WYLIE AND THE WILD WEST REVIVE CLASSIC C&W

Cowboys and cowgirls: If you miss the days of fine country-western
music which have seemingly been replaced by prepackaged "artists" with
big corporate budgets singing pseduo-country-pop-rock music, then give
a listen to Wylie and the Wild West's third album Way Out West
(Rounder CD 3152).  This is new C&W music in the traditional style,
with a few cover songs of rarely heard tunes to round the collection
out.

Haven't heard of Wylie?  He's appeared on the Grand Ole Opry nearly 30
times, as well as having his videos on CMT and TNN.  His songs have
appeared on the TV-show Northern Exposure, and has even contributed a
track to K-Tel's Country's Favorite Gospel.  Lately, he has appeared
at South By Southwest, the Austin music symposium, and at the Pro
Celebrity Roping Event in Guthrie in late March.

The opening of the album signals that the listener is going to have a
fun, fun time, as Wylie half-yodels half-belts "Hellooooooooooo
heartache."  Despite his geeky looking appearance, his smooth baritone
voice wins the listener over, recalling a period of country music
seemingly forgotten by most of today's artists.  Further yodeling
demonstrations on "Way Out West" include "Give Me A Pinto Pal", an old
Elton Britt song, king of western yodeling in the 1930s, and "I
Remember You" by Frank Ifield, later made into a hit by Slim Whitman.

But the album is not entirely about yodeling.  Wylie can rock with the
best of them.  "I'm Your Man" is a Wylie original, written the week
before the album was recorded.  Including familiar riffs from the
Beatles' treatment of the song with the same name, Wylie shows that he
can compete in the same league as Garth and Travis.  A honky-tonk
shuffle is also included on this disc, "Heartaches, Tears, & Misery",
as well as several songs reminiscent of the Bakersfield sound made
popular by Buck Owens and Merle Haggard.  Way Out West also includes
the requisite truck-driving song, "Girl on the Billboard".

The album is produced by Asleep at the Wheel's Ray Benson at his
Bixmeaux Studio in Austin.  Benson joins in on fun with the highlight
of the album, the western classic "Jingle, Jangle, Jingle."
One listen to Way Out West will indicate the fresh talent that Wylie
and his band bring to the country music scene.


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