New Routes

Take the title New Routes seriously. Asleep at the Wheel have never taken a break, playing a steady number of shows every year and recording a new album every few years, but New Routes represents something a rebirth for the veteran Western swing outfit. While they by no means abandon the swing and boogie that are their stock in trade, new fiddler Katie Shore proves to be an able foil for Ray Benson. Not only does she provide a sweet contrast to Benson's baritone, she's a sharp songwriter, collaborating with the Wheel's leader on the dreamy waltz "Call It a Day Tonight" and contributing two fine solo songs in the neo-cabaret "I Am Blue" and the gently rolling "Weary Rambler." Shore provides a few new routes for the Wheel and Ray Benson responds in kind, ponying up the fine original barroom blues "Pass the Bottle Around." Around these new tunes are a bunch of sharply selected covers, ranging from a rollicking take on Moon Mullican's "Seven Nights to Rock" and the bittersweet introspection of Guy Clark's "Dublin Blues" to a lazy reading of Seth Walker and Gary Nicholson's "More Days Like This" and a wry version of "Willie Got There First," performed with its author Seth Avett and his brother Scott. This cameo underscores a truth about New Routes: by embracing new musicians, both within the group and outside, Asleep at the Wheel have revitalized themselves and delivered a record that's a rip-roaring good time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine