Track Listing

1. (I Got Spurs That) Jingle, Jangle, Jingle
2. Tumbling Tumbleweeds
3. Don't Fence Me In
4. Cattle Call
5. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky
6. Streets of Laredo (The Cowboy's Lament)
7. I Ride an Old Paint
8. Red River Valley
9. Rawhide
10. Chasin' the Sun
11. Back in the Saddle Again
12. Home on the Range

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #23614 in Music
• Released on: 1996-08-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Amazon.com
This bargain introduction to nouveaux Westerners Ranger Doug, Woody Paul, and Too Slim features the kind of songs any singing cowboy worth his salt knows by heart. If there are few surprises, there's more than enough engaging musicianship and singing, highlighted by Ranger Doug's mellow croon and skillful yodeling. The arrangements are spare and exact, emphasizing guitar, bass, and some fiddle, but the real attraction is the trio's harmonies. If Riders in the Sky never quite live up to their heroes like Sons of the Pioneers and Riders of the Purple Sage, the playful affection they bring to these tunes is never less than charming. --Roy Kasten

Customer Reviews

another music fan from Colorado also says "thumb up"
I agree with the other customer reviewer from Colorado who liked this disc. I've been searching for a disc that has most of the great old cowboy classics, with none of the stupid comic songs that most producers apparently consider de rigeur and with the clean sound of a modern recording. This is a great collection, with great singing and some interesting but not perverse interpretations. I only wish that they had left out "Rawhide" (the theme for a TV western) and "Chasing Down the Sun" (a new piece) and added a couple more of the true classics. At the very least, "Cool Water" should be here, as could "Blue Shadows on the Trail", both of which have been recorded by Riders in the Sky. By the way, this disc is a collection of tracks from other, full-price Rounder discs, so let me hasten to add that Rounder is to be thanked for doing us all a favor by making this mostly classic collection available at a bargain price from their budget subsidiary.

Round-the-campfire harmonizing, yodeling and yee-haws
This is a fine collection of classic cowboy songs selected from the various Rounder recordings of Riders in the Sky. Many of the songs are sung in the tradition of the Sons of the Pioneers, with all the heart-felt sincerity of their great songs and their quiet end-of-the-day, round-the-campfire quality. "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "Red River Valley," "Home on the Range," and "Streets of Laredo" hark closest to that tradition, sung slowly and in mellow harmony with backup from Woody Paul's achingly yearning violin. There's harmonized yodeling here, as well, as in "Cattle Call," sung in danceable waltz time.

Meanwhile, "Don't Fence Me In" is an homage to the bright cheerfulness of Gene Autry. The album also contains their own rendering of Autry's "Back in the Saddle Again" with some high-speed yodeling. The haunting, driving treatment of "Ghost Riders in the Sky" makes the imagery in the lyrics so vivid you may feel a shiver. And there's a wonderful energetic rendering of "Rawhide" with whip cracks, whistles, and shouts. "I Ride an Old Paint" is performed as an old-time barndance waltz, with long gliding cowboy yips and yee-haws. Altogether it's an entertaining range of songs, tugging at your heart one minute and making you smile from ear to ear the next. The only thing I can say bad about this album is that if there were twice as many songs, it wouldn't be too many.

Don't let the price scare you...
I first found this CD in a "budget" section. I live in Arizona where you would expect any cowboy music to be a best seller. This is actually a very talented group from Appalacia on the east coast - so they have very definite folk talents and are top notch with the vocals and fiddle work.

The selection of tunes is the epitome of cowboy music, and as I said, it's all done very well. This is a very clean recording with all of the better known cowboy songs. If you're looking for a good launch into cowboy music, this is a very good choice. Again, I must emphaisize that the selection and quality are extremely good - so consider the price a real deal! These guys are good - and a lot of fun!