Customer Reviews

Heroes & Cowboys

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At last! I've been looking for Johnny Western's "The Gunfighter" album since 1972 - and finally I found it, as part of Disc 1 of "Heroes and Cowboys". Western, best known for his greatest (and only) hit, "The Ballad of Paladin," has a rolling baritone that suits the cowboy-song genre, and most of the cuts from "Gunfighter" are very well done. [My personal favorite - after "Paladin," of course - is "Nineteen Men," a classic flee-the-posse number, although Western's version of the theme song from "The Searchers" is also excellent. And then there's "Hannah Lee," the most cheerful and upbeat song that I've ever heard about a hanging...]

The rest of this collection includes more recent recordings of the old songs and a few new ones, and also contains selections of Western hosting and/or guesting on old radio shows. Sound quality varies, but I found it interesting to have the whole range of Western's vocals (and choice of song styles) in one collection.

Other notable features: the collection includes three different versions of "The Ballad of Paladin," including the first one, which was written and recorded by Western as a "thank you" to the producer of "Have Gun, Will Travel" for allowing him to guest-star in one episode. The producer loved it; so did Richard Boone. When it was released as a single, the B-side featured Boone narrating (drily) "The Guns of Rio Muerto" (also in this collection - check out the audio clip), with Western providing an incongruously jolly refrain.

If you like Western - or westerns - you might enjoy this collection. I'm delighted with it!

What a wonderful selection of cowboy and western music from movies and TV. This Great Collection can be enjoyed by all age groups. Thank you for the thought and planning that went into this must have collection.

I bought this for my sister. I was extremely happy with the service I received and my sister LOVED the product.