Customer Reviews

Cowboy Songs

5 star:		(27)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

Cowboys on horseback is generally not a part of the Philippine cultural landscape, past or present. But one does not have to be a cowboy blazing the trails to appreciate Michael Martin Murphey's music.

Cowboy Songs is one of those albums where the listener is hard pressed to pick a particular favorite due to the simple fact that all the selections here are just so good. The all-star musicianship is simply great, the instruments sounding clear and crisp in full stereo.

Michael gives justice to such cowboy standards like 'Home On The Range', 'Red River Valley', 'Streets Of Laredo', 'Tumbling Tumbleweeds' and 'Yellow Rose Of Texas'. Though much covered by many earlier artists before him - i.e. Marty Robbins, Willie Nelson, just to name a few - these songs are in good hands, Michael Martin Murphey's.

One can't help but laugh at the crooked and down-to-earth reasoning in 'Cowboy Logic' and the funny but truthful reality in 'Where Do Cowboys Go When They Die/Reincarnation' (Do I really end up as a 'fertilizer' when I die instead of finding myself in heaven!) At the same time, one can't help but be moved by 'When The Work's All Done This Fall', a tale of a young cowboy longing to go home to see his mother who did not live to see his wish come true when he was trampled to death by a stampeding herd one lightning-filled night.

I am tempted to say my piece about each of the selections but that's going too far! Let me just say that this compilation of cowboy songs is too good to be true, a smorgasbord of fantastic sounds that will surely tickle the ears even of the most sophisticated listener.

Come, let's hit the road and ride along with Michael Martin Murphey!

When I first discovered this collection in about 1991, as a result of an Austin City Limits show where Murphey did his Wild West show, I thought I'd rediscovered my childhood. With the exception of several "modern" cowboy songs such as Ian Tyson's "Cowboy Pride", Murph's "Let the Cowboy Dance", and his hit recording of "Cowboy Logic", these are mostly traditional cowboy songs with roots to the 19th century. Featured are great productions of "The Old Chisholm Trail", "The Streets of Laredo", "Texas Rangers", "Goodbye Old Paint", "Red River Valley", and about 11 other tunes that almost all of us from my generation learned and sang in elementary school.

Anyone looking only for traditional cowboy songs may be better served by picking Don Edwards' "Saddle Songs" collection or Murphey's own "Cowboy Classics: Playing Favorites 2", also currently available. However, this CD belongs in everyone's collection as the basis for building a "western" music cumulation around. The Sons of the San Joaquin, Don Edwards, Red Steagall, Tammy Wynette and Suzy Boguss share vocals on this CD and are joined by Joey Miskulin's extremely tasteful contributions on the accordian, or "stomach Steinway".

All in all, a marvelous recording. Buy it!

This is a GREAT Album. The songs are classic's to the western world. If you have a love for country music with a twist in it, this is the one for you. Cowboy Logic song is GRAND!!! No other song like it I can say. And the other songs are jsut as great. Once you get these songs in your head, you will be humming the tunes all day long. Murphey is a great artist, but I think this album is the best out of all the other ones he has. If you going to buy a cd from Murphey, Let it be this one cause it's worth every penny. Cowboy Up everyone!!!
Spooker

just quick note: you are showing michael martin murphey as born in 1938....check your records, he was bor on march 14, 1945. he was the president of my freshman class at north texas university in denton texas in 1963...he's not 62 years old...only 55

One thing that I noticed was overlooked in the posted reviews was the seamless performance of the band. If you have a chance to hear this CD, but especially if you have the chance to see the PBS video you will see what I am saying. The fiddle performance is absolutley awesome. Some of the best bowing that can be found today in terms of smoothness. And the chord shifts are really, really, good. And the seldome used accordion (in todays bands) is a hit addition as many of the simplier groups used such an instrument through the 30's to the 60's. Tops! All are on the same scale as the Grammy winning performers of Asleep at the Wheel. Enjoy the music!

Although I do not usually listen to Country Music this album grabbed me as a nostalgic and somewhat historical glimpse into the lives of Cowboys in the old west. Many of the titles on the album are songs handed down through time. Songs rooted deep into the frontier cattle industry that are given new life and vitality by the talented Michael Murphy.

I wish that, just once, Michael Martin Murphey or Ian Tyson or someone would record an album of ONLY old-time cowboy songs instead of mixing in contemporary pieces. MMM can perform the oldies as well as anyone--he's really very good at capturing the authentic flavor but with fresh interpretations and the advantages of modern recording technology. Yet, I seldom like the new pieces, and (for me, at least) they dilute the core repertoire that I buy the CD for. I especially dislike "cute" songs such as "Cowboy Logic." I know, I know, I can always set my CD player to skip the offending tracks, but why should I have to bother? So many CD producers approach the disc as if it were a concert, with a variety of styles to show the performer's versatility, some attempts at comic relief, and some nerve-jangling juxtapositions to make sure the audience is awake. I would rather be able to listen to a CD that is consistent throughout so that it entirely fits whatever mood caused me to pick it off the shelf. Won't someone PLEASE record a golden oldies cowboy CD? Is that asking so much?