THE O. J. CORRAL
MUSIC REVIEWS
BY
O. J. SIKES
We Will Be Adding Pages and Leaving Reviews Up

We will now only be listing E-Mails &Websites
of Academy of Western Artists Members on the Reviews

LIVE FROM THE CAMP ST. CAFE & STORE
    -The Gillette Bros.

ON THE AIR
-The Time Jumpers

Big Daddy Records BDR 83136 Guy and Pipp Gillette have played Western music for over 30 years. They just keep getting  better and better. I like this new CD much more than any of  their previous material.
    It was recorded in Sept. 2000 at the Camp St. Cafe & Store in Crockett, Texas. Even though it is  a "live" recording, and you can hear the applause, there's none of the interference from the audience and extraneous noise one often hears on concert recordings. This one is really well-done.
    I was taken with the first song, "The Rambler," right off the bat. I also found "Long Summer Days" to be really enjoyable. But there are  a number of other impressive renditions in this collection of 23. The songs are traditional, for the most part. All are done in that style: acoustic; the boys, their guitars, an occasional  banjo, bones, harmonica and bodhran. There are several interesting instrumentals, and variety is enhanced even more with Lightnin' Hopkins' "Darlin' Do You Remember Me?"
(a great rendition that was a real crowd pleaser) and several songs that originated in the British isles, going way back to the earliest roots of cowboy music.
   

Big Daddy Records, 

Rt. 4, Box131

 Crockett, Texas 75835   

(CDs $17 ppd, Texas res. add $1.24 sales tax

This is one of the best Western swing CDs I've heard in a long time!
The band is comprised of Nashville's finest studio musicians, some of whom work on the Opry band. They also perform at the Station Inn on Monday nights, and on this CD they really show what they can do.
 The first song, "Time Jumpers," is truly remarkable. It's a
statement, in effect, of how the musicians have to cope with artists who have trouble with meter. The song's meter is absolutely crazy, but the group sticks together---nobody gets lost, and it turns out to be a terrific song! I would caution other musicians against trying these gymnastics at home!
    Several of the nine musicians do vocals, but fiddler Hoot Hester does most, and he has a fine voice. Noted radio and television announcer
Eddie Stubbs introduces the album and it's organized a little like a radio show, with the songs being introduced by Eddie and the artists. The introductions and the songs have separate "bands" so you can skip the intros if you wish, but they're very short and don't interfere with the music.
Excellent song selection; some old, some new. Highly recommended!
CDs $15 + $3 s&h from The Time Jumpers. P.O. Box 148486, Nashville, TN
37214-8486 or www.thetimejumpers.com

THEY ALL WENT THAT A WAY
--Earl Gleason & the Bar-D Wranglers

I S O P

   These fellows make quite a team! The Bar-D Wranglers from Durango have long been known for their instrumental skills and rustic harmony.
On this new album, Earl Gleason's authentic cowboy voice now gets the great western backing it deserves.
    A number of tunes are new compositions. The title song is one of them and it's one of my favorites in this collection. It's a nostalgic tune about the cowboy stars of the silver screen, composed by Jerry Campbell. There are several other good new ones as well, my favorite among them being "Come Payday."
    For some time, Earl Gleason has been interested in preserving Western history. He focuses on local history, and you'll hear this reflected in some of the songs heard here, as in the one about a retired steam engine that was vital in the days when shipping cattle by rail was a dominant part of life in Magdalena. His passion for history probably influenced his choices of the traditional "Red River Valley" (a really
nice job on this one), "Old Chisolm Trail" (another good one) and "Press Along to the Old Corral" for this album.
    Earl Gleason and the Bar-D Wranglers: a good combination! Tapes $12,
CDs $14 ppd from Earl Gleason
P.O. Box 1871
Belen, NM 87002.

OK, I know you're gonna ask what it stands for so, against  my
better judgment, I'll tell you. These guys say it could stand for lots of things, but it really means Illegitimate Sons of the Pioneers. But WAIT! Read on! These guys are Great!!
    They're a trio with fantastic harmony and great solo work, and they concentrate on the old Western standards. I have no doubt that their heroes, the Sons of the Pioneers, would be proud.
    You know what you've got from the very first bars of "Cool Water," which leads off the 12 song CD. Accompaniment is sparse (as they say, heck, there's only three of them): bass and acoustic guitars.
    They have one gospel and one pop tune ("Paper Moon"),  presumably to demonstrate their versatility. They also have one original Western tune, but the rest are standards we all know. Even though you may have favorite versions by other performers, it will be hard not to like these fellows' work. Even though it's only their first album, I recommend it!
CDs $17.99, tapes $12.99 ppd from
ISOP
 P.O. Box 295,
Fairview, TN 37062

CALL HIM COWBOY
    -Brenn Hill
                                    Paras/RealWest RW 60002-2

TAKE ME BACK TO TULSA
    -Bob Wills
                        Sony Special Products A34084

    If you're wondering why all the fuss about Brenn Hill, you obviously haven't heard this new album. There's so much good music on it, I had a really tough time choosing  a favorite cut. The winner for me was "Nighthorse," with its loping rhythm.
    Obviously, there are several others I particularly enjoyed: "Greys River Road," "Powder River Queen," "Wyoming Wind,"  " Bitter Creek,""Roundup Fire,"  "Fall Comin' On" and the title song. With this many exceptionally good ones (there are 11 songs and 2 poems on the album), you can see why I had difficulty selecting one favorite!
    Brenn is still a young fellow, but he's ganing experience fast, having already appeared with Michael Martin Murphey, Red Steagall, Don Edwards, Ian Tyson and Chris LeDoux. He has talent beyond his years. His
style is contemporary, both acoustic and electronic. He includes a good number of cowboy love songs in his original repertoire (these love ballads are not really my cup o' tea, but no doubt they will make young cowgirls swoon).
    This young fellow is having an impact, and the praises being sung are well deserved. CDs are available from Four Winds Trading Co.,
 phone
1 (800) 456-5444 or
www.fourwinds-trading.com .

 If the new Bear Family Bob Wills boxed set of Columbia recordings (with 11 CDs & 1 DVD) is a little more than you can handle, try this 16 song CD. It contains some of Wills' classics like the title song, "Spanish Two-Step," "Beaumont Rag" and the 1938 version of "San Antonio Rose."
    But it also has some that are heard less frequently, like Bob
Nolan's "Way Out There," sung by Tommy Duncan and the boys, Johnny Bond's "Ten Years" (featuring Bob's big band sound) and "Got a Letter From My Kid Today."  Aficionados will be very familiar with these titles, but many fans won't know them, so they round out the collection nicely, i.e. it's not made up only of songs everyone has heard 100 times
before.
    Beautifully restored by Sony.
Try Collector's Choice at
1 (800) 923-1122.

SYMPHONIES OF THE SAGE
- Sons of the Pioneers
                                        Soundies/Bloodshot BS 808

 At two of the most critical junctures in their career, 1940/41 and 1952/53, the Sons of the Pioneers were remarkably under-recorded commercially. They made records, but far too few, as some of their very best  music was performed during those periods. Fortunately, in both
instances, they recorded numerous transcriptions for radio.
    This new CD is comprised of the legendary Orthacoustic
transcriptions from 1940-41, among the Pioneers' best work ever.  It's not a greatest hits collection. It's better than that!  You hear only the classic Pioneers trio: Bob Nolan, Tim Spencer and Lloyd Perryman, backed by Pat Brady (bass fiddle) and the Farr Brothers on fiddle and
guitar. There are no extra violins, no woodwinds, drums or horns.
    The classic versions of  "When Payday Rolls Around," "Coyote Serenade," "Good-bye to the Red River Valley" (none of which they ever recorded commercially) are here, along with gorgeous, rare versions of "Ridin' Down the Canyon," "The Old Barn Dance" and  "Trail Dreamin'."
Some of the Farr Bros.' best instrumentals, like "Swingin' the Bow," are included as well, accompanied by Perryman on rhythm guitar and Brady on bass.
    This may well be the best collection of the Sons of the Pioneers' work on a single CD, so you may want to pick up extra copies for friends. Don't miss it! Highly recommended! Check stores or call
Collector's Choice at (800) 923-1122 

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