Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys: The Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol.3 - Basin Street Blues

Amazon.com
If you asked Bob Wills what kind of music he and his Texas Playboys played, he sure as hell wouldn't have said "country." He resented any association with "rural music," and once the western part of the term country & western somehow vanished, he felt even less (if possible) kinship with that genre. This Tiffany volume focuses exclusively on the jazz and blues staples that Wills adored, and it brilliantly highlights the band's improvisational sophistication. Most of the material here was popularized by jazz and blues legends of the 1920s and 1930s including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bessie Smith, and Memphis Minnie. As with all of the Tiffany radio transcriptions, recorded at the Playboys' late-1940s peak, Wills's crew would have at these tunes without a shred of rehearsal, giving them each that spark of spontaneity. --Marc Greilsamer

Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys: The Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol.3 - Basin Street Blues,Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys,Rhino / Wea,Country,Country & Western,Country Traditional,Leader,Pop,Songwriter,Traditional Country,Western Swing

Average customer rating: A must have for a music lover's collection TRYING TO CLEAN UP THE CONFUSION "Hit it that time!" "Yeah!" Timeless Texas Perfection I am confused

Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol.3 - Basin Street Blues Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys Manufacturer: Rhino / Wea ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Country | Styles | Music Western Swing | Country | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music Singer-Songwriters | Pop | Styles | Music Rhino Records | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 5 Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 2 Tiffany Transcriptions, Vol. 4: You're From Texas! Anthology 1935-1973 Take Me Back to Tulsa ASIN: B00000333V Release Date: 1993-09-28

Tracks:

1. Basin Street Blues
2. I'm A Ding Dong Daddy
3. Crazy Rhythm
4. Milk Cow Blues
5. Please Don't Talk About Me When I'm Gone
6. Four Or Five Times
7. Frankie Jean
8. It's Your Red Wagon
9. A Good Man Is Hard To Find
10. You Just Take Her
11. Barnard Blues
12. I Never Knew
13. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
14. Take The 'A' Train

Amazon.com

If you asked Bob Wills what kind of music he and his Texas Playboys played, he sure as hell wouldn't have said "country." He resented any association with "rural music," and once the western part of the term country & western somehow vanished, he felt even less (if possible) kinship with that genre. This Tiffany volume focuses exclusively on the jazz and blues staples that Wills adored, and it brilliantly highlights the band's improvisational sophistication. Most of the material here was popularized by jazz and blues legends of the 1920s and 1930s including Louis Armstrong, Count Basie, Bessie Smith, and Memphis Minnie. As with all of the Tiffany radio transcriptions, recorded at the Playboys' late-1940s peak, Wills's crew would have at these tunes without a shred of rehearsal, giving them each that spark of spontaneity. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews:

A must have for a music lover's collection.......2007-01-10

I just love all the songs on this. It's such warm and lively music.

TRYING TO CLEAN UP THE CONFUSION.......2006-05-01

I have a copy of this cd. It has the same picture on the booklet and the track listings are the same as found on the amazon.com page. My copy is not issued by Rhino in 1993, It was issued by Kaleidoscope Records in 1990. It is one of the Tiffany Transcriptions, but I do not see Volume 10 listed anywhere in the booklet or on the disc itself. Maybe when it was issued on Rhino it was Volume 10. I hope that helps.
As far as the music goes, it's great. It's Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys circa 1946-1947. That was one swingin' band.... plus you get the McKinney sisters on vocals. Its' great fun with songs like "Feudin' and Fightin" and "I Want My Momma"

"Hit it that time!" "Yeah!".......2004-07-21

Yes. They wear cowboy hats. They play fiddles and ride horses and hail from Texas (Wills is from Turkey, Texas to be exact). They sing about "light folks" and "dark folks". They also have what is probably the most salient giveaway feature: lap-steel slide guitar. To modern musical stereotypes this means one thing: "country" music. Luckily the stereotypes will be greatly disappointed by the rich and almost eclectic mix on this CD (or any of the Tiffany Transcriptions CDs). Jazz lives here, cohabitating with blues and swing. Songs made famous by the giants of jazz (Ellington, etc.) pour out of the digital bits. Fiddle and slide guitar cozy up to electric blues and swing like lifelong lovers. This unlikely (in today's segmented music industry) combination exudes joy, spontaneous dancing and hollering. Wills himself does plenty of hollering before, after, and during songs. His gracious and often hilarious interactions with his band add a dimension to this music not often heard. During the guitar solo for "Milk Cow Blues" Wills shouts out proudly: "Ladies and Gentelemen that is Junior Barnard and his standard guitar... that is two more payments and it'll be his." On "I Never Knew" Tommy Duncan flubs a note in the verse and says "Missed that one" and laughs. When he hits the same note in the final verse, Wills says "Hit it that time!" Spontaneity of this caliber pervades the Tiffany recordings. Vocalists laugh out loud and speak off-the-cuff. Not typical stuff.
One major standout track, "Frankie Jean", features Tommy Duncan accompanied by only one guitar. Half spoken-word, half-whistling, this song adds another dimension to the band's repitoire.
This CD has an overall more bluesy feel than the more swing-coated previous two volumes. Still, the fiddles come out more than once to cure the blues on melodic danceable tunes like "Crazy Rhythm", "You Just Take Her", "Four Or Five Times", and "Take The 'A' Train". It's all undeniably Bob Wills, regardless of the twist.

Timeless Texas Perfection.......2003-12-14

I can't play this cd without dancing. Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys show their chops, in this masterpiece.
Bad to the bone guitar, pedal steel, violin. Bob is all over it, even singing scat!
This recording is a must have for any fan of Real Texas music.

I am confused.......2003-09-21

I am really confused. Looking at the playlist for Tiffany Transcriptions Vol. 10 and then reading the reviews has me wondering what is going on. The music mentioned in the reviews has nothing in common with the titles on the playlist. What happened?

Music Album:

1. Classic Country: Great Country Gospel
2. Classic Country Somebody Done Me Wrong Songs
3. Claudia Church
4. Come On, People
5. Country Countdown: Country Family
6. Country Legend
7. Del Reeves - Greatest Hits and More!
8. Delta Dreamland
9. Desperados Waiting for the Train [Import]
10. Dream Scene

Music Album