout on “Wagon Wheels” and “The Last Roundup.” Every note and beat on this set bubbles over with enthusiasm and swing, with infectious grooves and a twinkle in the eye delivered by Cooley himself. Fretless fun.