Cowboy Songs

Michael Martin Murphey | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 13, 1990)
• Original Release Date: August 21, 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Warner Bros / Wea
• ASIN: B000002LME
• Also Available in: Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,895 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #12 in Music > Country > Cowboy
  • #28 in Music > Country > Outlaw Country
  • #35 in Music > Country > Neotraditional

Editorial Reviews

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: MURPHEY,MICHAEL MARTIN
Title: COWBOY SONGS
Street Release Date: 08/21/1990
Domestic
Genre: COUNTRY

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This album offers a real taste of cowboy music., September 27, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Cowboy Songs (Audio CD)

This was the first Michael Martin Murphy album I purchased. The songs on this album cover a wide spectrum of cowboy songs, real Western music which is distinctly different from Country music. Some of the songs evoke real deep emotions, the kind that a cowboy would experience whether he was alone on the trail, riding a cattledrive or in a frontier town where anything could happen. The album contains a lot of favourites like Tumbling Tumbleweeds and Happy Trails. It has a few that have become favourites. There are a couple that will make you laugh like Cowboy Logic and especially Where Do Cowboys Go When They Die/Reincarnation. Murphy is accompanied by many well know artists and the album insert has a small writeup on each song revealing some very interesting information about the songs development and history. Murphy has a easy listening quality to his music and has given me reason to buy three of his other albums. Cowboy Songs III, Cowboy Songs IV and Sagebrush Symphony. I am currently looking for his Christmas album which is Cowboy Songs II. I've learned that there is a lot more to Michael Martin Murphy since I first heard Wildfire back in the 70's and I would recommend his music to anyone who appreciates the real music of the west.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A career defining album and reinvention, December 2, 2004

By 

Martin W. Ward (Littleton, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cowboy Songs (Audio CD)

Murphey has always been a cowboy...his second solo album was titled based on his classic song "Cosmic Cowboy." But early in his career his cosmic cowboy persona was a modernizing of the cowboy myth, a guy as he said could work cattle in the day and discuss philosophy in the night. This album was a return to his western roots, a tribute to the cowboy myth. And a very effective tribute it is. A mix of new songs celebrating the cowboy lifestyle and traditional cowboy songs, the album is very effective and is not only a highlight of Murphey's career but a good introduction to western songs. The booklet is almost scholarly in it's description of the history of the traditional songs. However, it is not dry, but a very entertaining and detailed filled stories behind the songs. Very highly recommended.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The revival of cowboy music began here, May 25, 2003

By 

Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Cowboy Songs (Audio CD)

Cowboy songs existed before country music and became popular with a wider public in the thirties and forties because of their use in western movies. Marty Robbins and others continued to record them, but they gradually faded into obscurity. With this album, Michael revived the old songs and renewed public interest in them.

The set opens with the brilliant Cowboy logic, a song about the way cowboys think and ends with Happy trails, a Roy Rogers classic. In between, there are many cowboy classics, including Tumbling tumbleweeds, The old Chisholm trail, Home on the range, Yellow rose of Texas, Red river valley, Streets of Laredo, Bury me not on the lone prairie and Goodbye old paint.

Michael contributes three of his own songs, What I am I doing here, Let the cowboy dance and Where do cowboys go when they die  all of a high quality. He also covers Cowboy pride, a song written by Ian Tyson, a Canadian singer who has also demonstrated his love of cowboy music by recording several albums of western songs.

If you already enjoy cowboy songs, you will love this. If you are new to the music, this is the best place to start. The two follow-up albums  Cowboy songs II (A Cowboy Christmas) and Cowboy songs III (another collection similar to this) maintain the standard, while another of Michaels albums, Horse legends, may also interest you, though most of the songs are unconnected with cowboys. Cowboy music fans wishing to explore further should investigate Ian Tysons music.