Willie Swings.

Of all the genres Willie Nelson has tackled in his storied career of going recklessly from one style of music to another, it’s surprising that Western Swing isn’t one of them…until now. On Willie and the Wheel, Nelson collaborates with another Texas institution, Asleep at the Wheel as if they are Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys. What took them so long? Well, consider that these tunes were first made popular during the era of the great depression; perfect timing for a revival.

It was the brainchild of the late famed producer Jerry Wexler who proposed it to Willie in the late seventies. Record company politics got in the way and Willie instead recorded his first bit of genre hopping, the classic tribute of the music of Hoagie Carmichael on the album Stardust. Wexler finally found the right timing and with Asleep at the Wheel front man Ray Benson, helped produce the album until his death shortly before it was completed. From the frisky come-ons of “Bring It on Down To My House” and “Won’t You Ride in My Little Red Wagon”, with barbershop quartet-style encouragement from Benson and his band, to the blues standards “Sitting on Top of the World” and “Hesitation Blues”, the tempo never slows below the Dixieland swagger of “Fan It.” With flowing steel guitars and fiddles, a hot horn section punches up the arrangements and Willie’s voice has never sounded more natural.

Typically, Nelson’s albums are marred by a “seat of the pants” production style but Willie and the Wheel is a meticulously crafted tribute to Western Swing, a uniquely American form of music combining blues, folk, jazz and country providing an uplifting escape from the hard times. It’s not a second too late.

Listen for songs from the album Willie and the Wheel by Willie Nelson and Asleep at the Wheel all this week on Paul Shugrue’s new music show “Out of the Box” on Hampton Roads public radio 89.5  WHRV  Mon. through Thurs. from 7 to 9 p.m., Sat. afternoon from 1 to 5 p.m. and on-demand at www.whrv.org/outofthebox.