On The Track

Certified gold by the RIAA. (8/94)

Once cited by Bob Dylan as the first performer he'd want to sign to his own label, Leon Redbone instead made his 1976 recording debut with Warner Brothers. On the Track carries a "very special thanks" to Jelly Roll Morton and Jimmie Rodgers, and indeed sounds like the offspring of the pioneering jazzman and the early hillbilly blues singer, with perhaps a bit of Bing Crosby tossed in. Aided by a small horn section (including a prominent tuba) and violinist Joe Venuti, among others, the disc is a gorgeous, affectionate tribute to pre-World War II vernacular music. Redbone croons and growls his way through a repertoire that includes Rodgers, Fats Waller, Irving Berlin, and "Polly Wolly Doodle," the last of which inspired album-cover artist Chuck Jones to include "a grasshopper sittin' on the railroad track... pickin' his teeth with a carpet tack." Redbone and crew rise to peak after peak (hear Venuti's finessed high-wire act on "Some of These Days"), resulting in a record that makes for perfect Saturday night and Sunday morning listening. --Rickey Wright