In the 1940s, people in America preferred dancing to western swing, played by vocal big bands such as Bob Wills & His Western Playboys, with the fiddler and steel guitarist sitting fraternally next to the brass section. An early and jazzy country & western style that was much reviled in the jazz world. Purveyor to Wills was Cindy Walker, a young singer and the composer of western swing
… classics such as Miss Molly, Dusty Skies and Cherokee Maiden. The well-known American country singer Willie Nelson grew up with this music and pays a loving tribute to it on this album. Although a full big band is missing, You Don't Know Me sounds traditional and Nelson has not forgotten the swing. His recognizable, singing and somewhat lazy voice does the rest. A voice that seemed to be made to revive the wailing expatriate blues of Dusty Skies and keep Cherokee Maiden's cowboy romance believable; tough and fragile at the same time. (MR)more
