Editorial Reviews

Without fanfare, Asleep at the Wheel major domo Ray Benson has become one of the best crooners in the land. He's been single-minded in his drive to keep western swing vital, and it appears he's applying the same tenacity to classic American popular music. The nine-time Grammy winner's long-awaited solo debut is simply marvelous: 11 original songs plus a tasty Tex-Mex interpretation of Marty Robbins's classic "El Paso" (with Flaco Jimenez on accordion), all delivered in the lyrical, poetic style of the venerated tunesmiths of yore, with lush, romantic arrangements worthy of giants such as Nelson Riddle and Owen Bradley. Throughout, Benson's plainspoken vocals weave magic not by vocal pyrotechnics but by being real and heartfelt, as he sings of love in all its complex dimensions. On the dreamy, bittersweet "Sorry," a string-rich heartbreaker in the Patsy Cline mode, he communicates anguish over the end of an affair with deep regret over words left unsaid, as ascending horns and strings mirror his inner turmoil. A lilting pop-country arrangement is the framework for a resigned kiss-off to "Annabelle," a woman who's her own worst enemy in matters of the heart. Guest guitarist Jimmie Vaughan adds some bluesy wails to the stomping "Mary Anne" and returns at the end with Delbert McClinton for a greasy slice of lowdown, brokenhearted blues on "Clearing Up to Be Cloudy." Lightening things up, Dolly Parton lends a feisty second voice to "Leave That Cowboy Alone," a western swing delight she and Benson penned together. In spirit and in execution, Beyond Time is an unalloyed delight -- one of this year's gems. David McGee, Barnes & Noble

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