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THE O. J. CORRAL
Music, Book & Movie  REVIEWS
BY
O. J. SIKES

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Ridin' West
    -Cowboy Joe & the Babcocks

Chimney Rock Records CCR 114A
Nolan Bruce Allen Salutes the Bob Wills Era
-Nolan Bruce Allen
                                                            Glad CD 7033

 
"Ghost Train," "Prairie Fire" and "Dusty Winds" are 2 of my favorite Marty Robbins recordings. And "Doggone Cowboy" has been recorded by a whole passel of cowboy singers.  I knew they were all composed by Joe Babcock. But I didn't know that Joe was also Cowboy Joe, who sings on this great new CD with his wife and daughter.
    He's the same fellow who sang with Marty on the road and on so many of his wonderful Western recordings, including Marty's 2nd & 3rd Gunfighter albums. Except for "Way Out There" and "Adobe Hacienda," all of the songs on this album are Joe's compositions.
     Joe sang harmony for years on TV and in the studio on numerous hit recordings with a long list of artists. Now, he's come back to his first love, Western music. Joe's voice doesn't sound like Marty's, but it's easy to see how he added the Western edge to the harmonies of Marty Robbins and the Glaser Bros. On one tune, when he's singing harmony with the gals, you can hear a hint of Hank Snow's phrasing and inflections in his voice. Snow, of course, was a great fan of the Sons of the Pioneers and recorded some fine Western material, himself. 
    There are 13 selections, one of which is an excellent medley. Superb compositions all. Most selections were not recorded by Marty Robbins, but arrangements sound like they were made for him. Since so many of these songs have not been recorded before (as far as I know), performers looking for great new material should be especially interested in this CD. Order from www.thebabcocks.com  or Joe Babcock, 108 Kings-Gate Lane, Franklin, TN 37064.

 
They call Nolan Bruce Allen "New York's King of Western Swing." Well, I don't know what kind of picante sauce they make in NY, but this guy makes some mighty good Western swing music, no matter where he is.
    On this CD, Nolan does the vocals and he's surrounded himself with some of today's best Western swing musicians: Tom Morrell, Rich O'Brien & company. Rich, who wrote the interesting liner notes, describes the session as "one of my all-time favorite recording experiences." Tom produced the album. I first heard about it from Joe Baker who's playing it on his NM radio show to enthusiastic audience response.
    Among the CD's 22 cuts, there are 2 superb instrumentals. Nolan's "Blues for Dixie" is my favorite vocal cut on the album, and there's a fine duet with Chris O"Connell on "Heart to Heart Talk," plus an amazing hot fiddle solo on "Home in San Antone." 
    40% of the net earnings from this project will go to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, so if you want to add some good Western swing to your collection and support a worthy cause in the process, contact Glad Music Co., 14340 Torrey Chase, Suite 380, Houston, TX 77014.

 
High in the Saddle
    -Kata Hay

 
Have I Stayed Away Too long
    -Tex Ritter
                                                                                   
 Bear Family 4 CD boxed set BCD 16239 DI

 
Kata Hay (pronounced "Kate-ah Hay," which means "hello" in the Navajo language) is quite a performer! This young lady has been winning awards all over the place, from Ed McMahon's Star Search in 1993 to several yodeling championships, and in 2001 & 2002 she won the  Oklahoma Opry's Female Vocalist Under 16! She has a strong voice but that's not all; she wrote 8 of the 14 songs on this new CD, including the title song!
    The instrumentation is contemporary, with guitar, drums, bass, keyboard, steel and fiddle. Kata herself plays dobro! Actually, she wrote a song on the CD for the legendary dobro artist, the late Tom Swatzell, who performed frequently with Patsy Montana.
    There are 14 songs, and my favorites are 2 original Western swing tunes: the title song and "I Wanna be His Cowgirl." For more info. contact Kata Hay, P.O. Box 333, Skiatook, OK 74070 or www.katahay.com

 
This is the 3rd Tex Ritter boxed set. Some say it's his best, and it would be hard to disagree.
    The first, Blood on the Saddle, was an outstanding collection of Tex's early Western recordings and country hits. The 2nd, High Noon, contained children's songs, religious and country tunes plus several versions of the title song. This 3rd set is comprised of Tex's Capitol and World Transcriptions.
    There are only a few remakes of Tex's commercial records, and a couple of these versions may be better than the originals. The band is often more relaxed and plays 3 excellent Western swing instrumentals. And Tex sings some of the songs he sang in movies but didn't record commercially, e.g. "I'll Wait for You, Dear" and "Too Late to Worry, Too Blue to Cry" from Frontier Fugitives. There are 27 Western songs in the 111 song set, most not available elsewhere.
    Many recordings are covers of songs by Gene Autry and Wesley Tuttle, especially interesting since Wes leads the band and plays on most of these sessions!  But there are also excellent songs you won't hear elsewhere. Sidemen change over the 1945-52 period represented here, but include top-of-the-line musicians Merle Travis, Speedy West, Fiddlin' Kate, Johnny Bond, George Bamby, Jack Rivers, Tex Atchison, Paul Sells, "Pete" Martinez, etc.
    Sound quality lives up to Bear Family's high standards. Includes sessionography & wonderfully illustrated 47 page book written by Packy Smith. Highly recommended! In stores or call (800) 923-1122.

 
Tall Tales & Treasures
    -Sue Harris
 Singing in the Saddle: Songs of the American Cowboy, Vol. 1

   - Roy, Rex, Sons of the Pioneers, Andy Parker & the Plainsmen, etc.

 
Sue Harris has a fascinating voice. It shows traces of Buffey St. Marie's, but I like Sue's better (comparisons aren't fair, but sometimes they help when you're trying to describe a "sound").
    She put music to an old S. Omar Barker poem, "Tall Man Ridin" and it serves as a great opener for the album. Several of her other songs are also based on famous poems, but the rest are by contemporary composers, and well worth a listen.
    Ed Steele, who wrote "Bright Angel Trail," worked the Trail at the Grand Canyon in 1935. And Dean Cook supplied a bunch of good material, "The Minstrel's Song" and the CD's title song being my personal favorites.
    Sue's backed by talented musicians who provide excellent support---good "sound." $16.50 ppd from Sue Harris, P.O. Box 26345, Phoenix, AZ 85068.

 

 This collection of 29 rare transcriptions and air checks will be a welcome addition to every Western fan's collection. You've probably heard Roy Rogers' "Home in Oklahoma." It's not here, but his rare "Home Sweet Oklahoma" is! Johnny Bond does his own "Cimarron," the Sons of the Pioneers do a couple of rare ones, as does Tex Williams. Jimmy Wakely has 5 selections.

    But the most pleasant surprises are the gems from Hi Busse & the Frontiersmen and Andy Parker & the Plainsmen. The Plainsmen accompanied Marilyn Monroe when she sang the theme from  River of No Return in one of the last scenes of the movie. They do a superb job with it (without Marilyn) here. They also do "Hangman's Guns," "99 Years," "Across the Wide Missouri" and others, all rare recordings.  Hi Busse & the Frontiersmen do their versions of "Wayward Wind" and Cool Water," and back Tex Williams on several great tunes. 

    I had fun writing the liner notes for this one. Collectors will be especially happy with it because of the rarity of many of the selections and the high quality sound. But it should also be of interest to a much wider audience as well. $19.95 ppd, from Concept Productions, P.O. Box 3151, Murfreesboro, TN 37133-3151 or 1-800-890-5605.

 
Texas Belle
    -Andy Parker & the Plainsmen
                                                                BACM CD D 036

 
Western Skies
    -Sourdough Slim & his Saddle Pals

 
Andy Parker was not only a great Western composer, he led one of the smoothest, most polished Western groups of all-time: The Plainsmen. Rex Allen used to tell the story about going to one of their concerts with Lloyd Perryman, leader of the Sons of the Pioneers. After hearing Andy Parker & the Plainsmen, Lloyd told Rex, "I'd better go back and light a fire under my boys. These guys are great!" That's a widely held opinion among western musicians!
    The group appeared in a number of films with Eddie Dean and Ken Curtis, and can be seen on the Westerns Channel from time to time. They were inducted into the Western Music Hall of Fame in 1991, but their recordings have been hard to find. This is their first full-length CD!
    It contains some of their best material, like the title song and their beautiful theme, "Call of the Rollin' Plains" (a "must" for "everyone's" library), and lots of recordings that even many died-in-the-wool fans haven't heard. 27 tracks, nearly all Western and all first-rate.
    Highly recomended!  $14 ppd (without plastic jewel case) from British Archive of Country Music, c/o “Greenacres,” 451 Folkestone Road, Dover, Kent, CT 17 9JX, U.K.,   or $22 ppd with jewel case from Frontier Records, P.O. Box 157, Jenks, OK 74037.

 
As a solo act, Sourdough Slim has had audiences at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, ABC-TV's Good Morning America and elsewhere, in the palm of his hand with his unusual humor and yodeling. Here, he's accompanied by his Saddle Pals, "Cactus Bob" and "Prairie Flower."
    I've been waiting for 10 years for this album to be reissued on CD! Slim has released a number of popular albums over the years, but this one is my favorite. It combines solid musicianship, a group sound, terrific song selection and unique comedy. Obviously, it contains some of my favorite Sourdough recordings, but it holds together as an album as well.
    Each member of the trio is a skilled musician, and while it's all in fun---even goofy at times (that's the idea, of course)---there's some really enjoyable music here. My favorites are "Western Skies," "Wild & Reckless Cowboy" (an excellent imitation of the Prairie Ramblers), "Conestogas Ho!" (a favorite of many), "If I could Only Learn to Yodel," Prairie Flower's "Wah Hoo!" and  Cactus Bob's "Night Ranger."
    Slim also has a new CD called The Best of Sourdough Slim  with 20 songs taken from 5 of his other CDs & tapes. Both are available for $15 each ppd, from Sourdough Slim, P.O. Box 2021, Paradise, CA 95967 or www.sourdoughslim.com

 

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