Pee Wee King - Pee Wee King's Country Hoedown (2 CD set) (1999)

Cowboys were the exception to that rule. The group was founded before World War II, and King, the diminutive accordionist who cowrote "Tennessee Waltz" with Cowboys fiddler-vocalist Redd Stewart, hit his peak after the war with constant tours, TV work, and hit singles like "Slowpoke." The consummate show band, the Cowboys had a creamy, meticulously rehearsed sound (excepting Bobby Koefer's sly, articulate steel guitar) that contrasted with Bob Wills's raw spontaneity and Spade Cooley's sophisticated intensity. Nonetheless, their wilder RCA recordings could give Wills or Cooley a run for their money. Precious little of that wildness surfaces on this highly subdued collection of 1952 material recorded exclusively for radio broadcast. Spirited departures like "Ramblin' Blues" notwithstanding, the majority of the performances are an incessant string of bland, Lawrence Welk-style bounces and ballads sung by Stewart, who cowrote many of the tunes with King. --Rich Kienzle