Asleep at the Wheel: Still the King: Celebrating the Music of Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys review – genial Texan magic

‘Torchbearer’: Ray Benson, of Asleep at the Wheel, in Arlington, Texas last year. Photograph: Cooper Neill/Getty Images for George Strait

Ray Benson and Asleep at the Wheel have long been principal torchbearers for western swing, that odd amalgam of country and gypsy jazz that swept through the ballrooms of 1940s south-west America. This tribute to bandleader Bob Wills assembles an impressive array of vocal talent to deliver standards such as Faded Love and Trouble in Mind, among them Lyle Lovett, Amos Lee and Pokey LaFarge. By turns wistful (Willie Nelson on Navajo Trail) and comedic (The Devil Makes Three with Bubbles in My Beer), the album’s real star is the group’s purring blend of fiddle, clarinet, pedal steel and more. Genial Texan magic.