Customer Reviews

San Antonio Rose (Bonus Dvd)

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I have about 100 box sets in various genres, but this new Bob Wills set from Bear Family soars to the top of the list, dwarfing rivals for its historical importance, its packaging, its absolutely exquisite mastering of vintage source material and a wealth of previously unheard material, its thorough discography ... and on top of all that, a DVD! Bear Family is one of the world's most distinguished compilers of great music past and present, but they really put their heart and soul into this one. It merits a Grammy nomination and any other award that can be bestowed. This magnificent work of Bob Wills' 12-year run at Columbia has previously been scattered across myriad compilations, always incomplete and usually in substandard sound. But this box ends that frustration for Wills fans and then some. Wow, what a piece of work. Everything beyond provided 1936 sounds like it was recorded last week, the sound is that good, and that encompasses disc 2 through 11. More than 260 tracks, and two discs of alternate takes are saved for the end. Alternates usually don't add much, but Wills and his band often played hotter than on the master takes, and Bob is frequently more animated. These are a sheer joy. That's not to say the wealth of masters here aren't thoroughly enjoyable. If you want to know why Bob Wills is in the Rock and Roll and Country Hall of Fames -- and should be in the Jazz Hall of Fame -- this box will reveal it all to you. If you own this box and the 9 volumes of the Tiffany Transcriptions, you have most of the great Bob Wills. And despite the hefty price, this box is a bargain for everything you get. In addition to the splendid swing music, which goes through several evolutions, you get a remarkable hardbound book stuffed with accurate info by country authority Rich Kienzle and a boatload of great pictures and placards. This is how a box set is supposed to be done, that with few exceptions American record companies have yet to figure out to provide the most avid musical consumers. Fortunately, we have companies like Bear Family and Mosaic that understand the value of completeness and mastering competence in putting together sets like this. Beyond seminal for Wills fans. Trade in all your old LPs and discs and buy this immediately.

So you say you love Western Swing? Well, its put up or shut time with the release of this massive, 11 CD and 1 DVD set of the early recordings of the great Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys. As usual, the German Bear Family Records have done a great job of preserving America's musical heritage.

For those unfamiliar with Wills, he was a Texas-born fiddler who combined Texas fiddle tunes, cowboy songs, jazz and blues to create a musical form that we now call Western Swing. Wills' Texas Playboys and one-time bandmate Milton Brown & his Musical Brownies were the two groundbreaking groups in this genre, and in the mid-1930's both groups began to perform and record in this exciting and original style. Brown died in 1936, but Wills' career lasted into the '70's, filling dancefloors throughout the Southwest and California, and influencing scores of younger musicians, including Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, Asleep At the Wheel and Doug Sahm.

Although often categorized as country music, Western Swing only share instrumentation with country. More accurately, its swing-style jazz and pop, played by a group that heavily featured fiddles, steel guitar and occasionally horns. These were dancebands, the Texas equivalent of the big bands that were popular in the '30's and '40's. This music was wildly popular in Texas and Oklahoma and, after Depression and World War II migration, in California as well.

Wills made his first recordings in 1929, but his recording career began in earnest in the mid-'30's, when he was signed to the predecessor of Columbia Records. He recorded for the company extensively fir the next dozen years, and all of those recordings are included in this beautiful package. To be truthful, there is some filler here; like many bands of the time, Wills recorded his share of mediocre pop tunes. But most of these recordings are brilliant, a balance of Wills' background as a fiddler who performed for ranch dances and the other musical forms he loved so much.

Wills himself played "lead fiddle", but he deferred to more jazz-oriented fiddle players in his group for the solo work. The Texas Playboys had some tremendous musicians in their ranks, such as steel guitarist Leon McAuliffe, pianist Al Stricklin and fiddler Jesse Ashlock. All are in their prime here.

For some reason, Sony Music and its predecessors have re-released only a small portion of Wills' work from this golden era, and even less has been reissued on CD. What has been reissued has often suffered from substandard sound. Going from famine to feast, Bear Family now makes it all available, plus a few radio performances and a DVD of a Wills film (He and his band appeared in numerous Westerns in the early to mid '40's). This is much more Bob Wills than the casual fan will want. Still, this is some of the greatest music of the last century, and completists will want "San Antonio Rose" in their collection. As one would expect from Bear Family, the sound on these CD's is excellent. The collection includes an excellent hardcover book which includes an informative and thoughtful essay, session notes and discography, as well as a stunning collection of photos, including some this long-time fan has never seen before. I can not imagine how this set could be any better than it is.

SAN ANTONIO ROSE -Bob Wills & the Texas Playboys Bear Family 11 CD/1 DVD boxed set

This 11 CD, 1 DVD boxed set contains the complete Bob Wills recordings from 1932 to 1947, available in one package for the first time. Beautifully remasterd, there are nearly 300 songs, some previously unissued, beginning with Bob's first work with Milton Brown. Each CD contains well over an hour of music. The DVD contains the Tex Ritter movie TAKE ME BACK TO OKLAHOMA from 1940, with 7 songs from the film. The addition of the DVD to this package was a stroke of genius, as it allows you to see Wills and the Playboys at work. His actions on stage and on screen helped communicate his vitality and his love of the music; he lived it, and audiences couldn't help but get caught up in the excitement. With the DVD you can watch the film, with its crystal clear image, go straight to your favorite song or watch/listen to the songs. Bob and the band appeared in films with Ken Curtis, Charles Starrett, Glenn Ford, Penny Singleton and quite a few with Russell Hayden. These are beautifully illustrated with stills and color lobby cards in a remarkable 184 page book written by Rich Kienzle. The book also contains a detailed history, analyses of a number of songs and a discography. But the music is the primary element in this box, that wonderful music that, to this day, sets the standard for the genre. The original vesions of the big hits are here. You also hear different versions of Bob's band as it evolved over the years. Most of Bob's hits featured twin fiddles, steel and his amazing rhythm section led by rhythm guitarist Eldon Shamblin. But one of of Wills' main sources of inspiration was the big band sound, and you'll hear plenty of his big band arrangements in this package. Wills could more than hold his own with his swingin' urban cousins and he even did a couple of sweet band numbers as well. Some of his intros sound much like Count Basie's, e.g. "Roly Poly," and listen to his swingin' "Whose Heart are You Breaking Now?" contrasted with the sweet arrangements of "This Little Rosary" and "My Laddie." Although the last recording session represented here took place in 1947, releases from these years continued into 1948, '49 and beyond. His 3 most legendary steel guitarists, Leon MacAuliffe, Noel Boggs and Herb Remington are well represented, as are his vocalists, with emphasis on the master,Tommy Duncan. This set is the perfect centerpiece for any western swing collection! Highly recommenned!

what more can be said about bob wills? i won't try to compete with the rest of the wills experts on amazon since am most certainly not. however, i will write from a outsiders point of view. my tastes mostly tend toward rock and classical, however, i do love country. ironically, bob wills is not country. it's a little bit of everything. blues, bluegrass, jazz and swing. it's essentially big band music with a very unique visionary, bob wills, as its leader. bob was not afraid to take risks as he would change his line ups often. but the musicians were always the cream of the crop. and the blend of styles has yet to be matched today. you simply do not hear music of this caliber anymore. no country artist today would even dare putting together a big band like this. as far as band leaders go, i think that bob could compete with any of the jazz greats, at least in terms of swing. his band members would definitely be up to the task. all of popular music owes a great debt to bob wills.

Bob Wills fused country, blues, jazz, and just about every other form of American music to produce Western Swing. Bear Family has done its usual fantastic job of assembling all the extant Columbia recordings of the Texas Playboys. They are in great sound and the book is absolutely stunning, complete with many photos and reproductions of movie posters. Also included is a DVD of Wills' first movie "Take Back to Oklahoma" with Tex Ritter. Words can't do this box justice, and the price is not too high when one considers just how wonderful this box is.

Yes, it is expensive! But every serious music lover knows: With Bare Family Records you get more than the money's worth back. In this case, you'll have over 300 recordings (from 1932 to 1947) in top quality, a hardback, LP-size book with the written history about the man, and the full recording information (dates, musicians, locations) - all in all, the first attempt to completely document the history of the founding father of Western Swing and his band. There are lots of unissued songs or alternate versions and outtakes. It is hard to imagine the work that had to be done to finish this musical treasury.

You'll hear Bob starting with the more traditional fiddle music, exploring and inventing Western Swing, going to the real Big Band sounds around 1940 (with full horn section) and back to unbelievable Western Swing in the 40's.

No real Western Swing Lover can live without this set, but of course it should be highly recommended to every serious music lover!

Eleven CDs, a bonus DVD, and an exhaustive history and discography from Bear Family. This box set is a MUST for fans of Bob, Texas Swing, the Bakersfield sound, Americana, jazz, archival 30s & 40s recordings, and, well, plain ole fans of music. If ever a monster box set was worth the money, this one is it.

Can only echo what others have said. Have listened to the 11 music discs in this collection repeatedly over the past few months. Yes it is expensive which held me back for a very long time and can only say I have no buyer's remorse whatsoever. Sound quality is very good and not overly tinkered with which is a plus. Especially like Bob's recordings which have horn sections. This set really Rocks (okay actually Swings but that's not a current saying is it?) The 12th disc is a DVD of a Tex Ritter movie which I can say was watched but will probably never be watched again.