1. Big Iron
2. Cool Water
3. Billy The Kid
4. Hundred And Sixty Acres
5. They're Hanging Me Tonight
6. Strawberry Roan
7. El Paso
8. In The Valley
9. Master's Call
10. Running Gun
11. Little Green Valley
12. Utah Carol
Music to have gunfights by, most assuredly. This album came out during an era where westerns made up approximately 95% percent of all television, and that's definitely reflected in the subject matter. I'm pretty sure all of these songs were reenacted through Gunsmoke episodes at some point. It's another country album, but once again flying in the face of my flagrant blue state bias against country it's not terrible! In fact, it's a lot like the Louvin Brothers album I reviewed here but with a good deal more cheeriness and pop flair. In fact, 'El Paso' was the first #1 hit of the 60s on the Billboard charts!
This record is pretty much how I imagine all those old 50s westerns would've been like. All exaggerated characters and gunfights breaking out every 20 minutes. Much like Tragic Songs of Life, stories about desperation and jealousy abound. Particularly amusing is 'The Master's Call', a tale of a man who turns to religion after God almost nukes the bastard with lightning (this must be the Old Testament God here). Sure, it may be a tad kitschy and overwrought, but look at the cover of this thing!
The production is a lot more polished than I like my country records to be, complete with oh-so-50s backing vocals (I can't wait to get rid of those, though I have to admit they work well here), but these songs are all well played and the lyrics are generally interesting enough to make you pay close attention most of the time. Sure, it can drag on a bit, but what 50s album doesn't? I'd take this over Elvis any day. 8/10
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