Back to the Future Now: Live at Arizona Charlie's

by Asleep at the Wheel

Overview

"Why another live record?" asks bandleader Ray Benson in his liner notes to Asleep at the Wheel's fourth concert disc, and he has two answers, both valid. First, with hundreds of gigs per year, Asleep at the Wheel is essentially a live band, and live records reflect that. Second, Benson has cooked up a reunion performance in which original bandmembers Lucky Oceans and LeRoy Preston sit in with the current lineup, along with departed veterans Chris O'Connell, Floyd Domino, Tony Garnier, and Tim Alexander, as well as guest stars Tracy Byrd, Wade Hayes, the McGuire Sisters, and Johnny Lee Carpenter. Of course, the defining element in the group's sound remains Benson's big baritone, which he puts at the service of many of the band's hits, including "The Letter That Johnny Walker Read," "House of Blue Lights," "Miles and Miles of Texas," "Boogie Back to Texas," and "Hot Rod Lincoln." The recordings are taken from a December 1996 club date, which gives the show an unusual intimacy. Given that warmth and the survey the album provides of the band's career, Back to the Future Now makes a good primer of Asleep at the Wheel, even if the question Benson should have asked is, "Why not another live record?," to which the answer would be, "because it's redundant." ~ William Ruhlmann

Product Details

Release Date:	05/20/1997
Label:	Lucky Dog / Sony Music Distribution
UPC:	0074646798126
Rank:	109490

Tracks

1. Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens
2. Miles and Miles of Texas
3. Roly Poly
4. Ida Red
5. My Baby Thinks She's a Train
6. The Letter That Johnny Walker Read
7. God Bless the Child
8. Fat Boy Rag
9. Cherokee Boogie
10. Hot Rod Lincoln
11. Boogie Back to Texas
12. House of Blue Lights

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Asleep at the Wheel   Primary Artist
Wade Hayes   Guest Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Tracy Byrd   Guest Artist,Vocals
The McGuire Sisters   Guest Artist,Vocals
Leroy Preston   Vocals,Guitar (Rhythm)
Floyd Domino   Piano
Ray Benson   Guitar,Vocals
Tim Alexander   Vocals (Background),Piano
David Sanger   Drums
Cindy Cashdollar   Guitar (Steel)
Tony Garnier   Bass
Lucky Oceans   Guitar (Steel)
Michael Francis   Saxophone
Chris Booher   Fiddle
John Lee Carpenter   Fiddle
Jason Roberts   Fiddle,Mandolin,Vocals (Background)
Chris O'Connell   Vocals
David Earl Miller   Vocals (Background),Bass

Technical Credits

Christopher Powell   Composer
Larry Seyer   Mixing,Engineer
Joan Whitney   Composer
Barnard Wills   Composer
Fred Rose   Composer
Freddie Slack   Composer
Don Raye   Composer
Frank Campbell   Engineer
W.S. Stevenson   Composer
Leroy Preston   Composer
Junior Barnard   Composer
Ray Benson   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Denny Purcell   Mastering
Moon Mullican   Composer
L. R. Bernard   Composer
Alex Kramer   Composer
Allen Crider   Engineer
Don Cobb   Digital Editing
Diane Johnston   Composer
Tommy Camfield   Composer
Charlie Ryan   Composer
Carlos Grier   Digital Editing
Chris Frayne   Composer
Lester Barnard, Jr.   Composer
David Gratz   Engineer
Blake Chancey   Producer
Bob Wills   Composer
Billie Holiday   Composer
Arthur Herzog, Jr.   Composer