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Rick Huff reviews Western music and cowboy poetry recordings in his "Rick Huff's Best of the West" column in Rope Burns, The Western Way, I.M. Cowgirl, and here at CowboyPoetry.com. We're pleased to have selected reviews below.

Rick welcomes submissions of Western music and cowboy poetry recordings. Please be sure to include complete contact information, the CD price (plus postage) and order address information.

Rick Huff
P.O. Box 8442
Albuquerque, NM 87198-8442

Rick Huff has produced radio and TV ads and done TV hosting and deejay work for nearly 37 years. He's had his own production company in Albuquerque, New Mexico, since 1978.
His working interest in Western Music began in 1983, promoting and creating with Western Music Hall-of-Famer Hi Busse. In 1986 they developed the radio featurette "Song and Story with Hi Busse" and Huff subsequently released two albums of Hi Busse & The Frontiersmen material. He has co-produced CD's for Sons of the Rio Grande and Jim Jones.
In 1999 he and Sidekick Productions' Mary Ryland formed Frontiersmen 2 to co-produce their radio show "The Best of the West Revue" and its publication "The Best of the West Digest." In 2004 they released a double CD set, The Best of New Mexico Western: Big Surprises From Behind the Chile Curtain! and are currently working on Volume II - or as they like to call it Son of the Best of New Mexico Western!

Huff's "Western Air" column appears regularly in the Western Music Association's magazine, The Western Way. He also writes for Classic Country & Western magazine and Rope Burns. The column is a regular feature of the Western Music Association's quarterly magazine, The Western Way, and we're pleased to have recent columns posted here.

Selected Reviews from Rick Huff's Best of the West Reviews

(All reviews listed alphabetically by artist in a list below)

Sometimes, in the Lucias by Janice Gilbertson
Roads to Colorado by Liz Masterson
I'd Rather Be... by Al "Doc" Mehl
Tumbling Tumbleweeds by Tumbling Tumbleweeds
Playin' Cowboy Music by Yampa Valley Boys
Cowboy Poetry by J.D. Seibert

This is page three

See page one for a complete alphabetical list of all reviews

Alphabetically by artist, below

B
Western State O’ Mind by John Bergstrom
Song Man by Donnie Blanz
Saloon Piano Vol. V by Dave Bourne

C
Twilight on the Trail by Call of the West
Follow the Trail by Carin Mari & and Pony Express
The Leather, The Dust by Maureen Joy Gale and Jesse Colt
The Right Five—Vol. 1 by Country Night Live
Route 66 by Cowbop
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three from CowboyPoetry.com
Longing for the Range by Vince Crofts and Mindi Reid

D
Cowtown by the Diamond W Wranglers
The Emigrant Trail by Ray Doyle

G
The Leather, The Dust by Maureen Joy Gale and Jesse Colt
Sometimes, in the Lucias by Janice Gilbertson
Saturday Nite by Earl Gleason
Wanderers by Earl Gleason
My Father's Horses by DW Groethe
It Sings in the Hi-Line by Kerry Grombacher

H
Paul Harris, by Paul Harris

I
There's a Road by Interstate Cowboy

K
Rimrock (Where Memories Rhyme) by Paul Kern
Conflict In The Frio Canyon and The Mysterious Yellow Rose of Texas by Linda Kirkpatrick

L
The 75th Anniversary Album—Bill Simmons Tribute by the Light Crust Doughboys

M
Roads to Colorado by Liz Masterson
Passin' it On, by Mag Mawhinney
I'd Rather Be... by Al "Doc" Mehl

N
Home Ranch Trails by Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue

P
The Ghosts of Yellowstone by Myra Pearce
Anytime You Want by Ronnie Pfeil
The Call (More Songs from The Lonesome Prairie) by Rick Pickren
Back in the Saddle by John Pickul
Romance With The Range by Prickly Pair

R
1880s Cowboys by Jim Reader
Longing for the Range by Vince Crofts and Mindi Reid

S
Cowboy Poetry by J.D. Seibert
In a Texas Honky Tonk by Hank Stone

Y
Playin' Cowboy Music by Yampa Valley Boys

Various Artists
The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three from CowboyPoetry.com

More reviews on page two

See page one for a complete alphabetical list of all reviews

Sometimes, in the Lucias
Janice Gilbertson

Sometimes poets, like other writers, seem to forget what made Zane Grey work so well. With his words he could give you such a picture of a place that even reading about spotting a rider loping across a far away clearing would become an adventure of trees, mountains and full colors.

In her own way Janice Gilbertson gives you a good sense of place and occurrence in that place—the Santa Lucia Mountains of California. She does take some side trips but we tend to do that in life, y' know! Although she frequently introduces the poems by giving their historical context, in the verses themselves her life in her beloved "Lucias" makes for a poetic read you can live, see into and ride with. In one instance we literally ride with her through a nerve-wracking storm, very aware of the loud rain on the canyon walls and the impending urgency of our situation. Having come through it on the other side we understand the thrill of being strangely willing to do it again and we can appreciate why someone would want to!

Portraits of ranch life, favorite horses and experiences on them have been "painted" by poets since Cowboy Poetry began, but less often are we given the cradle of location for a collection of poems. We get more of that here, and it's a welcome element.

Book (softcover) $17 postpaid from: Janice Gilbertson, 43345 Canyon Creek Rd., King City, CA 93930; email.

© 2008, Rick Huff

Roads To Colorado
Liz Masterson

Here (finally!) is the new musical treat from Liz Masterson, one of the bona fide charter members of the Western Music Association!

When many Western performers didn't seem all that concerned, she and her late performing partner Sean Blackburn were consistently issued top quality recordings. How good it is to hear that is still very much the case with Liz!

It's wonderfully annotated, too. This gem of a CD is a must-have for fans of sweet Cowboy Swing, Western rarities like Patsy Montana's "Give Me A Home In Montana," and contemporary acoustic music. It represents some of the best work yet in her solid career of "best work."

The title track Roads To Colorado comes from Michael Fleming, who's a California fella, but he provides a nice final track garage for this vehicle to pull into!! You won't regret letting it pull into your Western Music collection!

CD: $18 ppd from Liz Masterson, P.O. Box 12699, Denver, CO 80212 and from www.cdbaby.com (search Liz Masterson).

© 2008, Rick Huff

I'd Rather Be...
Al "Doc" Mehl

I would say Al Mehl marches to a different drummer, but he doesn't use one!

"Doc" does novelties, parodies ("happy trail mix to you...we're eatin' meat again!!"), ambitious commentaries and observations perhaps only he has ever made ("paniolo don't need no barb wire cuz I run cattle between the silver sea and the mountain of fire!") He'll make you laugh and then suddenly think and laugh some more and cry. Don't strip your gears!!

The title track line caught my attention as being one of the toughest old spent cowboy in retirement images I've come across yet. The whole statement is "I'd rather be well than ill, but I'd rather be ill than old. I'd rather be old than dead, I fear...but I'd rather be dead than here!" And then he'll pop a cherry on top of the musical dessert with something like "nothin' smells like a wet dog 'cept a wet dog!!" It's a love song, by the way...

Washtub Jerry (tub bass and ukelele) and Eric Christianson (harmonica) are along for the unpredictable ride this time. There doesn't seem to be another artist working in Western Music (or maybe any music) quite like "Doc" Mehl. You figure out exactly what that means for you. As for me, I recommend him!!

CDs: $15 plus $3 s/h from Al Mehl, 5656 Cascade Place, Boulder, Colorado 80303 and through www.cdbaby.com (search Al Mehl). His email is theasphaltcowboy@comcast.com

© 2008, Rick Huff

Tumbling Tumbleweeds

Okay, all you 2007 Western Music Association Festival attendees who were bowled over by them and scrambled to get their CD only to find they didn't have one out yet!!! They've got one now!

None other than Suze Spencer Marshall, grand niece of Sons Of The Pioneers co-founder Tim Spencer, was among those folks who suddenly "discovered" The Tumbling Tumbleweeds, a young California group fashioned in the Golden Age four-part harmony tradition. Her devotion to nurturing their efforts has brought about this album. It was recorded a little over two months after the 2007 Albuquerque festival.

Many of the Sons Of The Pioneers' great songs are here for a new generation to discover, such as "Hold That Critter Down," "The Timber Trail," "Pecos Bill" and the one from which their name is drawn. The Autry/Rose/Whitley classic "Lonely River" and Billy Hill's "Empty Saddles" are given a turn. Curt & Louise Massey are represented with "(So Long) Old Pinto" and kids can get an idea of context since the Alan Menken/Glenn Slater song "Little Patch Of Heaven" from the animated Disney film Home On The Range is here too.

I have a technical issue with part of the recording process I will take up with them as there's no reason to hammer it in print. This CD is a worthy start out of the gate. It should please their new legion of fans and it's certainly sufficient indication of the terrific potential of the group. The Tumbling Tumbleweeds definitely have the chops and the charm to be Western Music standard bearers to a new audience.

CD: $16.50 plus $3 s/h from The Tumbling Tumbleweeds, P.O. Box 1008, Sierra Madre, CA 91025-4008 and the website is www.thetumblingtumbleweeds.com

© 2008, Rick Huff

Playin' Cowboy Music
Yampa Valley Boys

Indeed they are!! Steve Jones & John Fisher, aka "The Yampa Valley Boys" of Steamboat Springs, Colorado, strike with another nice acoustic addition to their catalog!

The CD opener is "Colorado Swing," which is sort of the duo's resume set to music ("they said 'boys, you weren't born here'...well that's understood, but don'tcha know we got here just as fast as we could")!! The remainder is an efficient mix of classics ("Tumblin' Tumbleweeds," "Cripple Creek," "Colorado Trail," etc.), contemporaries like "The Cattle & The Train" and "Canadians" from Brenn Hill and Eagles bandmembers Don Henley & Glen Frey's "Desperado."

Beyond "Colorado Swing" The Yampas' own contributions also include "Wyoming Wind" (drawn from Steve's poem) and "A Montana Cowoby's String" (from a Tim Nolting poem) and "Last Campfire." There's a total of fourteen tracks here for fans to roll with!

The Yampa Valley Boys' experience is an authentic pickin' & grinnin' fest. Their string of CDs are good rides with a certain neighborly nostalgic quality and this one will slip in comfortably into an adjoining stall with them!

CD: $18 ppd from Yampa Valley Boys, P.O. Box 773611, Steamboat Springs, CO 80477 or visit www.yampavalleyboys.com

© 2008, Rick Huff

Cowboy Poetry

J.D. Seibert

Here's a new fella on the scene with his first recorded offering. His literal and direct CD title seems to say this cowpoet doesn't believe in messin' around with what it is, just git after it!

J.D. Seibert's CD "Cowboy Poetry" is mounted with nice guitar intros and sound effect enhancements that work as both setup and counterpoint to his dramatic, emphasized delivery. Seibert poetically spins some very tall tales ("An Allergic Reaction," "Jerry The Geriatric" and "The Great Heeler," for example) and he offers own cowboy observations in poems like "Spurs" and "A Cowboy's Lot."

Several of the poems offered are done in a set-up and punchline style, which has certainly worked for many of the most famous buckaroo bards (including the first one to be so-named!). It will be interesting to watch and see how his style evolves and what choices he will make to broaden or extend his poetic vision. This one is certainly a worthy start out of the gate.

CDs: $15 by check from J. D. Seibert, 35417 Anthony Rd., Agua Dulce, CA 91390

© 2008, Rick Huff

Follow the Trail
Carin Mari & and Pony Express

It's self-produced (with Mama Lechner as the "Executive"), self-recorded (Colin), self-arranged and a wow of a product it is!

Carin Mari & Pony Express have ridden in fast with a special delivery. Carin Mari (and once and for all it's "ka-RINN ma-REE") Lechner (ok, "LECK-ner!") along with brothers Colin and Evan have matured into A-List performers. That assessment is made joyfully as some young phenoms tend to lose their "phenom" as the young wears off, not to say these folks are ancient! But they're showing where they're going and the trail looks very bright indeed.

Leading off this CD is an absolute showstopper version of the Joe Henry & John Denver song "Eagles and Horses" so another one from the "pop" roster pops into the Western file! The early Tin Pan Alley warhorse "Pride Of The Prairie (Mary)" gets a snazzy fresh coat here and we certainly can't ignore the seven Carin Mari originals on the album! Any one of them might be a candidate for others to cover. Five different CDs that arrived recently for review happened to contain versions of "Cattle Call," and Carin Mari's near flute-like yodel makes hers one of the most interesting. Good job!

CDs: $15 plus $2 s/h thru www.carinmarimusic.com or P.O. Box 4146, Buena Vista, CO 81211 (719) 395-4104

© 2008, Rick Huff

Twilight on the Trail
Call of the West

Here's the one Call Of The West fans have been waiting for! And the musicianship, the humor and the calm yet swingin' spirit are intact.

Always anchored by Jeanne Cahill and Jerome Campbell, Call Of The West has gone through associations, reconfigurations and conflagrations and has now come around to being "Jeanne Cahill and Jerome Campbell!" Trust me...that's all that's ever been needed.

You'll find welcome vigor put into classics like the CD's title track. Their originals include a marvelous and ambitiously mystical piece called "The Mesa Ridge," a fresh take of their theme song "Call Of The West" and they solidly claim "Seven Spanish Angels" and "Snowbird" for The Western Team! As if there were any question about how or why Jeanne Cahill would receive nominations for Instrumentalist Of The Year, this album will put that to rest.

From the standpoints of performance, artistic choices and esthetics, "Twilight On The Trail" is a rare polished gem. If the right folks are paying attention, this one should be a major contender for awards next year. Buy it, buy it, buy it!!!

CDs: $13 plus $3 s/h from Call Of The West, P.O. Box 333, Strang, OK 74367. If possible, please use the order form downloaded from www.callofthewest.net.

© 2008, Rick Huff

In My Spare Time Vol. 5
Brady Bowen

Here's another happy swingin' entry in Brady Bowen's string of guest-bedecked trotters! Arguably it's the best one yet!

The series title In My Spare Time refers to Bowen's other occupation of famed cutting horse trainer that supports his music habit. Since the names of the assembled players are synonymous with excellence, here the very roster is the review! Brady Bowen and Bob Boatright (fiddles), Tommy Allsup, who produced (bass & guitar), Billy Dozier (guitar & fiddle), Bobby Koefer (steel), Chris York (drums), Wayne Glasson (piano), Larry Reed (sax) and we haven't even hit the vocalists! Tommy Allsup himself, Leon Rausch, Durwood Strube, Joe Paul Clark, C.B. Sutton and Neal Butler!

Here are fifteen classic dancehall favorites like "Raining In My Heart," "Makes No Difference Now," "Take Me Back To Tulsa," "Heart Of A Clown," "Maiden's Prayer," "Ding Dong Daddy" and on and on and joyfully on! Pick it up if you're a sucker for twin fiddle swing. It's a shining example of what's still being done by true artists in the field.

CDs: $15 ppd from www.backfortybunkhouse.com

© 2008, Rick Huff

Cowtown
Diamond W Wranglers

Here is the much anticipated first album from the newly christened "Diamond W Wranglers!" Hopefully it marks the final time we will ever need to mention they're the former Prairie Rose Wranglers!!

As usual the original songs from the group that used to be called somethin' else are nothing short of terrific. From the fertile mind of Jim Farrell comes a staggeringly great Nolan/Spencer-inspired piece called "Trail Dust" that must...must...get Song Of The Year nominations next time around! The "Cowtown" used here refers to historic Wichita and, in another context, the living history museum where the Diamond W's have found a home playing music and serving up great chuckwagon suppers. The CD's Stu Stuart-written title track is a tribute song that will bring chills. Other writers' contemporary tracks include Roy Robinson's modern masterpiece "The Cowboy Song" and the Donnie Blanz/Ed & Judith Bruce great "You Just Can't See Him From The Road."

I love for artists to utilize songs from other musical genres revealing them to be Western at heart. Here the Diamond Dubs offer "Fire On The Mountain," first released in ' 79 by The Marshall Tucker Band, and "Poor Wayfaring Stranger," done by every Folkster from pre-Woody Guthrie on up! And as it happened I first heard their reverently slow arrangement of "Cattle Call" later in the same day I'd heard of Eddy Arnold's passing. I defy you to have the man in mind while it plays and keep a dry eye.

In monitoring the album, I started off scanning for high points as I usually do before listening to the complete CD. Not here. I listened to this one all the way through twice! I think I'll go listen to it again!

CDs: $16 plus $3.25 s/h from Diamond W Wranglers, 229 Main, Towanda, KS 67144

© 2008, Rick Huff

The Right Five—Vol. 1
Country Night Live

Sometimes bands aren't formed just to make a go of it. They hook up because their individual members are already recognized masters of their music. They are together for the fun and the flight they take each other on. Groups like the Time Jumpers and the Lucky Tomblin Band fit the mold and most certainly the magical assemblage of Fort Worth's finest called "Country Night Live" slides comfortably in there, too! This album's very name speaks to the chemistry, and their self-assessment is right on the mark!

Country Night Live consists of Chuck Cusimano (vocals/guitar), Buddie Hrabal (vocals/steel), Dale Morris, Jr. (vocals/fiddle), Billy Martin (vocals/bass) and Danny Adams (drums). Chip Bricker sits in on piano and yep, that makes six, but stop counting and enjoy!

Some top tracks include "I've Got A New Heartache" with Dale Morris, Jr., "The Rose For Today" and "Another Day In The Life Of A Fool" with Billy Martin and everything Chuck Cusimano touches! It's a sleek little Honky Tonk winner. Real Country lives! Really!!

CDs: $20 ppd through www.countrynightlive.com or from Country Night Live, 908 Bradbury Ct., Arlington, TX 76014

© 2008, Rick Huff

The 75th Anniversary Album—Bill Simmons Tribute
Light Crust Doughboys

This one slipped through the reviewing cracks at the time of its 2007 release. Because of who they are and were, that can't be allowed to happen!

Here are the Light Crust Doughboys, the sole remaining seminal Western Swing band! They launched Bob Wills' Texas Playboys and other organizations. Beyond the commemoration of seventy-five years of music making, this album was issued to honor their late keyboard legend Bill Simmons. Performers include Smokey Montgomery, Jerry Elliott, Bill Simmons, John Walden, Art Greenhaw, Jim Baker and Dale Cook...but these particular tracks were chosen to showcase the mighty contributions of The Bearded One! In fact, upon his passing in 2005, it was decided to not replace him. Rather, steel great Maurice Anderson came aboard.

It's sheer fun to hear the guys do Simmon's famous m-i-crooked letter-crooked letter-i song "M-I-S-S-I-S-S-P-P-I" and "Pine Top Boogie," here humorously renamed "The BS Boogie" for Bill! Musically the Light Crust Doughboys focus on moving forward, but doing so without Bill Simmons...let alone Smokey Montgomery...must have been some tall mountain climbing. A must for collectors.

CDs: $14.99 through www.thelightcrustdoughboys.com and music outlets that stock Western Swing such as the Ernest Tubb Record Shops.

© 2008, Rick Huff

In A Texas Honky Tonk
Hank Stone

This release features top musicians and production values that see it home comfortably. The session players’ names pop out at you…Hargas “Pig” Robbins, Bobby Flores, Buddy Emmons and others.

Hank Stone and his Texas Honky Tonk Swing Band have been fixtures in the top emporiums of drinkin’ music delights for many years, and this album should delight his loyal fans. Dottie West’s “What’s Come Over My Baby” is here, as is Harlon Howard’s “I Wish I Felt This Way At Home.” Johnny Bush drops in to sit in on his own “An Eye For An Eye” (an event that points up some similarities in vocal style between Him and Hank)!

Hank’s song “Your Jealousy” topped the British music magazine Country Music People’s chart when it first made the rounds. In critiquing it, the publication said “it doesn’t get any more Country than this.” Righto, Govenor!

CD: $15 ppd from www.backfortybunkhouse.com

© 2008, Rick Huff

The Call (More Songs from The Lonesome Prairie)
Rick Pickren

His Western Music and Cowboy Swing may be made in some far east land called “Illinois,” but Rick Pickren comes with a legitimate Western pedigree. He’s a descendant of Buffalo Bill Cody!

Pickren’s new release is The Call – (More Songs from the Lonesome Prairie). If staying lonesome gives him the time to come up with efforts like this, let’s hope he stays out there a good long while! This entire production is impressive. In his more projected vocals, Pickren has an edge of Frankie Laine about him, but at other times he can put more of a tender lilt on it than Laine ever managed. His original songs like “Tombstone, Arizona,” “Molly Mae” and particularly this CD’s title track “The Call” are definite winners. As far as the classics he’s chosen, he puts an interesting spin on “Bury Me Not on the Lone Prairie” using the original melody in a uniquely palatable way. He offers up Gail Gardner’s seldom done “Old Bach” (sorry, ladies, it’s one of those bashers)!

The arrangements are frisky, fun and intelligent making the oldest material like “My Darling Clementine” line up just fine with the new. Enjoyable on many levels! Also recommended is Pickren’s terrific CD of original and classic train songs Rails, Rogues and Wrecks!

CDs: $15 ppd directly from Big Strike Music, 122 Ashland Ave., River Forest, ILL 60305 or online through www.cdbaby.com/pickren5 for “The Call,” or www.cdbaby.com/pickren7 for Rails...

© 2008, Rick Huff

Anytime You Want
Ronnie Pfeil

Honky Tonker Randy Pfeil is well showcased and produced in this true Country offering from “the Bobby Flores team!”

Musicians the caliber of Flores, Jim Loessberg, Randy Reinhardt and Leighan Cortes help out the effect. There are firm, intuitive arrangements of classics like “It’s All Over But The Crying,” “She Thinks I Still Care,” “End Of A Long Goodbye” and the swinging “I Love You Because.” And the steel work on “Funny How Time Slips Away” ranks as high art! We’re talking the kind of perfection that can send chills. I only wish I knew which of the talented steel men here…Randy Reinhardt or Bobby Flores…was responsible for it.

The seasoned people on this project prove real Country lives on and has a place. If that place is a honky tonk, someday we may have admit Country was preserved in alcohol!

CDs: $14.95 ppd from www.ronniepfeil.com/music_mp3.htm

© 2008, Rick Huff

Western State O’ Mind
John Bergstrom

From the same Cowboy Rustic page the Glenn Ohrlin's and Hal Cannon's occupy comes California’s John Bergstrom. That’s not to say the three are stamps of each other or anybody else. In fact, far from it. But rustic they certainly all are.

In this kind of presentation, the cowboy messenger rides in, opens his mouth, says…or sings…his piece, and rides out again. So here we find traditionals like “Red River Valley” “(Goodbye) Old Paint,” “Jesse James” and “Yellow Rose Of Texas” (done to a snare drum tattoo with the song’s original 1840s soldier lyrics). Eight of the CD’s fourteen tracks are Bergstrom originals, and picks there are “Red Rocks Of Sedona” and a rather eerie historical song about the “St. Francis Dam” that failed in the 1920s drowning five hundred sleeping souls and its effect on the man responsible. And I have to say I was taken by one lyric from “Latchkey Cowboy,” Bergstrom’s song about 1950s kids watching western heroes on TV: “The red bench was Trigger, my sidekick rode the chair!”

That’s it. Ya git what ya git! No attempts to dust it off to make it ready for city folks. What do they know, anyway?!!

CDs: $15 from cdbaby.com/cd/bergstromjohn or by check or money order from John Bergstrom, 27676 Caraway Lane, Saugus, CA 91350

© 2008, Rick Huff

There’s A Road
Interstate Cowboy

To me, this Colorado band’s name is also its genre!! Interstate Cowboy produces an interesting jazzy swing, sorta honky tonk and Countrified Western kinda somethin’ else mix of styles that definitely works!

Some of the jazzy swing tracks include “Old Cowhand,” “Frankie & Johnny” and instrumentals “Take The A Train” and “Lady Be Good.” One of the Western tracks among the originals penned by lead vocalist/guitarist Tim Champlin is “The American Way,” a wry vision of having your cake and eating it too! Other band members have some strong credits, like Dick Meis (pedal steel/vocals) who’s toured with Roger Miller and Loretta Lynn and Grant Gordy (lead guitar/mandolin) who’s been called as a sub on numerous major gigs. Rounding out the group are two-time Grammy winner Gene Libbea (bass/piano) and Oscar Dezoto (drums) with some noted guest artists joining in too.

CDs with music you (I) can’t pigeon-hole make you (me) work harder. Or…you (I) can just shut up, sit back and accept. I prefer the latter, and you should too!

CDs: $15 plus $2 s/h through www.interstecowboy.com or from Ranch Ruckus Records, P.O. Box 418, Masonville, Colorado 80541

© 2008, Rick Huff

Paul Harris
Paul Harris

Singer/songwriter and Salisaw, Oklahoma bootmaker Paul Harris is obviously out to show that coming from a Country and Bluegrass background doesn't have to be a hindrance in Western!!

All kidding aside, creative big production values add an additional exciting dimension to these tracks that clearly reflect his musical influences. Several songs on this CD also nicely show that you can be acoustic and "commercial!" Harris' "Rancher's Daughter" is a fine uptempo romance novel of a song, his "Molly" is an uptempo Cowboy and Bluegrass romp and his more Country tracks still bear the Western brand. Ranging from Contemporary to electrified "frontier" in feeling, it's a happy new entry into the Cowboy and the Country catalogs.

Harris has included some earnestly delivered Cowboy Poetry as well ("Forever," "Begin Again," "Grey Shandy" and "I Have Lived"). So, here you have footstompers, ballads, verse and an artist stylistically going home with what brung him to the dance. A word, though...if you want to read the liner note lyrics, bring your best magnifying glass. I mean whoa!!

CDs: $18 ppd from Wood Western Music, HC 63 Box 18 C, Saratoga, WY 82331 or through www.myspace.com and his website is (or soon will be) www.outsidecirclemusic.com

© 2008, Rick Huff

1880s Cowboys
Jim Reader

One of the most interesting performers of cowboy music in the new century is Canada's Jim Reader. From his material to his gritty delivery of it, he's an original. I'd be tempted to call him cowboy music's Bob Dylan or Neil Young, but Reader hits more of the notes! Seriously, the depth of thought and guitar technique equate to such artists.

As was the case with Reader's debut album from a few years back, many of his songs have sort of an experimental or push-the-envelope edge in lyric content and arrangement. Never fear! It's all still true "Cowboy," but let's just say this cowboy's not afraid to hose out the stable.

Borrowing a page from the Gatlin Brothers' "Broken Lady," Reader gives a harmonized a cappella intro to "We Got Us A Trail Drive" that sets it off nicely. Probably more than one of his songs will be picked up by other adventurous performers. Likely candidates should be "The Gather," "One Top Hand" (a dying Top Hand wants his herd to get into the right hands), the swinging "Cowboy Music Soothes My Soul," "Custer's Eye" (a unique close-up perspective) and "Traildust," but there are others. Give Jim Reader a spin.

CDs: $14.95 through www.cdbaby.com or call cdbaby direct 1-800-289-6923

© 2008, Rick Huff

The Ghosts Of Yellowstone
Myra Pearce

This new one from Montana's smoky-voiced singer Myra Pearce proves it is still possible to put out a true Country Western album. And it's a truly fine C & W product to boot! It's co-produced by Mike Noble and Royal Wade Kimes, who definitely knows the refinements and parameters of both "C" and "W!"

The album's title track, "The Ghosts Of Yellowstone," is an enigmatic Kimes song that reflects on the spirits of Red Star and Buffalo Bill Cody stepping back into the Irma Hotel lobby each night. Another original Western track co-written by Myra Pearce (with Bobby Boyd) is an intriguing Indian rhythm and chanting-inspired song "The Journey," a spiritual trip into the high country. Also there's a helping of sheer Country fun here, with offerings like "Redneck Man Of Mine" and "Goodbye, Adios" (in which she's saying goodbye in both languages and would cuss him out that way as well but "my Spanish ain't that good!").

Myra Pearce's releases from a couple of years back showed her to be a performer worthy of an audience's attention. This newest will only enhance her portfolio! The CD walks a fine line between full-out Contemporary with deferential nods to what's thought of as Western Contemporary. In other words...the "grill" here has enough sizzle for Country critics and meat for Western tastes.

CDs: $11.95 plus $4 s/h through www.myrapearce.com or contact Myra Pearce (406) 855-8183 email myra@myrapearce.com

© 2008, Rick Huff

Longing for the Range
Vince Crofts and Mindi Reid

Because of the way this album is put together, it's obvious that what you get here is exactly what you would get from Vince Crofts & Mindi Reid in concert. In this case, the choice was a masterstroke.

With superb harmony, Bob Wagoner's not often enough heard "High Country" is here. There are great takes of "Along The Navajo Trail," "I'm Longing For The Range," "I Leave My Troubles At The Old Corral" and ten more. And wait 'til you hear the guitar work on "Song Of The Bandit!" Frailing banjoist Rick McCracken joins in on "Spotted Pony/Over The Waterfall," but otherwise it's just Vince and Mindi on the album, and that's quite enough.

So few duo CDs really explore the possibilities for arrangement without overdubbing, or perhaps musicianship prohibits. No such limits of vision or ability exist here. You can take rapturous rides on these arrangements! The album is seemingly unprocessed, no reverb, intimate and pristine. I'll be as direct as it is. For the type, this is just about the best I've ever heard.

CDs: $15 plus $4 s/h from Vincent Crofts, 617 E. 700 N, Firth, ID 83236 Contact Number: (208) 680-7500

© 2008, Rick Huff

Saturday Nite
Earl Gleason

New Mexico's Bell Ranch is further immortalized with Earl Gleason's title song tribute to it (and it's cowboy musical legacy) "Saturday Nite." The Bell's late owner Jeff Lane would have loved it.

Cut to the chase. Earl has hit his stride with this CD, which is in simultaneous release with a second new album called Wanderers (no slouch itself)! There's a nicely even balance of performance, production and artistic choices. His original songs, particularly "Black Diamond" and his performance of it, compare favorably to Marty Robbins. The disc also includes versions of "Utah Carroll" and "Windy Bill," two songs I have never cared for, yet Earl makes both actually work for me here. Plus there are very good versions of "Ridin' Down The Canyon" and others along with newer offerings such as R. W. Hampton's "Born To Be A Cowboy."

A gripe I have expressed to Earl in person is that I have long felt his past recordings failed to present the true effect of his "live" performances. Earl, my friend...I state it now for all to read. This one caught you!!

CDs: $16 ppd from Earl Gleason, P.O. Box 1871, Belen, NM 87002-1871

© 2008, Rick Huff

Wanderers
Earl Gleason

The ever-working Mr. Gleason has released two Cowboy CDs at the same time, the other being Saturday Nite. Let's see if his fans will be sated for at least a while now!! It's not exactly two for the price of one. Think of it more as double the Earl double the fun!

Earl Gleason is one of those honest-ta-gawd campfire entertainers. Wherever two or more of you are gathered...there he may well be! Some new originals grace this CD, like "Durango," "Hurtin' Cowboy" (which Tony Lama or somebody oughta pick up on) and "Cowboy Prayer" (using the Badger Clark poem). Classics here are both the familiar songs like "Wanderers Of The Wasteland," Bob Campbell's "Roll On Cowboys" and Glenn Spencer's "Born To The Saddle" as well as less known songs like "Root Hog Or Die!"

You might have noticed when I spot them I point out miscreditings on CDs...not to criticize, just to set the record straight.
"(There's A) Goldmine In The Sky" is credited here to Robert "Frizz" Fuller, a different writer than I (at least) have ever seen connected with it. Pretty famously it came from the songwriting brothers Charles & Nick Kenny, but it's a small point. Wanderers is about the best one yet from Earl, the other being the previously mentioned Saturday Nite. His many fans should be walking on water over them.

CDs: $16 ppd from Earl Gleason, P.O.Box 1871, Belen, NM 87002-1871

© 2008, Rick Huff

Back In The Saddle
John Pickul

Back In The Saddle we go with this pleasant collection of Cowboy favorites. The fourteen-song collection from Texas balladeer John Pickul and friends reminds me somewhat of what I call the "entry level records" for kids that got a lot of us oriented toward cowboy music way back when. "Home On The Range" is here, so are "Red River Valley," "Old Chisholm Trail," "Streets Of Laredo," "You Are My Sunshine" and other standards.

Listening, you're struck by the deceptively "simple" accompaniment provided by Billy Curtis (vocals/fiddle/mandolin), Bill Lucas (stand up bass) and Mike Stroup (vocals/guitar). Nothing flashy...just very right in the execution and arrangement. It definitely builds the effect and value of the product.

One note on the tray card crediting...a few variations on the actual names of certain songs slipped through. These include "I've Got Spurs That Jingle," "Boots and Saddle" and "Rovin' Cowboy." But you'll recognize them!

CDs: $15 plus $2 s/h from John Pickul, 6508 Kenyon Ln., Bellaire, TX 77401-3705 and online through www.mytexasmusic.com

© 2008, Rick Huff

The Leather, The Dust
Maureen Joy Gale and Jesse Colt

This Canadian Western album really proves what can be done to showcase cowboy poetry in a fitting musical frame, and that there’s a kind of poetry in doing it.

Beyond the renowned Jesse Colt’s intelligent verse itself and Maureen Joy Gale’s fine ballad voice, the overall effect is taken up five or six notches by the efforts of producer/performer (and cartoonist!) Ben Crane.

The choices of musical selections to run under the poems add even more interest and atmosphere to the project. Jesse Colt is a poet/reciter who is in firm control of his craft, and the gems contained herein will give you a fresh perspective that may have you coming back to listen again and again. To do that, of course, you’ll have to acquire it in the first place, now won’t you?!!

For ordering information, contact Jesse Colt, Box 25, Site 4, RR 1, Priddis, AB T0L 1 W0)

© 2008, Rick Huff

It Sings in the Hi-Line
Kerry Grombacher

For his newest album Kerry Grombacher has returned to mostly Cowboy and Western source material and a welcome return it is!

Here you'll experience twelve originals with the winding stories and thought provoking images you'd expect from Kerry. From his basic Folk mindset with bayou spices, he's one of the artists who smoothly integrates other musical styles into Western with a positive effect. "Wild West Mambo," for instance, recounts Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show playing The French Quarter! And his "Cajun Cowboy" cocinero wrangles chuck with cayenne in Cheyenne. The Spanish Inquisition's effect in the New World moves to a snaking subtle samba in "Valley Of Shadows." From firsthand knowledge I recognize in his "Edge Of The World" he accurately captures the vibe around the oldest constantly occupied North American settlement (Acoma, the sky city) inhabited since the tenth century, A.D.

Riding with Kerry Grombacher makes the miles go by faster. And Kerry...in "Rock Springs" I did pick up that single mention of a Sands Motel room...

CDs & MP3 format downloads: $16 (plus $3 for CD mailings) online through www.cdbaby.com/cd/grombacher3

© 2008, Rick Huff

Song Man
Donnie Blanz

He calls his output “Americana Music with a hat!” Donnie Blanz weaves Western threads into the fabric of his songs, with very durable results. Furthermore, he does it with song construction sensibilities others should seek to emulate.

This latest release’s most easily categorized “Western” selections include “Little Piece Of Ground,” “Old Friend Of Mine” (his take on the historical horse) and “When The Hammer Falls” (the one on a Colt 45 and that moment of inevitability for the projectile’s recipient)!!

Alright, there’s some drum and some electrification and some pretty straight ahead Country. As Don Edwards has told me, “it always used to be Country and Western…there’s no reason you can’t like both!” Donnie Blanz tends to make that task an easy one.

Check out this likeable new one from one of the longtime proprietors of “Contemporary Western Americana R Us.”

CDs: $16 plus $3.25 s/h through www.donnieblanz.com or from DBlanco Music, 134 Mark Twain Drive, Boerne, TX 78006

© 2008, Rick Huff

Saloon Piano Vol. V
Dave Bourne

Dave Bourne has a unique history with Western Music. As a member of the legendary Knott's Berry Farm stage group The Wagonmasters with Billy Beeman and others, he helped fan the very flame that was kept lit by few others performing some 13,000-plus shows! In the 1990s with The Lobo Rangers he, wife Patty and Mike (New West) Fleming blazed on. His Kenny Rogersian countenance and piano stylings graced the acclaimed HBO series "Deadwood!" He's also no stranger to the Single Action Shooters Society meets.

More than just goodtime rinky-tink albums, Bourne's releases are preservationist treasure troves. For "Vol. V" he takes twenty-three more melodies out for a stroll. Some are familiar and others are little known works from between 1800 ("Bluebells Of Scotland") through 1914 ("When You Wore A Tulip"). And each delivers a nice little howdy-do from the past through Bourne's faithful renderings. Listening straight through can transport you to simpler places and times.

Of interest to Western Music Association members should be the following historical tidbit. Dave Bourne founded and, for its early years, wrote the WMA's newsletter that became the current Western Way Magazine.

CDs: $17 ppd from Dave Bourne, P.O. Box 173, Agoura Hills, CA 91376-0173

© 2008, Rick Huff

Romance With The Range
Prickly Pair

This latest fine CD (the seventh) in the "Pair's" catalog introduces Norman Winter, bass player and singer as "The Cactus Chorale" since you can't have a trio in a pair without a professional seamstress. It all "seams" easy when Les & Locke Hamilton hold sway!

The festivities this time open with a superb and intricate a cappella "Home On The Range," followed by one of their best album title tunes since "Rendezvous With The Moon!" "Romance With The Range" is the kind of song that will likely be picked up by others, right along with their other originals "Calloused Hands and A Soft Heart" and "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid." An Ivan Kershner poem set to music by Locke Hamilton called "The Ranch Sale" is one of the best on the subject since Gary McMahan's "Old Double Diamond" (which was in the Hamilton's neighborhood)! Also featured on this CD are stepped-up tempo versions of "Call Of The Canyon," "Let The Rest Of The World Go By," "Cow Cow Boogie," "Ridin' Down The Canyon" and a neat medley of Kennedy & Carr's "Ole Faithful" with Billy Hill's "The Last Roundup" wherein they overlay the melodies! Works like a charm!

The guys' ringing, clarion-clear harmonies with Locke's lead vocal remind me somewhat of the WWII recordings of Vera Lynn ("We'll Meet Again" and "White Cliffs Of Dover"). Of course I heard them as a twinkle in my father's eye!!!

CDs: $17 ppd from Prickly Pair, 605 East Fork Rd., Dubois, WY 82513, or through the website www.thepricklypair.com/music.html or credit cards by phone: (307) 455-3338

© 2008, Rick Huff

The BAR-D Roundup: Volume Three
various artists

Where Hollywood tends to fall flat with continued installments, The Bar-D Roundup series just keeps getting better!

With this third release, collaborators Margo Metegrano and Andy Nelson have done a particularly fine job of displaying the universe of the Western experience…occurrence, attitude, lineage and legacy. Part of that roundness is achieved by having some of the top reciters perform some classics specifically for this collection. Bill Siems (Curly Fletcher’s “Strawberry Roan”), Jerry A. “Brooksie” Brooks (Badger Clark’s “The Free Wind”), and Jay Snider (Luther Lawhon’s “Good Old Cowboy Days”) are among them, but there are classics and modern classics from Joel Nelson, Red Steagall, Wally McRae, Georgie Sicking, Randy Rieman, Yvonne Hollenbeck and others. The hypnotically eccentric delivery of Ross Knox is included and the shock value of having Paul Zarzyski aboard is intensified with music and drums on Track 15 after we’ve been lulled into an a cappella security up to that point! The late Buck Ramsey presents a third installment from his masterpiece “Grass” and the special dessert to the feast is a rare and thoroughly eerie 1948 rendering by Robert Service of his classic “Cremation of Sam McGee!”

If you ever hear someone ask about the why of the “cowboy way” and particularly Cowboy Poetry, here’s the answer to all questions. This collection says what this important and artful communication of the heart conveys at its best.

CDs: $20 ppd through cowboypoetry.com or by check or money order to Center For Western and Cowboy Poetry, P.O. Box 330444, San Francisco, CA 94133

© 2008, Rick Huff

Passin' it On
Mag Mawhinney

Being a lifelong Westerner and observer, Canada's Mag Mawhinney is "passin' on" images she's seen, known and thought about in this 31-track collection. Two of this group are award winners and deservedly so ("Those Who Have Gone Before" and "Winter Range").

It strikes me her dramatic, instructive delivery might possibly make this album a good one for introducing somewhat younger folks to Cowboy Poetry. All have music backing and four of the works have been nicely converted to songs and are sung by award-winning balladeer Abe Zacharias ("Dust On His Saddle," "Singing The Songs Of The West," "Run Ponies Run" and "Good Old Country Music").

The CD includes tributes to the late Rod Nichols and Glen Rafuse. Everyone will have selections that grab them, but some that struck me include a gently mysterious winter encounter called "The Stranger," "The Cowboy and The Butterfly," a dance that's wilder than some rodeos, "The Viking Cowboy," a grumpy agreement between horse and greenhorn to not go another round and "Molly," where the mule does the pickin'!

CDs: $20 ppd US & Canada by check or M.O. from Mag Mawhinney, 835 Chapman Rd., Cobble Hill, B.C. Canada V0R 1L4 or by emailing mvmawhinney@shaw.ca

© 2008, Rick Huff

Rimrock (Where Memories Rhyme)
Paul Kern

Paul Kern subtitles his CD Rimrock with one of his lines "Where Memories Rhyme," then goes on to further define the collection as "Hopelessly Romantic Cowboy Poetry!" I'd call it more "hopeful and art-filled!"

This CD is the recorded companion to Kern's book of the same title. The crafting of these verses shows Kern to be wonderfully in command of what he wants to say, and his low key but involved delivery draws you in so you care about the message. More poets and reciters would do well to take notes on the Jay Sniders, the Joel Nelsons and the Paul Kerns...and, yes, in drawing the comparison I am indeed placing his work on this CD in those ranks (as well as revealing a bias of mine against "theatrical" delivery of Cowboy Poetry)! He understands in recording he's not addressing an auditorium.

Kern's words frequently present lingering thoughts and lessons that transcend the workaday cowboy life. "From a horse camp with its rhythm of chores, you learn the needs of others come before yours" is a good example. His poem "As I Bridle In The Morning" and others are rich with observations. "On Smokey Before I Go" is one of the best I've encountered depicting an old cowboy's last ride. Particularly effective music pads from Scott Harris Studios used throughout enhance this product.

And one nitpick. Perhaps it was done for the Yellowstone Song Contest or something and they needed a place to park it, but the voice and piano Off-Broadway Musical treatment by two other people of Kern's "As Evening Sets On The Yellowstone" doesn't work and doesn't fit, and I was a "Theatre" major! Don't be put off! The remaining fifteen tracks on the album more than make up for it!

The CD can be ordered here.

© 2008, Rick Huff

The Emigrant Trail
Ray Doyle

Before hearing it I made an assumption about this album that couldn't have been further off. Emigrants? Irish? Cowboy Celtic's on hand for the recording? The Western Folklife Center's Yellowstone Song Contest winner "The Jewel" is here, and it's a calming poetic portrait. I figured sweet Western visions and thoughts of the Irish homeland. Wrong. This thing has teeth!

Disarmingly pleasant in its musical presentation, the words sneak up and chew on your conscience! Ray Doyle is a longtime player with Wylie & The Wild West, but here he takes his distinctive vocal delivery and goes off in directions Wylie never took, tackling a rough Western reality that is both dream and nightmare for many. He draws on the experiences of more than just the Irish as shown in Dave Stamey's "Vaquero Song," "The Cowboy Life" (also called "The Dreary Life") and Gordon Lightfoot's "Canadian Railroad Trilogy."

The title track sets things in motion, with the singer heading out "for a brand new beginning or a desperate end" on a sea that's "a churning, black, bottomless well 'mid the moaning and screaming..." And yet still "there's hope at the end of the emigrant trail" unless you're caught digging the Erie Canal. There "The Jigger Boss" keeps men whiskeyed-up so they'll shun the cholera-causing water. The dancing lyrics that bounce by include "every thirty feet we go, we plant three men six feet below, all down the Mohawk Valley!" For me, the big stunner is "Mick Ryan's Lament," a Robert Emmett Dunlap song done to a dirge-like "Garryowen" about a ghostly Irish soldier's horror at what he did under Custer. Ray Doyle's "The Emigrant Trail" is a courageous, diverse statement and an outstanding achievement. All concerned should be commended.

CDs: $18 ppd from Ray Doyle, Emigrant Trail Records, P.O. Box 661111, Mar Vista, CA 90066

© 2008, Rick Huff

Route 66
Cowbop

These folks are serious swingers! On "Back In The Saddle Again" Cow Bop gives you a jazzy, swing romp. The Stan Kentons, the Count Basies and similar Jazz arrangers would be proud to claim their "I'm An Old Cowhand" and "My Heart Belongs To Daddy" from Cow Bop is steamy kissin' kin to Peggy Lee's "Fever!"

The main Cow Boppers are Bruce Forman (guitar), Pam "Pinto Pammy" Forman (vocals), Dan Robbins (bass) and Mike McKinnley (drums) with many sit-ins! Dave Jackson (late of New West) lends his bass larynx to "Time Changes Everything" and "When The Bloom Is On The Sage." Dan Hicks (of Hot Licks fame), Richard Chon (Saddlecats and Sons Of The San Joaquin) and six others are guesting on the album. Don't miss their track called "Merry Go Roundup!"

Cow Bop is one of those groups who can move the genre forward if given a chance. It's Western, it's Swing, but it ain't Texas Swing. These cows have "mooooved" into salon society! In the jacket, they wryly cite Gene Autry's line "it'll never sell...too many notes." This one deserves to sell, Mr. Autry notwithstanding.

CDs: $17 ppd from Cow Bop, P. O. Box 73, Carmel Valley, CA 93924

© 2008, Rick Huff

Home Ranch Trails
Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue

Take a splash of Dude Ranch dash and a generous scoop of Yippie-I-Yo and you come up with Nevada Slim and Cimarron Sue! "Nevada" and "Cimarron" are from Washington State! Those cowboys do drift, don't they??!

A.k.a. Bruce and Susan Matley, the pair are seasoned state fair performers across a good chunk of the western U.S. Their latest CD is Home Ranch Tales, featuring old favorites ("Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "Cool Water," "When It's Nighttime In Nevada"); old old favorites ("Little Joe The Wrangler," "Billy The Kid," "Goodbye, Old Paint") and old old old favorites ("Danny Boy," "Green Grow The Lilacs," "Westward Bound Medley")!

Some of the saga songs are performed in that mixed sung and acted style designed to get kids up on stage and involved. Bruce Matley's delivery reminds me at times of early recorded art songs that were done in an open throated and semi-operatic fashion, but he can just as quickly buckaroo it up with Sue (whose character is rawhide cowgirl to the hilt)! One interesting track included here is from "Nevada's" dad Wayne Matley, obviously accomplished in the singing department. It's a 1946 rendering of "Carry Me Back To The Lone Prairie" done with a parlor recital style piano backing.

As I always do for