Chinese Democracy, the long awaited album by Guns and Roses was 17 years in the making, and garnered quite a bit of press for that reason. The new record, Willie and The Wheel from Willie Nelson and Texas Swing legends Asleep at the Wheel has been 30 YEARS in the making.

It seems that legendary producer Jerry Wexler who worked with, produced, or signed artists like Aretha Franklin, Led Zeppelin, Dusty Springfleld, Ray Charles, and Bob Dylan, suggested that Wheel and Nelson work together in the early 1970’s when Willie was on Atlantic Records. Unfortunately, Nelson left the label before the project could leave the ground, and it became a fond “what might have been” tale.

In 2007 Willie did a Texas Swing tour with Merle Haggard and others, and that got the ailing Wexler, who was in retirement in Florida, thinking about reviving the idea. He reached out to the two bands with a list of songs that he choose just for the album, and “voila” it all came together. As fate would have it, Wexler died at age 91 in August of 2008 before the record could be completed.

Both acts are remarkable for their stamina. I performed on the bill with Wheel last fall at The Key Club in Los Angeles, and they routinely play hundreds of dates a year. Of course, Willie Nelson is the all-time grand champion of touring. Spending his vast majority of days on a bus, smoking weed, and getting ready for the next show with his band/family. In addition Willie is remarkably prolific in the recording studio. Since 2000 he has released 15 studio albums, 3 live albums, and 8 partner albums (like Willie and The Wheel). He’s also 75 years old - the mind boggles.

This new record holds few surprises. Texas Swing and Asleep at The Wheel hold to a fairly strict format with only a few detours into areas that sound more New Orleans than Texas. The best example being Willie’s duet with Elizabeth McQueen on I’m Sitting on Top of The World - slow, with rich bourbon street horns, and a tasty piano solo.

But this is music made for dancing…Oh! You Pretty Woman is a prime example. 140 beats a minutes with an infectious drum pattern that compels you to dance. This song also has a hallmark of Texas Swing, and it’s hard to explain, but it is the tone of the fiddle. It has a soft edge, not like a country/hillbilly fiddle sound at all. It is light-hearted and almost like another voice. Another treat is South which features David Letterman band leader Paul Shaffer trading licks with chicken-picker, Vince Gill, and band leader Ray Benson.

One of the criticisms leveled against Texas Swing is that it can sound “samey”. Willie and The Wheel has been made with an eye towards that criticism and the production team has obviously worked to make a record that will please those already in touch with the genre and the uninitiated.

Perhaps the best part of the collaboration is the tour that has naturally followed. The shows have been, if online reports are true, outstanding with the set list including most of the record as well as Willie’s hits and Wheel’s Classics.