For many years, the Riders have made annual treks up the mountain to entertain visitors at the Tweetsie Railroad western theme park. Recently, it occurred to Too Slim that a CD of cowboy & train songs might make a welcome souvenir of the day's adventures.

       Long ago, Gene Autry sold a steam locomotive to the family that owns the park. That old engine is still operating and is the park's main permanent attraction. It's also the subject of the first song on this new CD, "Tweetsie Railroad Line," composed by Ranger Doug. There's also another new Ranger Doug tune, as well as a new rendition of his "Here Comes the Santa Fe." Too Slim wrote "Ghost Train" for the project and Joey Miskulin wrote "Tweetsie Jct."

    There are standard rail songs like "Casey Jones," "Wabash Cannonball" and a terrific "Orange Blossom Special" with great harmony and Woody Paul's fantastic fiddling. The cowboy train standards are "Railroad Corral" and Nolan's "Way Out There," and Carson Robison's "New River Train" is here as well. Some selections may appeal more to adults, others to kids, so there's something for everyone.

    Obviously, this will be a "must" for every visitor to Tweetsie, and Riders fans won't want to miss it either! $15 + s&h from New Frontier Management, 1921 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37203.

 Skilled fiddle and guitar work, and the occasional mandolin, give Judy Coder's music a nice up-beat feel. This new CD's title song and the rarely heard Merle Travis composition, "There Ain't a Cow in Texas," get the album off to a rousing start. Then, she slows things down with a beautiful rendition of a contemporary song, "Wanted: One Good Cowboy." And she applies her considerable yodeling talent to Patsy Montana's "Little Rose of the Prairie."

    It's so nice to see some of these old songs most folks have forgotten, resurrected by a talented group of musicians. Of course, not all of these have been forgotten. "Along the Santa Fe Trail" and "Ragtime Cowboy Joe" are classics, and Wilf Carter's "There's a Love Knot in My Lariat" and Denver Darling's "I've Just Got to Be a Cowboy" (Cowgirl, in Judy's version) are still popular today.

    Judy wrote interesting notes about each of the 13 songs on the CD. Great Western song selection, pretty voice, excellent musicians. Contact JC Management, 2405 SW 19th St., Topeka, KS 66604 or www.judycoder.com  

Re-issue producer Fred Goodwin called on Sony's master of re-mastering, Nick Shaffran, to oversee the sound quality of this release. It's fantastic! Fred chose 14 of Frankie Laine's finest Western recordings and asked Johnny Western to write the liner notes.

    The songs were recorded between 1956 ("Moonlight Gambler") and Oct. 1962 ("Ghost Riders in the Sky"). You'll hear familiar hits as only Frankie Laine can sing them, like the themes he sang for the movies Gunfight at the OK Corral and The 3:10 to Yuma (both the 1957 and 1960 versions of both so you can compare) and the 1960 recording of "High Noon" rather than the 1952 "hit" version. Of course, his "hit" TV theme from Rawhide is here, along with other, more generic Western standards like "Along the Navajo Trail," "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" and "Cool Water."   

This young lady has won more awards than you can shake a stick at, and she has become a very popular Western entertainer in her native Canada. She has a strong, lovely  voice and effective stage presence. She also wrote, or co-wrote 5 of the 10 songs on this CD! Two of the others are by Hank Williams, so she's in good composer company!

    The selections include both Western and country themes, like "Chime Bells," and most of the Western songs are her own compositions. I particularly liked the lively title song, but also enjoyed her "The Coyote" and "Prairie Range" (basically, a reworking of "Texas Plains") by Carl Devries and Bob Miller.

    Accompaniment is acoustic and skillfully done. The variety ensures a wide appeal. There's some fine music here and this sunshine cowgirl's going places! See www.tammydee.com

Ray Whitley is one of my all-time favorite cowboy singers. His musical interludes in films with George O'Brien, Tim Holt and Rod Cameron were always the high points of those films for me. He was at his best with his Six Bar Cowboys and 6 of their recordings are in this new 22 song CD issued by the British Archive of Country Music. One, "Mist Around the Prairie Moon Tonight," is from one of the Western musical shorts Ray and the boys made for RKO in the late 1930s. Of course, Ray's original "Back in the Saddle Again" is here and it sounds great!

    Ray's Range Ramblers preceded the Cowboys and their recordings are outstanding, as well. Two of their best, from 1936, are included. There's one from the mid-40s, a lively "You're Barking up the Wrong Tree Now,"  but most are from 1933-35. This is not my favorite Ray Whitley period, but there are some good entries from that era, like the two with the Frank Luther Trio. The others from that period are with Buck Nation (who had worked with Tex Ritter) or Odis Elder. Although the sound quality varies due to the worn condition of the rare masters, some of these early ones sound quite good, too.

    Excellent liner notes. The most comprehensive, best-sounding (overall) collection of Ray Whitley material I've found.Old-time movie cowboy music at it's best! $17 + $3 s&h from Frontier Music, P.O. Box 157, Jenks, OK 74037 or contact British Archive of Country Music, "Greenacres" 451 Folkestone Road, Dover, CT17 9JX, U.K.

The British Archive of Country music has rescued 20 of Rex Allen's rare Mercury recordings, restored them beautifully, and issued them on this new CD. Heretofore, only 17 of Rex's Mercury records had been re-issued, and except for one, only on LP. There are no duplications here; these records haven't been heard for years!

    Several of the songs are with full orchestra, but most are backed by Jerry Byrd and the Arizona Wranglers. Most selections are not Western, but the original recording of Rex's movie theme, "Too Lee Roll Um (I'm an Arizona Cowboy)" is here, as are "Albuquerque Polka," "Ten More Miles to Go" and his composition, "Yodelin' Crazy." 

    Rex does some delightful character parts on the novelty "Feudin' & Fightin'," and it's flip side hit, "Take it Back and Change it for a Boy" sounds like new. Of course, his renditions of ballads "Sentimental Fool," "I'm So Alone with the Crowd," "A Petal from a Faded Rose," Tim & Glenn Spencer's "Baby, I Ain't Gonna Cry No More" and others, are superb. And there's more!

    One or two tracks have minor surface noise due to age/rarity, but the rest are in great shape. Don't miss this one! Frontier Music, P.O. Box 157, Jenks, OK 74037 ($17+ $3 s&h) or from British Archive of Country Music, "Greensleeves" 451 Folkestone Road, Dover, CT17 9JX, U.K.

   Bear Family produces some of the highest quality boxed sets available. This new single Western CD meets the high standard Bear Family has set in the past. The sound quality is superb! It contains 20 Western recordings along with lyrics, numerous fotos and sessionographys in the 52 page booklet that comes with the CD!

    Marty Robbins has 4 entries---rare ones! Hank Snow sings the excellent title song along with "The Restless Gun" and my favorite, "The Man Behind the Gun" (not from the Randolph Scott film). Eddy Arnold does what many feel is the definitive version of "Jim, I Wore a Tie Today," and Lorne Greene, Dottie West and Rex Allen perform songs that hit for them.

    Johnny Cash sings "Bonanza" backed by Johnny Western's guitar, and Johnny Western sings "The Long Tall Shadow" backed by Johnny Bond's guitar and the Sons of the Pioneers! Marvin Rainwater, Jim Ed Brown, Jim Reeves, Bobby Barnett and Stu Phillips also have entries. Liner notes by noted historian Rich Kienzle and Johnny Western. In stores or $19.95 from Collector's Choice, www.ccmusic.com (800-923-1122).

When I saw this trio at the WMA festival, I was impressed. Listening to their new CD reinforced that impression. They write and perform some great western music!

     Rena Randall's beautiful lead is supported by the close harmony of Dave Gibson and Dave Bertoglio. Tim O'Connor's fiddle was brought in for the recording session to supplement the trio's acoustic instruments. The "sound" is terrific!

    There are so many titles I like on this CD, it's hard to pick even a small number of "favorites," but let me start with the lead song, "Legends of the West" and "La Llorona," both composed by Rena Randall, Ray Park's "Montana Cowgirl" and Dave Gibson's "The Holbrook Shootout."  The Gene Autry-Fred Rose song, "Rainbow on the Rio Colorado," is guaranteed to knock your hat in the creek!  And there are several others I really enjoyed among the 14 selections on the album.

    Liner notes are by Rusty Richards who, after listening, has now become a fan, as have I! The liner also contains lyrics. $17 ppd from The Due West Trio, 9721 E. Creek Street, Tucson, AZ 85730