Customer Reviews

Cowboy Songs 3

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the album that introduced me to 3M back in 1994 when I couldn't decide with last album to get from one of those clubs where you get 10 for a penny or something like that. There is tradional sounding cowboy songs like Strawberry Roan and Birmingham Jail that sound timeless. There is also some songs that rock like "The West Is Gonna Get Wilder" and the title cut "Rhymes Of The Renegades" that are so well written and produced that they could be considered either Cowboy, Country or Pop music. The album is also very generous with a "full" CD of music where may artists only put 30 minutes where this one is over an hour. Michael is a fine singer-songwriter who doesn't get the airplay that he deserves. Keep up the good work Michael!

This mix of traditional cowboy songs and contemporary compositions with a wild west theme is my favorite MMM release.
As a general rule, I like my cowboy ballads done with only a male voice and a guitar, but on this disc, MMM's adornments usually work quite well. The "duet" with the late Marty Robbins on "Big Iron" works surprisingly well, and MMM's version of "El Paso" is almost as good as Marty's original...a distant almost, but a worthy imitation. Even better are: "Billy the Kid", "Billy Gray" and "Strawberry Roan". While "The Ballad of Jesse James" is good, his rendition of "Frank James' Farewell" is even better. "Cole Younger" and "Sam Bass" are high-quality, but the one I wanted to hear most often is "Belle Starr." Another reviewer mentioned that he did not think that song held up well to repeated listenings, but for me it does. Michael wrote this, and he crams so many facts into his verses that it is amazing he could keep it so musical. It is very close to the quality of Woody Guthrie's great ballads, "Tom Joad" and "East Texas Red." Not as dramatic as those, of course, but still a fine achievement. If you like songs about the old west's badmen, you will find this CD worthwhile. If you just like MMM, but have limited yourself to his pop and country hits from the 1970's, try out this item for another side of a fine musician.

I was 20 years old when I first met MMM. I was a student at that times. One day, when I was passing by a music market I heard a cowboy song playing. I asked who's singing this song. The salesman said "He's Michael Martin Murphey. This cassette is very well. I recommend you to buy it." As I like cowboy songs, I bougth it.
Now I'm 35 years old and still MMM is my favorite singer.
In fact, once I used to have this "Cowboy songs 3" audio cassette. But it's become deformed and out of use by the heat of the sun. I wanted to buy a new one but I could not find it in Turkey.That's why I ordered this cassette.
The songs are really very well. Especially Big Iron is the best for me.

Thanks to MMM.

I bought this album because I wanted to hear Marty Robbins' voice again. It turned out that "Big Iron" was just one gem in this collection of western stories set to music. Robbins' fans should enjoy not only the classics Marty first made famous, but all of this album's cuts. The duets are also great pairings that one might not normally associate together, but blend very well.

I loved the original "Cowboy Songs" by MMM, but I was a little disappointed in the style he recorded some of the songs on this cd; these songs remind me a little bit of "Pop Country Music", not the way you would hear an old cowboy sing them. I like the all the songs on this cd, just put a little more "cowboy" sound to them. I do however recommend this cd, just beware that it may not be quite what you are expecting.

Cowboy music was given a massive boost when Michael recorded several albums in the nineties full of cowboy songs. Not since the heyday of Marty Robbins had any singer had any singer been so successful with such music.

Marty's influence is evident from Big iron, the opening track, a duet between Michael and Marty made possible by modern studio techniques - Marty died in 1982, ten or eleven years before this album was recorded. Michael also covered Marty's classic cowboy song, El Paso.

Several cowboys are the subject of songs here - Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Frank James, Cole Younger and Sam Bass. Michael recognises women's contribution to the old west with Belle star (generally described as a brazen hussy, according to Michael's interesting notes) and Queen of heartaches.

Strawberry roan is a great song about a rodeo horse. Riders in the sky has been covered many times, but Michael's version is among the best.

If you enjoy this album, you will also enjoy his original Cowboy songs album, and the Christmas album Cowboy songs 2.

I loved this cd. I have the other volumes of Murphey's Cowboy Songs trilogy, and this one was my favorite. I especially loved the new songs "Sonora's Death Row" and "Roses and Thorns." Michael Martin Murphey has singlehandedly re-awakened the popularity of Western music with this series, and if you like the genre, you should try this cd and the other volumes.

Ballads of Jessee James, Cole Younger,Belle Star and others are done with accuracy and style. Strawberry Roan done with Chris LaDeoux is the best ever recording of this old favorite. The West is going to get wilder is so wild you'll wear out the CD in the middle!

Once again, Murphey resurrects cowboy classics. Many deal with the exploits of legends of the West, both the "white hats" and the "black hats". If you've enjoyed MMM's early recordings of cowboy songs, this is a natural. If you didn't enjoy the earlier collections, you've got a loose connection somewhere and you'd better get it checked out. On this CD, Murph is joined by various guest artists who contribute a nice touch to the finished product.

I bought this as a result of "Cowboy Songs" and "Cowboy Songs II" and haved played it over and over. Overall, it holds up well to repeated listening and is usually in my "travelling collection" of CDs that I take with me on the road.

I got the CD it was new still in the plastic so the quilty was really really good. I will make purchases again from this seller.