VA - Swingin' Out West Too (A Berni Special Presentation) [2026] (6 x CDs)

BERNI'S WESTERN SWING

VA - Swingin' Out West Too (A Berni Special Presentation) [2026] (6 x CDs)

Regular contributor Berni has done it again! Please thank BERNI for this post, as it’s her work and presentation. I’m just the host.

Swingin’ Out West Too (A Berni Special Presentation) unfolds as a carefully sequenced survey of Western Swing’s balancing archival touchstones with contemporary custodians. Across six discs, the set resists simple nostalgia, instead tracing how the idiom breathes through decades of reinterpretation while retaining its rhythmic looseness and communal spirit.

The opening disc establishes a conversational tone, moving from the genial invitation of Arlie Duff into the polished revivalism of Asleep at the Wheel. Early appearances by Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys and the Light Crust Doughboys act as anchors, their concise recordings setting a rhythmic grammar that later artists echo rather than imitate. The sequencing favors flow over chronology, allowing Dwight Yoakam and Willie Nelson to sit comfortably beside mid-century material, reinforcing continuity rather than contrast.

Disc two leans into dancehall energy, where instrumentals and boogies cluster tightly. The presence of Spade Cooley frames the set’s historical breadth, while newer voices like Brennen Leigh and Melissa Carper carry forward a lyrical wit that feels rooted yet unforced. By the third disc, the pacing relaxes into a songwriter’s space, highlighted by the ease of George Strait and the trio of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson, and Ray Price, whose closing track acts as a quiet summit.

The fourth and fifth discs widen the palette, folding in jazz inflections, fiddle showcases, and bandstand humor. Instrumentals like “Alamo Rag” and “Fiddlin’ Around” emphasize the genre’s technical fluency, while medleys and jukebox narratives highlight its social function. The final disc resolves the collection with brevity and swing, returning to foundational figures before closing, fittingly, with Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys.

The box set feels less like an archive and more like an active dance floor, where eras overlap and the pulse remains steady. (Berni)

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ALSO find Bern's first set of Western Swing here:

VA - Swingin' Out West (A Berni Special Presentation) (12 x CDs)

https://butterboycompilations.blogspot.com/2025/12/va-swingin-out-west-berni-special.html

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Track lists

CD1

01 Arlie Duff - You All Come 2:41

02 Asleep at The Wheel - Dance With Who Brung Ya 3:34

03 Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers - Too Blue to Care 2:21

04 Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys - Let Me in There, Baby 2:55

05 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Deep in The Heart of Texas 2:13

06 Dwight Yoakam - I'd Avoid Me Too 2:59

07 Hadacol Tremblers - Take Me Back to Tulsa 2:33

08 Hot Club of Cowtown - Can't Go on This Way 2:26

09 Light Crust Doughboys - It's Cold in Here 1:54

10 Jaywalkers - Cool My Body Down 3:26

11 Joshua Hedley - Clueless 3:35

12 Link Davis & Cliff Bruner and his Texas Wanderers - San Antonio Blues 2:52

13 Mark Erelli - Troubadour Blues 3:39

14 Oregon Valley Boys, The - Hey, Wait! 3:42

15 Red Foley - Salty Dog Rag 2:55

16 Rocky Morgan and his Triple R Boys - Life's a Funny Proposition (After All) 2:46

17 Rooster Quantrell & The Border Raiders - Down South 2:26

18 Two Tons of Steel - 34 Days 2:30

19 The Soda Crackers - Two-Step Solution 2:02

20 Willie Nelson - It's All Your Fault 2:36

CD2

01 Spade Cooley & the Western Swing Dance Gang - One, Two 0:13

02 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Oklahoma Gals 2:20

03 Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers - Never Break Your Promise to A Woman 2:36

04 Brenn Hill - Busted Up Ol' Cowpoke 2:54

05 Brennen Leigh - Tell Him I'm Dead 2:48

06 Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Four Or Five Times 2:28

07 Hot Club Sandwich; Dan Hicks - Cow Cow Boogie (feat. Dan Hicks) 3:44

08 Light Crust Doughboys - There Ain't No More 1:53

09 Hot Club of Cowtown - Ida Red 2:58

10 Jimmy Roy's 5 Star Hillbillies - Pierres Boogie 1:59

11 Mark Erelli - What's Changed? 2:39

12 Melissa Carper • Theo Lawrence - Dat Ain't Right 2:41

13 Mike Penny & his Moonshiners - Fat Gal 2:59

14 Paolo Nunin Band - Ain't No Whiskey in The Valley 4:19

15 Pee Wee King - Oh Monah 1:58

16 Peter Baylor; Baylor Brothers; Ultrafox - Boogie Woogie fever 2:56

17 Rocket Revellers - Rag Mop 3:49

18 Spade Cooley - Oklahoma Stomp (Cooley - Depaul - Weis) 2:51

19 The Cornell Hurd Band - Please Talk to My Heart 3:09

20 The Honkytonk Wranglers - Much Too Young to Die 2:04

21 Willie Nelson & Asleep at The Wheel - South 3:39

22 Spade Cooley & the Western Swing Dance Gang - Sign Off 0:15

CD3

01 Asleep at The Wheel - Don't Ask Me Why (I'm Going to Texas) 2:50

02 Benjamin Tod - Satisfied With Your Love 2:40

03 Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys - Someone Like You 2:19

04 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Roly Poly 1:58

05 Braxton Keith - I Ain't Tryin' (Audio) 3:35

06 Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - That's What I Like About The South 2:35

07 Cornell Hurd Band - Texas Me 2:49

08 Cousin Harley - Sweet Little Angel 2:48

09 Farr Brothers - Deed I Do 2:35

10 George Strait - All My Ex's Live in Texas 3:17

11 Hot Club of Cowtown - The Girl I Left Behind Me 2:58

12 Jody Nix - Play Me Something I Can Swing To 2:22

13 Mack Sanders - Tonkin' The Blues (1977) 3:10

14 Peter Baylor; Baylor Brothers; Ultrafox - Cottonpatch Rag 4:02

15 Rani Arbo, daisy mayhem - Sparrow 3:56

16 Rocket Revellers - How Long 2:31

17 Rooster Quantrell & The Border Raiders - Be-Bopping Baby From Bogalusa 2:39

18 Tex Williams & His Western Caravan - I Got Texas in My Soul 2:58

19 The Honkytonk Wranglers - Crying in the Deep Blue Sea 2:30

20 Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard & Ray Price - Pick Me Up on Your Way Down 3:13

CD4

01 Pee Wee King - This is Pee Wee King 0:11

02 Adolph Hofner & His Texans - Alamo Rag (1941) 2:41

03 Andrew Sheppard - Piece of Me 3:30

04 Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys - Foothill Boogie 2:27

05 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Ida Red Likes The Boogie 2:42

06 BR5-49 - A-1 on The Jukebox 2:44

07 Chet Atkins and Johnny Gimble - Fiddlin' Around 3:18

08 Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - House of Blue Lights 2:39

09 Hot Club of Cowtown - Big Ball's in Cowtown 2:33

10 Joe Bean and his San Antonians & Walt McCoy - Those Wonderful Days with You 2:36

11 MARSHALL TUCKER BAND - 05 Bob Away My Blues 2:46

12 Melissa Carper • Theo Lawrence - Good Luck to Ya 3:21

13 Pee Wee King - The Half-Way Point 0:14

14 Pee Wee King - Doghouse Blues 2:12

15 Mike Penny & his Moonshiners - Creep 3:29

16 Paolo Nunin Band - Horses Trucks and Crazy Nights 4:05

17 Peter Baylor; Baylor Brothers; Ultrafox - Poker machine bug 2:10

18 The Country Club - Bartender, Don't Make Me Cry 2:39

19 Tom Morrell - Lupus #1 2:59

20 Vaden Landers - Honky Tonkin' Time Again 2:04

21 Willie Nelson - Bubbles in My Beer 2:51

22 Pee Wee King - "There's that man with the stopwatch..." 0:14

CD5

01 Asleep at The Wheel - Chattanooga Choo Choo 3:20

02 Big Sandy and His Fly-Rite Boys - It's Time! 2:53

03 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - Bottle Baby Boogie 2:40

04 Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen - Lost in the Ozone 2:13

05 Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers - Yes You Did 2:24

06 Hot Club of Cowtown - If You Leave Me 2:39

07 Jay Ungar & Molly Mason - Bob Wills Medley 5:51

08 Jody Nix - Down in Mexico 2:49

13 Jake Worthington - My Home’s In Oklahoma 3:05

10 Mark Erelli - Pretend 2:20

11 MARSHALL TUCKER BAND - 03 Walkin' and Talkin' 2:30

12 Oregon Valley Boys, The - Barking Up the Wrong Tree 3:25

13 Ozie Waters - I Can?t Get Out of Texas in My Dreams 2:54

14 Rocket Revellers - Hearts of Stone 2:55

15 Rooster Quantrell & The Border Raiders - Any Place in Texas 2:29

16 The Soda Crackers - Blackboard Boogie 2:49

17 The Time Jumpers - Empty Rooms 3:06

18 W. Lee O'Daniel & His Hillbilly Boys - Lonesome Road Blues (1938) 2:39

19 Two Tons of Steel - Little Pig 3:01

20 Willie Nelson - Miss Molly 2:34

CD6

01 Merle Haggard - Brown Skinned Gal 0:45

02 Bill Boyd and His Cowboy Ramblers - New Steel Guitar Rag 2:29

03 Bill Mounce - I Don't Get It 2:55

04 Brennen Leigh - If I Treated You Like You Treat Me 3:27

05 Cousin Harley - Swingin' Like a Mofo 2:13

06 Dwight Yoakam - A World of Blue 2:21

07 Hot Club of Cowtown - What's The Matter With The Mill 2:33

08 Light Crust Doughboys - Guitar Jump 2:46

09 Louie Hooks and his Rhythm Five - Pine Club Boogie 2:41

10 Mark Erelli - Brand New Baby 3:21

11 Merle Haggard - Old Fashioned Love in My Heart 2:32

12 Nick & Rosie - Watch TV 2:35

13 Paolo Nunin Band - Never Been Lucky With Blondes 3:09

14 Pee Wee King - Western Limited 1:48

15 Peter Baylor; Baylor Brothers; Ultrafox - Airmail special 2:30

16 Redd Volkaert - No Stranger to A Tele 2:26

17 Tennessee Ernie Ford, Ella Mae Morse - Hog-Tied Over You 2:35

18 The Cornell Hurd Band - Old South Austin 2:34

19 Vaden Landers - Time & Time Again 2:43

20 Webb Pierce - Love, Love, Love 1:59

21 Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys - So Long, I'll See Ya Later 2:27

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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