People who have become disenchanted with country music complain that all of today's singers sound alike. Not so with Western! It's easy to tell one Western performer from the others.
 

Royal Wade Kimes stands out, with his unique voice and style. He's a seasoned composer, having written for Diamond Rio, Gene Watson and Garth Brooks. In fact, Garth wanted to participate in this cowboy project and sings a duet with Wade here on "Night Birds."

 Kimes composed or co-wrote all of the 12 songs on this CD. One is a "hidden" track, burned into the CD following song #11, without appearing as #12. It's called "In My Land," a song that received a hearty endorsement from Shoot! magazine as it conveys Wade's thoughts on bearing arms post 9-11.

Country Weekly hailed the album as being "packed with with cowboy songs that time-travel back to the Old West." But there are contemporary themes as well. Two of my favorites are among them, "Mile High Woman," about a Denver gal, and "Puttin' On," an amusing story of an unfortunate fellow whose bragging led him to an uncomfortable seat atop an angry bull in a rodeo chute. The titles "Good Guys (wore white hats)" and "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" are self-explanatory. And there's much more.
Available in Tower, Wal-Mart, etc. or at www.RoyalWadeKimes.com

Nothing is more important to the survival of Western music than instilling a love for it in the hearts of youngsters. Riders in the

Sky and Ernie Sites have devoted much of their careers to this, the Sons of the San Joaquin created a special award-winning learning program for California's school children, and a number of other artists recognize the importance of the young audience.

    K.G. & the Ranger have been giving youngsters high priority in their performances for a long time. Now, they've put their efforts on a CD, especially, albeit not exclusively, for kids.

    Kids'  Western music isn't all "kiddies"' music. There are some songs made especially for the youngest, of course, like "Rusty the Rocking Horse," "I'm a Cow Poke Pokin' Along" and Ranger Rick's title song, but it's important for children to be introduced to the classics as well. Here, we hear "Old Chisholm Trail," "Don't Fence Me In," "Home on the Range" and "Happy Trails," among others. So the listener gets a well-rounded "education."

    I enjoyed a couple of songs I don't recall hearing before, like Wilf Carter's "Yodeling Cowgirl," but "Whoopee Ti Yi Yo," with the Tenderfoot Chorale (ages 5-11) joining in enthusiastically, stole the show for me. Lots of fun, for $15 ppd (CD), $10 ppd (tape) from www.kgandtheranger.com or K.G. & the Ranger, 2517 Waunoma way, Madison, WI 53713

Rex Allen used to talk about how much he enjoyed Jimmy Wakely's music. Coming from the "Voice of the West," that's quite a compliment! It's great to see some of his exceptionally good (but unfortunately rare) work revived these days. There are a number of songs on this CD I'd never heard!

    Four of the 20 songs here come from early 40s Wakely Trio recordings, 2 of which are quite rare, and the title song is a real gem. His Capitol, Coral and Decca work is also represented, not with the mega-hits we all know, but with exceptionally good material. "Blue Bonnet Blues," "I've Got Nuggets in My Pocket," "Blue, Blue Eyes," "I'll Never Let You Go Little Darlin'," and "Out of Sight, Out of Mind," are good examples.  To illustrate Jimmy's versatility, Nelson Riddle's orchestra backs him on one song and Les Baxter's does on another!

    Only a few songs are Western per se, but many are performed in the style Wakely used when he sang on screen. The Sunshine Girls (including Colleen Summers, later to become Mary Ford) appear on "Give Me Wings Like an Angel" and "One Little Teardrop Too Late." This is an outstanding collection of rare Wakely material.

These Texans are still riding high after winning the AWA's 2001 Award for Western Swing Group of the Year.  This new album offers more of what has made their considerably large following of fans so happy. The not-so-secret ingredient is Western swing!

    There are 13 selections, 5 of which are instrumentals. For me, the instrumentals are the group's forte, but one of the vocals really grabbed me. It's an original by band member Tim Gregg, titled "My Heart Burns for You (Jalapeño Song)." I enjoy spicy food, so I had to stop and pay close attention to this one before going back to the instrumentals! I should mention, though, that Tim also wrote another fine tune called "Sweet Linda Lou."

    The instrumentals are both hot and sweet. The early jazz piece, "That's a-Plenty," stands out, with Ricky' hot fiddle and a great bass solo by Mark Lowe. The same can be said for the old classic, "Shine"---the whole band shines on this one (no pun intended).

    This group has done a remarkable job of garnering support from commercial sponsors, individuals and families who are credited on the liner for sponsoring individual songs on the album.  With fans like that, you can't go wrong! If you're wondering what all the fuss is about, you can find out by ordering a copy of this CD by phone (915-550-4013), and be sure to see their web site (www.texasmud.com).

New Mexico's favorite sons of Western swing have just completed another CD their fans will be plumb tickled with, in two senses. First, they're one of the area's most popular bands. And with a title (and sub-title) like this one, you already know you're in for some fun.

 People flock to listen and dance to the Swing Riders' music. So there's plenty here to keep those masses satisfied, and lots of fun along the way.

 Yodel fans and performers will love "Yodel Rodeo," a new addition to the yodel genre. But there's more here than novelty tunes. "Out in the Country" is an easy-going swing tune, "Cow Songs" relates the tale of an old-timer, "Daddy, Can You Hear Me?" was written for Syd's late dad and "Los Alamos Flames" is about the terrible fires that hit the West recently. Some nice, new originals, all by Syd except for one by Riders member Jared Putnam. The liner includes lyrics and a great fold-out photo of the band (on the moon, of course).

    Available from www.sydmasters.com but pick one up at a concert or dance if you get a chance.

This is a teriffic CD! As soon as I heard this trio harmonize on "He's a Cowboy," the upbeat song that leads off this collection, my ears perked up. I knew some exceptional music was in store.

     There are 11 songs in this collection, and one poem, "How Western Swing Was Born." The poem is positioned just before an easy-going Western swing tune called "Little Darlin'," which was co-written by two of the Sisters. They really are sisters, by the way! The musicians on this particular song are Hoot Hester's superb swing band, The Time Jumpers.

    All compositions were written by the Sisters themselves. There's not a weak song in the bunch. The poem is cute, but music is their forte, with great harmony their trademark. And the musicianship by Dave Palmeroy (bass), Joe Spivey (fiddles & acoustic guitars) and Jellyroll Johnson (harmonica) is excellent.

    This CD knocked me out! Don't miss it! As of this writing, they are selling the CD as a pre-release for $15. E-mail silversage@avon.net or phone (865) 982-1392.

Once in a long while I'll hear a new recording that just jumps out with "great" written all over it. Well, this is one of those.  It was hard for me to get past the title song---it's that good. But once you get into the album, there's plenty more waiting to be enjoyed.

    Lloyd's grandfather was a Texas Ranger. His parents are still ranching, and the love for his roots comes through clearly in his music. But there's more than sincerity here. This cowboy is talented!

    The album is not entirely acoustic---it's got a contemporary feel to it, while remaining true to the tradition. There's a combination of new material, some of which is outstanding, and classics like "Colorado Trail," "Take Me Back to My Boots and Saddle" and "Timber Trail."

    My favorite of all the good ones on the CD, is the upbeat title song, co-written with Coyote Jack, but he does a super job on all the others, too, especially "...Boots and Saddle" and "Long, Hard Ride" (and the list could go on and on). Available from Lloyd Morris, 1500 Caudill, College Station, TX 77840