Various Artists - Western Cowboy Ballads & Songs 1925-1939 / Various (CD)

All Music Guide

The Frémeaux Associés release Western Cowboy Ballads and Songs 1925-1939 compiles the early recordings of all the famous cowboy songs one would expect plus plenty more which never rooted into American popular culture of the era as deeply. "The Gal I Left Behind Me," "Cattle Call," "Home on the Range," and "Oh Suzannah" are all collected here alongside the amazing performance by the Sons of the Pioneers of the dark, yet joyous, "Hold That Critter Down" and Powder River Jack Lee's humorous and cocky run-through of "Tying a Knot in the Devil's Tail." This set is put together nicely in that the first disc in the set of two is devoted to actual singing cowboys such as J.D. Farley and Jules Verne Allen, while the second disc is devoted to the stars of the early Hollywood Westerns like Gene Autry, Patsy Montana, and Roy Rogers providing a nice compact study showing how much influence authentic cowboys had on the music moviegoers heard from the musical Westerns with which the culture was so o...bsessed at the time. - Gregory McIntosh, All Music Guide Read more Less