Customer Reviews

Under Western Skies

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Marty Robbins had a remarkably varied career, singing everything from mainstream country to Hawaiian music with equal aplomb. His most engaging work, however, was with Western music. Whether writing his own material or interpreting traditional favorites and contemporary classics, Marty was clearly at home on the range. Now, Bear Family has gathered every western song Marty ever cut into one terrific box set. The price tag may be a bit off-putting to casual fans, but anyone who has worn out a copy of Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs will be delighted to find that almost every track on each of the four CDs included here is of that same high quality. More importantly, this set is the only way to get the majority of these tracks. Once you do get them, you almost assuredly will not regret having spent the extra dough.

I bought this box set several years ago, listened to it a couple of times, then put it on the shelf where it sat waiting to be played occasionally. Today I dusted it off and played it from beginning to end while catching up on paperwork.
What a bunch of great songs! Native Arizonan Robbins really is at his best when singing songs of the old west, his golden voice being perfectly suited to the genre. I am not sure if "all" of Marty's western songs are contained in this four CD set, but it must be substantially complete. There are songs of love, songs of good vs. evil, spiritual songs, and songs that glorify the simple life and the beauty of the wide open spaces. There are songs that nod to the Spanish/Mexican heritage of the Southwest and others that sing the praises of the cowboy and the gringo interloper who came to conquer and tame a wild and beautiful land. Perhaps the only song that doesn't really fit the theme of the set is the last song on the last CD, Shotgun Rider.

Now, on any project of this magnitude, there are bound to be a few dogs like the song just mentioned and a few songs that are merely weak. Marty had a tendency to go back to El Paso for inspiration, it was after all his greatest hit. And the listener will notice that on perhaps a half dozen songs. But beyond that, the purchase of this box set will buy you many hours of listening bliss.

This is an excellent collection. Most of the famous country songs by Marty. His voice backed on wonderfull guitars and chorus is really something you cannot miss. I enjoy this album a lot.

I first listened to this splendid album while visiting friends that live just outside of Tucson. Knowing of my passion for "The Last Cowboy Songs" (that tune actually sung by Ed Bruce), they brought it out and we sat lost in it as it played in the background during the entire evening. This album of campfire and gunfighter "stories set to music" is, without reservation what I consider to be the best of the best of the genre. Marty Robbins had a beautiful, lilting voice, enhanced by a touch of power, a touch of sorrow. Two of the songs that were sung to me in my childhood that I could never forget and that I had searched for for years appear on this set - "Billy Venero", the song of love, selflessness and death of a cowhand determined to save his sweetheart from the hand of the Apaches during the time of the old Southwest Indian wars. Another, "Restless Cattle" is a hauntingly lonely ballad telling of the relationship between the cowboy and the cattle that made up his universe - it was not a "job" to them - it was their chosen life.

There is only a rare handful of talents the size of Marty Robbins and it takes a special breed to bring this kind of music to life; it must come from the heart. The entire album is filled with memories spun out of tragedy and triumph, tales of saddle tramps and heroes, impossible love lost and yearned after; love and respect for the horse; and reminders of the time gone by. "The Strawberry Roan", "Cool Water", "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" and of course, "Streets of Laredo" are some of the enduring classics interspersed with the lesser known but nonetheless enchanting in their own right songs that Marty Robbins brought to immortality by his unerring ear for music and the selection of the right pieces.

"Under Western Skies", a boxed set, offering dozens of ballads by Marty Robins, was a rare find for me. I had been searching for a particular ballad "Dusty Winds" by Marty Robins for many months when I found it listed among the dozens of titles on this boxed set. I am happy I failed to find the ballad as a single title. I have truly enjoyed listening to the endless ballads this boxed set offers... many of which I enjoyed as a youngster.
Thanks, Amazon, for offering home shoppers an opportunity to find rare treasures with the click of a mouse.

I was a little put off by the price, but it is worth every penny. 5 stars are not enough. The booklet with the lyrics to all of the songs is excellent. You will note a few of the tunes like El Paso and San Angelo appear a couple of times. Different versions were brought out at different times. They're all here!!!! Wish
Devil Woman would have been included though.

It was time to move from a rag-tag set of tattered Robbins' LPs to digital. This Bear Family 4-disc set seems to be an exhaustive collection of his western ballads including multiple versions of El Paso (long mono and short stereo). The re-mastering is excellent. I didn't specially want the handsome box or nice booklet, but those might be important for others.

To complement this set I got the 2-disc The Essential Marty Robbins which includes the other aspect of Robbins' music, like Devil Woman and A White Sport Coat. It also has quite a few of the western ballads, but not enough for me.

If you liked Marty Robbins this is for you. It is good with a lot of his great songs.

I like Marty Robbins. Songs about the Old West are fascinating whether they are based on fact or fiction. Every song is about a challenge which has to be met and Marty Robbins uses his voice, back up singers, words and orchestration to paint the picture. The music is not complex but easily remembered so you can find yourself humming/whistling the tunes from the collection. Great songs to dance to as well.

I have thoroughly been enjoying this CD Set. It brings back to memory so much the Country I love and miss.