Republic Years

Sons Of The Pioneers | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 3, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Varese Sarabande
• ASIN: B000I2IQE2
• Also Available in: Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #130,596 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. My Saddle Pals and I [From "Heldorado"]

2. Silver Spurs, Purple Sage, Eyes of Blue [From "Heldorado"]

3. The Everlasting Hills of Oklahoma [From "Home in Oklahoma"]

4. Rainbow Over Texas [From "Rainbow Over Texas"]

5. My Adobe Hacienda [From "The Old Spanish Trail"]

6. Cowboy Country [From "The Gay Ranchero"]

7. I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande) [From "King of the Cowboys"]

8. Medley: When It's Springtime in the Rockies/Tumbling Tumbleweeds/H ...

9. Mexicali Rose [From "Song of Texas"]

10. Git Along Little Dogies (Whoopee Ti Yi Yo) [From "Song of Texas"]

11. Don't Fence Me In [From "Don't Fence Me In"]

12. The Utah Trail [From "Utah"]

13. The Cowboy Jubilee [From "Lights of Old Santa Fe"]

14. Ride 'Em Cowboy [From "Lights of Old Santa Fe"]

15. Lights of Old Santa Fe [From "Lights of Old Santa Fe"]

16. It's an Old Spanish Custom [From "Spoilers of the Plains"]

17. Ride, Ranger, Ride [From "King of the Cowboys"]

18. The Lonesome Cowboy Blues [From "Utah"]

19. Red River Valley [From "King of the Cowboys"]

20. On the Old Spanish Trail [From "On the Old Spanish Trail"]

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Republic Years w/ Roy Rogers, March 26, 2007

By 

K. M. Alley "Grandpa" (Northern California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Republic Years (Audio CD)

The Sons of the Pioneers with Roy Rogers did not disappoint me at all with this CD. Considering the age of the original recordings of this music (about 60 years ago), the sound quality is not bad at all. I was actually quite pleased. The western flavored songs/music are lots of fun to listen to and remind me of the old west B&W movies and shows from the 1940's and 1950's era. You can almost smell the sage and feel the trail dust when listenng to these tunes. If you are a real fan of the Sons of the Pioneers and/or Roy Rogers, then I think you would probably enjoy this CD. This is most suitable for the nostalgia types but not those that favor the new modern country singers of the present time.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Be careful, Part 2, January 9, 2009

By 

A. B. Crockett "woodpeckerman" (Colorado USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Republic Years (Audio CD)

I recently reviewed the "Under Western Skies" disc of Sons of the Pioneers (SOP) with Roy Rogers, and gave that CD only 3 stars, primarily because it really isn't the SOP music I've come to love, and which most readers would be expecting. The same is true of this disc -- even 3 stars being too generous -- because only about half of the tracks include the SOP at all (Roy Rogers with solo guitar or some other ensemble, and two tracks with a female vocalist). Also, the recording quality is awful. Many of the tracks are very poor fidelity, probably because they were recorded directly from the original soundtracks of movies dating from the mid-1940s (according to the liner notes). A few tracks are virtually unlistenable, with an annoying "tick, tick, tick" that sounds like an old vinyl 78. Even the half of the tracks that include the SOP are mostly weak, being excerpts from goofy "singing cowboy" movies. I would think that this disc would be of interest primarily to historical movie/record buffs who are used to poor sound and corny songs.

All of this is too bad, because the disc has two lovely pieces: the best version I've heard of "Everlasting Hills of Oklahoma" (regretably not on other extant compilations, and with unidiomatic flute accompaniment on the now-deleted "RCA Early Years"), and "Lights of Old Santa Fe." These two tracks have nice melodies, gently rocking tempos, decent lyrics, and the kind of tight harmonies we've come to expect from SOP.

My advice is to buy it, if you must, from a discount dealer so you don't feel quite as ripped off as I do.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars There's something about that "sound", September 6, 2010

By 

S. Dawes "symphonic" (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Republic Years (Audio CD)

Here's a collection that is sure to please any fan of Roy Rogers and/or the Sons of the Pioneers. These recordings are drawn directly from the Republic Pictures "B" westerns featuring Roy and company. Some of the material is quite familiar, while other tracks are on the obscure side. Overall this record from the wonderful folks at Varese Sarabande presents an enjoyable set of tunes filled with impeccable harmonies, and that oh-so-golden voice of Roy Rogers.

The sound quality of these selections ranges from "surprisingly good for their age" to "archival with minor distortion." It really doesn't matter, as flaws in fidelity should be expected. In fact, the aged tone of these performances actually adds an extra element of charm and nostalgia. This single release is, of course, not a definitive representation of the legendary group. There are much better anthologies out there for the devoted fan of SOTP and the King of the Cowboys. This offering should serve rather as a little extra and welcome icing on the cake. And to be sure, this icing is very sweet!