Ray Benson
Bio
No one has ever accused Ray Benson of being musically timid. As the leader and vocalist of the Western Swing juggernaut Asleep At The Wheel, Benson and Co. have been touring the world for more than fifty years, earning nine Grammy Awards along the way. None of Benson’s endeavors in recent memory, however, have been as adventurous or as challenging as this one — going to Kingston to record a Reggae/Western Swing album with some of Jamaica’s top session musicians, organized and produced by Doctor Dread of RAS Records fame.
At its core, Jamaican music has always been influenced by the sounds coming across the waters on the radio from the U.S.. Early Jamaican pop music put its own Caribbean spin on New Orleans second-line beats and Memphis’ soulful R&B. Ray Benson’s Western Swing, possessing the same jazz-influenced spirit as Ska, challenged the musicians to meld the sounds of both traditions, introducing the Two-Step to the One Drop.
As Benson enthusiastically put it before the start of the session, “let’s see what the Jamaicans do with our music.” Recorded at Music Works Studio and engineered by Delroy “Phatta” Pottinger with musicians Sly Dunbar on drums, Bob Dylan bassist and former Asleep At The Wheel member Tony Garnier, keyboardist/arranger Robbie Lyn and guitarists Dwight Pinkney and Steve Golding, the music was in expert hands.
The first couple of songs were chosen by Doctor Dread and harkened back to the earliest days of Jamaican popular music, before either ska or Reggae. Both <Easy Snappin’> and <Boogie In My Bones> were big hits in Jamaica at the end of the 1950s and were highly influenced by the sounds of New Orleans R&B. When saxman Dean Frazier blew the righteous tenor solo on the latter, it sounded like a night at New Orleans’ fabled Dew Drop Inn back in the day. It was Doctor Dread’s idea to change the groove part-way through <Easy Snappin’> and slide into Bob Marley’s <Easy Skankin’> for a few verses and then back again. Lucky Oceans’ augmented reverb steel guitar set the tone, the background vocals adding some spice. The masterful Sly Dunbar ended the take on the cymbals resulting in an audible exaltation from everyone in the studio.
Chosen by Benson, the next two tracks reflect the boogie-woogie side of Asleep At The Wheel, <Route 66> and <Boogie Back To Texas>. <Route 66> reached fruition with funk and groove, Dwight Pinkney’s guitar-playing adding an irresistibly slinky, repetitive earworm that transformed the tune entirely.
On <Boogie Back To Texas> Doctor Dread suggested using a propulsive ska beat similar to Bob Marley’s rave up, <Simmer Down>. As the band worked on conveying the groove, Benson toyed with a vocal delivery that conjured the mood. With Sly leading the way on a terrific intro and then providing the guiding light, the band settled into a delectably laid-back ska riddim and took it all the way to the finish line.
Perhaps the most pleasant surprise is the lilting ska groove put to the Willie Nelson favorite, <On The Road Again>. The final mix features the unmistakable acoustic guitar sounds of Willie himself and some tasteful, understated steel guitar from Lucky.
The most challenging tune the musicians would tackle was Bob Dylan’s <Highway 61 Revisited>. Cautioned by Doctor Dread that it may be a hard tune to learn, they listened to the original once and quickly laid down a riddim. When Dread chimed in that he was getting a Black Uhuru vibe, one of the musicians asked Sly to play “Africa”, referring to the Black Uhuru song, <World Is Africa>, from their 1980 album, <Sinsemilla>. Without batting an eye Sly was on it, the band slid in behind him and, astonishingly, within a very few minutes a take was in the can. The final mix includes a blazing slide solo from guitarist Warren Haynes.
Creating a riddim in moments, the band jammed for five-to-six minutes, resulting in the instrumental rave-up, <Got Riddim,> replete with Studio One-style horn lines.
Three days in the studio were planned but all the basic tracks were done within just two days. Other songs included Bob Marley’s prayerful <Put It On>, Bob Wills’ inebriated <Bubbles In My Beer> and Roy Rogers’ signature <Happy Trails>.
Upon reflection Benson contends, “I was adamant that Lucky would make it happen and tie the whole thing together. And, of course, having Sly on drums was the secret.” For his pivotal role, Benson’s vocals were inspired and remarkably agile. “Just playing along to the rhythm of the music,” he casually explains, yet doing so in light of working within rhythmic environs to which he was invariably unaccustomed. But, indeed, the whole project was to play around within that largely unexplored musical zone where the two-step meets the one drop. To that end, the music proves to be a delightful success. “Beat my expectations” is how Benson put it as a matter of fact.
--Jay Trachtenberg (7/20/24)
