Take It Away the Leon Way! [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] [Import]

Leon McAuliffe | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 14, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Jasmine Music
• ASIN: B00005MAUK
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,919 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Leon's Boogie

2. Boil 'Em Cabbage Down

3. Mississippi Delta Blues

4. Fiddle Boogie

5. Texas Drummer Boy

6. This Is The Southland

7. In The Mood

8. Tulsa Straight Ahead

9. Goin' Home

10. Sizzlin' Cecil

11. Downhill Drag

12. Lover's Leap

13. Liberty

14. Beaumont Rag

15. Night Train

16. You Gotta Stop Your Runnin' Around

17. Twin Guitar Special

18. Catfish

19. Eatin' Right Out Of Your Hand

20. One O'clock Jump

See all 27 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

Leon s big chance came in 1933 when W. Lee O Daniel wanted a steel guitar in the Light Crust Doughboys, which included Bob Wills on fiddle. Being in such short supply, the sixteen-year-old Leon was given a shot at the job.Wills also bought the still teenaged Leon an amplified instrument, which enabled him to compete in volume with other instruments in the band and play solo choruses. It was by exploring the possibilities of the steel guitar that the famous "Steel Guitar Rag" was born. Leon had made up the tune whilst with the Doughboys, and subsequently Bob Wills incorporated an augmented version into his dance hall repertoire. When it was first recorded with the Texas Playboys in 1936, Wills added the memorable words, "Look out, friends, here s Leon. Take it away, my boy, take it away!" And ever since, "Take it away, Leon!" has been the self-appointed McAuliffe catch-phrase.Featured here are rare studio recordings from the 1950s, showcasing the very polished Western Swing style of Leon McAuliffe and His Cimarron Boys, with an added final bonus track from 1950 written in tribute to that famous line "Take it away, Leon!".

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars confused reviewers, June 29, 2004

By 

soundandimage (omaha, ne United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Take It Away the Leon Way! [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] (Audio CD)

Obviously the reviewers who gave this collection less than 5 stars were rating the album for what it wasn't (or could have been) instead of what it IS...some of the hippest, fo'-real Western Swing ever committed to wax. Check out the new Harlequin collection, Take It Away Leon 1946 Big Band Sides & 1947-8 Live and Majestic Recordings for a REALLY amazing selection of rare stuff.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Leon McAuliffe - 5 stars anyway you look at it !, June 25, 2004

By 

J. F Kopeck "jkopeck9" (Parkville, Maryland United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Take It Away the Leon Way! [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] (Audio CD)

The big catch phrase of the day back in the 40s was Bob Wills yelling as he was known to do, "Take it away Leon", and boy could McAuliffe make that steel guitar sing! Most folks don't know that Leon was only 16 when he started playing with the Light Crust DoughBoys (including Bob Wills and the Great Leon Brown). All songs on this CD are outstanding and you will never be able to hear this type of "REAL" Western Swing live anymore. Sure any corner Ginmill between Beaumont and Baltimore has a so called Cowboy Hat western swing band (even some of the present Western Swing Bands pushing out CD after CD with ten or more members butchering what Bob Wills made Famous)that doesn't have a clue. Leon McAuliffe knew what the people liked and played it ! Like Hank Penny he was not there to make record companys happy but instead the people that drove miles across open country and paid for a ticket, thats who he tried to cater to.
If you are a real fan of Western Swing and I don't mean listening to the Dixie Chicks sing "Roly Poly" on a Ray Benson Album then this is for you. I can't understand why a CD this good had to be made overseas, but it was, anyway, buy it. I just got my copy in the mail yesterday from Amazon and my wife and me listened to it half the night, this stuff is the "Real Deal"! "ENJOY"

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars IT DEPENDS, September 18, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Take It Away the Leon Way! [ORIGINAL RECORDINGS REMASTERED] (Audio CD)

IT DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. THERE ARE ABOUT 10-12 GOOD WESTERN SWING TUNES FEATURING LEON. THERE IS ALSO ABOUT TEN FIDDLE TUNES WITH LITTLE OR NO STEEL. THE FIDDLE TUNES ARE WELL DONE BUT MORE APPROPIRATE FOR A SQUARE DANCE ALBUM. I ATTENDED A NUMBER OF LEONS DANCES OVER THE YEARS AND PURCHASED MOST OF HIS ALBUMS AND SINGLES. THE SWING TUNES IN THIS CD ARE A GOOD START, BUT HOPEFULLY SOMEONE WILL REISSUE MORE WESTERH SWING THE LEON WAY.