Bottom Line:There's few artists or groups in the world as much fun as Riders in the Sky are. These guys are
delightfully talented, enormously entertaining, and have won more awards than just about
anyone out there - and they do it all singing hardcore country-western of the likes of this disc, a
marvelous re-issue of their, yes, award-winning 1996 release. With this new disc comes all the
original tracks, plus four bonus tracks, and new liner notes. So saddle up with Ranger Doug
("Idol of American Youth"), Too Slim, Woody Paul, and Joey "The Cowpolka King" - as well as
Gene Autry - and head out for the open range.
The re-issue of this disc is timed in concert with the 100th Anniversary of Gene Autry's birth (September 29, 1907), but there's never a bad time to sit back and enjoy a Riders in the Sky CD. They're as comfortable & as welcoming as the lamp hanging on the porch at the end of a long trail ride. They're just about the only fellas out there who not only stick to tradition, they cling to it like burrs to fetlocks (& there's a Western phrase for you). But never, ever let their Marty-McFly-style Cowboy Gear and their comedic routines fool you - these guys can yodel out some of the prettiest harmonic music you've ever heard from anyone, anywhere. They are more than worthy to sing the songs of perhaps the greatest of the singing cowboys, Gene Autry. Because when these boys sing about "The Cowboy Way," they're talking about, of course, the cowboys of myth and legend, those heroes of the silver screen, who wore white hats and took care of the bad guys and sang a love song to a purty gal and then rode off into the sunset - & as Mr. Scott (Carleton Young) said to Ransom Stoddard (Jimmy Stewart), "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend." If you're not sure where that quote comes from, then you need to get your cowboy up!
Listening for a while will take you back to that carefree time, which, of course, we can enjoy a lot more in misty nostalgia than in person. That's the joy of memory, & the power of legend. Trouble is, of course, even the legend is getting lost in that mist, so it's up to boys like the Riders to keep us reminded of it, keep those flashy cowboy shirts and ten-gallon hats.
Gene Autry missed his centennial by a little less than a decade, since he rode off to that great
cattle ranch in the sky back in 1998. But he got to hear the first release of this disc, and it got Gene's big thumbs-up of approval. It gets mine, too. These are great old songs, sung by a great group, and it just can't get much better than this. Ranger Doug, Too Slim, and Woody Paul are so magnificent together, their smooth voices blending perfectly on Autry's most enduring and well-beloved songs, like his theme, "Back in the Saddle Again," "You Are My
Sunshine," "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" "South of the Border," and, of course, "That Silver-Haired Daddy of Mine." Many of these are naturally already
staples of the Riders in the Sky live show; it seemed obvious they had to record 'em sooner or later, and why not on a disc dedicated to one of their greatest influences?
One of the bonus tracks is the song that gave the band their name, "Riders in the Sky (A Cowboy Legend)," which most of us know today by the more common title, "(Ghost) Riders in the Sky," as sung by folks like Vaughn Monroe, Johnny Cash, Bing Crosby, and many others; Gene Autry sang it in the movie of the same name. There is joy in this disc, not just the music, but in the happiness you can hear in every note when the Riders sing a song. And these songs? Well, that's just joy compounded. The West lives. Whoopie-ti-yi-yay!
Song List:
- Back In The Saddle Again
- Sioux City Sue
- Mexicali Rose
- You Are My Sunshine
- Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?
- Can't Shake The Sands Of Texas From My Shoes
- That Silver Haired Daddy Of Mine
- Be Honest With Me
- Blue Canadian Rockies
- Lonely River
- South Of The Border
- Ridin' Down The Canyon
- Take Me Back To My Saddle - (Bonus Track)
- Last Roundup, The - (Bonus Track)
- Riders In The Sky (A Cowboy Legend) - (Bonus Track)
- Tumbling Tumbleweeds - (Bonus Track)
