Country

In February of 1974 Asleep at the Wheel made the move from the Bay Area to Austin, Texas. After playing the Armadillo World Headquarters with Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen in 1973 – and receiving encouragement from Willie Nelson and Doug Sahm to relocate – the band settled in and made Austin their home, where they remain 50 years later. The band’s 32nd record, Riding High In Texas, marks AATW’s first new release since their 50th anniversary project Half A Hundred Years in 2021. “I have always wanted to do a ‘Texas’ record – a thank you and love letter to this state that has given me and the band so much,” says Ray Benson, the band’s leader and only original member. “This album is an introduction to the current and future of AATW. I hope everyone enjoys this eclectic collection of some of our favorite songs about Texas.” Album Features Billy Strings, Lyle Lovett, and Brennen Leigh

Highwaymen: The collection 1985-90 [CD]

Earle Steve: Townes (Clear/Ltd) [Gatefold / 2 Vinyl LP]

Featuring Sheryl Crow & Bonnie Raitt.

Blue vinyl.

Earle Steve & The Dukes: Guy (Red/Orange) [Gatefold / 2 Vinyl LP]

Som titeln antyder är nya plattan en hyllning till läromästaren och vännen Jerry Jeff Walker, som dog hösten 2020, 78 år gammal. <br/><br/>Med "Jerry Jeff" kompletterar Steve Earle den serie hyllningsplattor som inleddes med 2009 års "Townes" (Townes van Zandt), fortsatte med 2029 års "Guy" (Guy Clark) och som nu avslutas med "Jerry Jeff".<br/><br/>2021 gav Steve Earle dessutom ut "J.T.", en fin men smärtsam hyllningen till sonen Justin Townes Earle, som dog 2020, endast 38 år.<br/><br/>"The records were recorded and released in the order in which they left this world. But make no mistake - it was Jerry Jeff Walker who came first," says Earle.<br/> <br/>Earle was 14 when he first heard Walker. His high school drama teacher gave him a copy of "Mr. Bojangles," Walker's classic ballad about an unforgettable character he met in a New Orleans jail. After Earle moved to Nashville in the 1970s, he had the opportunity to get to know Walker, who enlisted him as his designated driver.<br/>"There's a tendency to think of Jerry Jeff around a relationship to one song," Earle says, referring to "Mr. Bojangles," which was covered by everyone from Bob Dylan to Sammy Davis Jr. "He was also such a great interpreter of other people's songs. But my main purpose in recording this album was to remind people that he wrote a lot of fucking great songs."