Imitation, they say, is the most sincere form of flattery. So while waiting for Bear Family’s upcoming Bob Wills box, western swing fans may care to gnaw on these similarly-flavored 1950-52 Capitol recordings by Ole Rasmussen & His Nebraska Cornhuskers. Though on an initial listen these tracks may seem overly derivative of Wills (Rasmussen’s asides to his musicians, relaxed crooner Teddy Wilds’ resemblance to Tommy Duncan, etc.), the group’s sound and personality become more distinct with each successive spin.
Rasmussen’s aversion to the jazz-oriented improvisations Wills encouraged in his ensemble makes for a sound that’s overall slicker and more mellow. Which is not to say that musicianship fails to shine through; in particular, teenage steel guitarist William Tonneson and the twin fiddles of Rocky Stone and Tex Atchison (who also provides the group with much of its best material — most notably the title cut, which Johnny Horton turned into a top ten country hit in 1960) add a lovely starry-night gloss to the proceedings.
If swing ain’t your thing, perhaps the hillbilly sound of Orval Prophet will be more up your particular junction. As Rasmussen is to Wills, Prophet is to his fellow Canadian Hank Snow. Admittedly, Prophet’s voice is milkier than Snow’s (with the dubious bonus of heavy vibrato), but with infinitely capable and malleable tools such as Grady Martin’s guitar, Don Helms’ steel and Tommy Jackson’s fiddle chugging away in the engine room, a locomotive such as “The Judgment Day Express” can hardly help but sound like it is beating down the track already blazed by Snow’s “Golden Rocket”.
While the ride is an enjoyable and smooth one — especially when the crew kicks into high gear, as on the Nashville Sound-era soul coal burner “Tennessean Rollin’ Home” — Prophet’s Nashville oeuvre should probably only be recommended to those who have already gorged themselves on all six Bear Family Hank Snow boxes (that’s 39 discs total, kids) and still have room for an after-dinner mint.
