A find for fans of Western swing and honky tonk music, Hillbilly Boogie's 20 selections from 1946-1954 mirror the carefree postwar years with a rousing blend of vocal numbers and instrumentals. The selections include everything from fiddle and pedal-steel combo swingers like Paul Howard & His Cotton Pickers' "Drinking All My Troubles Away" to big-band country numbers like Al Dexter & His Troopers' "New Broom Boogie." Even the South's unsung Eastern European musical heritage is given its due on a handful of accordion-heavy polkas, including
Spade Cooley's "Yodeling Polka" and Louise Massey & the Westeners' "Squeeze Box Polka." Plenty of boogie-woogie rhythm is also on hand with Curley Williams & His Georgia Peach Pickers' "Georgia Boogie" and Andy Reynolds & His 101 Ranch Boys' "Fiddlin' Boogie." Other fine cuts are contributed by country stars
Bob Wills,
Lefty Frizzell, and
Little Jimmy Dickens. Topped off with excellent transfers from the original lacquers, plenty of humor ("Hamburger Hop"), and fine playing throughout, Hillbilly Boogie is a must for devotees of the golden era of pre-Nashville sound country music. ~ Stephen Cook