Big Sandy's ace backup band steps up to the plate and delivers its first solo album -- and it's a corker. Sort of like a Western swing version of a
Buckaroos album, this record features
the Fly-Rite Boys running through a set of originals, primarily showcasing their considerable instrumental chops with a few stray vocals from piano man
Carl "Sonny" Leyland. The sound here is decidedly retro, sounding for all the world like it was cut in somebody's living room under a pile of blankets while the drummer bangs away in another room, which only enhances its 78 single authenticity. Highlights include
Leyland's turn on the jazz-pop standard "Rosetta," steel man
Lee Jeffriess' "Flyin' Rite," drummer
Bobby Trimble's drum workout "Hit and Run," guitarist
Ashley Kingman's "Straight-8 Boogie," and the atmospheric "Laguna Sunset." For lovers of true Western swing honky tonk with a slight jazz edge sounding like it was cut over 50 years ago, here's your album. ~ Cub Koda