Swing's the thing for sure when Pennsylvanian Solitaire Miles dons her alter-ego garb as Susie Blue to lead her Lonesome Fellas down a well-worn trail of heartbreak, murder, insanity and ghosts. Guess some explaining is in order. This is Western Swing brother, the retarded cousin of big bands led in the '30s and '40s by Benny Goodman, Artie Shaw and the like. Miles has been down that long road before. She moved from Chicago to New York to swing with trumpeter Doc Cheatham [1905-1997]. Here, she becomes that which she emulates.
Recorded with traditional Western instrumentation of drums, bass, piano, slide guitar, acoustic guitar, fiddle and saxophone, the songs resonate with early country craziness. Two of the songs were written by the notorious Spade Cooley [1910-1969]. Known as "The King Of Western Swing," he was ultimately arrested and convicted in 1961 after murdering his wife who reportedly admitted to friends she had an affair with Roy Rogers. But, man, he could write a country swing.
Two more songs were written by Lefty Frizzell [1928-1975] who was given a rough deal in life. Lefty is one of those rare country pioneering legends who all you have to do is say his first name for country fans [including myself] to start salivating. He just may have been the greatest country voice of them all. Jailed at 19 for sex with an underaged fan, he wound up drinking himself to death at 47. But, boy could he sing.
The final song, "Ghost Riders In The Sky," is the perfect finale for such a time trip: like a period-piece movie, Miles has made a valid, trad, every-note-in-place kind of Country Swing record that seemingly hasn't been made in years. Long may she swing.
