| Pasture Prime | ||||
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| Released | April 1985 | |||
| Recorded | 1981–1984 | |||
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| Genre | Western swing[1] | |||
| Length | 40:51 | |||
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| Asleep at the Wheel chronology | ||||
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Pasture Prime is the eighth studio album by American western swing band Asleep at the Wheel. Produced by Ray Benson at Austin Recording and Bee Creek Studios in Austin, Texas, and by Benson and Willie Nelson at Pedernales Recording Studio in Briarcliff, Texas, it was released in April 1985 by Demon Music Group in the UK and Stony Plain Records in Canada. The album was later repackaged in the US with three fewer tracks and released under the title Asleep at the Wheel.
Following the release of Framed in 1980, Asleep at the Wheel left MCA Records and underwent a series of personnel changes (Benson predicts over 30 members were present at various times from 1980 to 1985). Recording for Pasture Prime took place over the course of three years, beginning with sessions at Nelson's Briarcliff studio in 1981. In 1985, the album received its initial limited release, before Dot Records issued the self-titled version in the United States later in the year.
Despite its long and disjointed production, Pasture Prime received largely positive reviews from music critics, who praised its return to the group's classic Western swing style following more experimentation in recent years. It has been highlighted by commentators as one of the band's best releases, while Benson has credited it for "rebounding" Asleep at the Wheel's career after several years of dwindling popularity and financial issues. The album did not register on the US charts.