Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys - For The Last Time - 1973

Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys - For the Last Time recorded December 3rd and 4th 1973. CD rip EAC and Lame encoder mp3 format.

Tracklist Credits (from the LP)

A1 Playboy Theme
Vocals – Merle Haggard
1:30
A2 Yearning (Just For You)
Vocals – Merle Haggard
2:38
A3 Faded Love
Vocals – Leon Rausch
3:15
A4 What Makes Bob Holler
Vocals – Leon McAuliffe
2:30
A5 Stay All Night (Stay A Little Longer)
Vocals – Leon Rausch
3:04
A6 Goin' Away Party
Vocals – Leon Rausch
2:40
B1 Big Balls In Cowtown
Vocals – Hoyle Nix*
2:40
B2 Keeper Of My Heart
Vocals – Leon Rausch
3:35
B3 Twin Guitar Boogie
Guitar – E. Shamblin*, L. McAuliffe*
3:15
B4 Bubbles In My Beer
Vocals – Leon Rausch
2:52
B5 Blue Bonnet Lane
Vocals – Leon McAuliffe
2:12
B6 When You Leave Amarillo (Turn Out The Lights)
Vocals – Jody Nix
2:47
C1 San Antonio Rose
Vocals – Leon Rausch
3:07
C2 I Wonder If You Feel The Way I Do
Vocals – Merle Haggard
2:47
C3 My Shoes Keep Walking Back To You
Vocals – Jody Nix
2:47
C4 Miss Molly
Vocals – Leon McAuliffe
2:17
C5 I Can't Go On This Way
Vocals – Jody Nix
2:22
C6 That's What I Like 'Bout The South
Vocals – Leon McAuliffe
2:42
D1 Silver Lake Blues 2:45
D2 Milk Cow Blues
Vocals – Leon Rausch
4:59
D3 Comin' Down From Denver
Fiddle – Hoyle Nix
2:47
D4 Baby That Would Sure Go Good
Vocals – Leon McAuliffe
3:14
D5 She's Really Gone
Vocals – Hoyle Nix
2:43
D6 Crippled Turkey
Fiddle – Hoyle Nix
1:55

Credits
Bass – Leon Rausch
Design – Bob Cato
Drums – Jody Nix, Smokey Dacus
Electric Guitar – Eldon Shamblin
Engineer – Bob Sullivan
Fiddle – Hoyle Nix, Johnny Gimble, Keith Coleman, Merle Haggard
Graphics – Joseph Baldwin (2), Kathy Morphesis
Harmony Vocals – Johnny Gimble, Keith Coleman, Leon McAuliff*
Leader – Bob Wills
Mandolin – Johnny Gimble
Mixed By – Lea Jane Berinati, Neil Wilburn
Piano – Al Stricklin
Producer – Tommy Allsup
Steel Guitar – Leon McAuliff*

www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=1108052&style=music&fulldesc=T

Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys includes: Bob Wills (vocals, conductor), Tommy Duncan (vocals), Leon McAuliffe (steel guitar), Johnny Gimble, Eldon Shamblin.

For the Last Time documents two historic moments in American music: The last time Bob Wills would ever attend or participate in a recording session -- he never made the final day of the session, having suffered a severe stroke the night before -- and the reunion of the great Texas Playboys, who began in the 1930s and recorded and toured together through the beginning of World War II. All living members were present, as well as Texas Playboy-for-a-day Merle Haggard, who drove all night from Chicago to make the session (he literally begged Wills to be a part of the sessions). These sessions took place on December 3 and 4, 1973, in Dallas, a short ride from Wills' home, with most of the '30s and '40s band in place, including Leon McAuliffe and Leon Rausch acting as vocalists for the lion's share of the material, with Wills singing on six tracks and Haggard guesting on three and playing fiddle as part of the string section. Haggard's singing on "Texas Playboy Theme" is particularly moving, and one can hear the pride in his voice as Wills gives his patented "ahhhhhh-haaaaaaawwwww!" to show his own pleasure with the proceedings. Wills was seated in the center of the band and actually directed it from his wheelchair. What is most remarkable is that on certain cuts -- such as "Blue Bonnet Lane," a track recorded for a movie in 1942 and not performed since -- the band nailed it on one take. Tommy Allsup's production is flawless in that it is so minimal it's almost as if the band were playing in the listener's living room. He captures the warmth, immediacy, and overwhelming emotion in the proceedings as they happen on such Texas Playboy classics as "San Antonio Rose," "Faded Love," "What Makes Bob Holler," "Big Ball's in Cowtown," "Bubbles in My Beer," "That's What I Like About the South," "Milk Cow Blues," "Twin Guitar Boogie," and "When You Leave Amarillo," just to name a few. Fiddle great Hoyle and son Jody Nix actually guest on a couple of tracks in the vocal seat, and Wills gives them his approving nod with his drawling yodel. In all, this is far from the lame tribute record we see so frequently these days; this is a deeply moving and inspiringly executed presentation of Bob Wills as not only a bandleader, but as an innovator and mentor. In other words, it is the only fitting tribute possible, with the man still very much alive sitting among his bandmates for the very last time. ~ Thom Jurek

Liner Note Author: Charlie R. Townsend.

Personnel: Bob Wills (vocals).

Recording information: Sunset-Burnet Studio, Dallas, TX.