The New Christy Minstrels - Cowboys and Indians [Bonus Tracks]

All Music Guide

Cowboys and Indians (1964) presents a turning point in the New Christy Minstrels saga. After less than three years, the extended aggregate had already undergone six respective personnel shifts, with another on the way. By early 1964, cofounder Randy Sparks was out amid controversy that he essentially sold the New Christy Minstrels' name to his two business partners, splitting without even consulting his bandmates. While the new "owners" of the Minstrels sustained the combo in the same way as Sparks had done, the influence and infusion of electric folk or folkrock was obvious. However, the dozen entries on Cowboys and Indians (1964) didn't close the gap between traditional folk and the new breed of pop acts such as the Byrds, or at least as much as they would on their subsequent longplayers. Rather, the two surviving New Christy Minstrels, Nick Woods and Art Podell, chose to focus on melodies and arrangements harking back to the sound of America's deeprooted pioneering spirit. Woods als...o enlisted the team of Vivian Holtzman and Scott Holtzman, who quickly supplied the Christys with an update of the standard "Ida Red" and the amusing novelty "They Gotta Quit Kickin' My Dog Around." The latter especially played well in personal appearances thanks to the keen comedic timing of Clarence Treat. More conventional are the lilting Paul Potashsung "Red River Shore" from the songbook of Alan Lomax and the Sydney Robinpenned old west musical fable "Ambush at Teton Pass." Perhaps the most interesting nonband tune is the lighthearted Burt Bacharach cocomposition "Three Wheels on My Wagon" providing a bit of frivolity against the hauntingly and moody "Lily Langtry" or the Native American ode "Navajo." The 2004 Collectors' Choice reissue of Cowboys and Indians boasts 11 supplementary sides that are being made available on CD for the first time. Notable among the lot is "Gotta Get aGoin'," which would become the Christys' unofficial live anthem. Plus, a handful of numbers worked up for the band's stint at the 1964 New York World's Fair, including "Silly 'Ol Summertime" and "Same Ol' Huckleberry Finn." Enthusiasts will be particularly pleased with the North American domestic release of four Italiansung tracks pressed for European markets and a few added outtakes that had remained formerly vaulted. - Lindsay Planer, All Music Guide Read more Less