56 June/July 2011 AmericanCowboy.com

Reviews

Jim “Curly”MusgraveFather to FatherCurly J Productions;curlymusgrave.comThese inspirational songs from the late Musgrave—most from previous albums, a few newly released—speak the lingo of a puncher who saw the sunrise from the back of a good cow pony and touched some of life’s truth. It’s spirit-fi lled but not preachy, just like Curly himself. —C.E.

WYLIE AND THE WILD WESTRaven on the WindTwo Medicine Music; wyliewebsite.com

Casting a 60-foot rawhide riata, Wylie Gustafson rounds up lilting melodies, reggae beats, polka tempos,

and even some rippin’ Rolling Stones riffs on Raven on the Wind, his 17th album. There are no corrals here to separate tra-

ditional sounds from edgy ones—loud and raucous is bunched with soft and sweet, and all get dragged to the fi re for Gustafson’s

unique Cross-3 brand. Far from being a mixed bag, however, this excellent new album is united by top-notch musicianship

and Gustafson’s desire to keep pushing the needle with re-gard to Western music.

“We’re trying to put a little bit of a new energy behind cowboy music,” Gustafson says of his latest effort. “Bluegrass is a good example of a traditional music that found itself in the ’70s. The fi rst decade or so

was spent searching out where the tradition came from. But then the next couple decades were, ‘Where is bluegrass music going?’ I think it’s time for cowboy music to search its boundaries.

“I know there’s young kids out there that want to hear something different,” he continues. “We’re trying to give this younger crowd a reason to enjoy cowboy music and love it and embrace it just like the generations ago did.”

The mad bard of Montana, lyricist Paul Zarzyski, has been a regular on Wylie’s albums for years. The two pair up to compose one third of the songs on Raven, and it shows in the provocative, poetic sensibility of songs like

“The Maestro”: “She’s the high wire / Bird of the swing saxophone / The haunting long howl of Hendrix guitar /The fl aming arpeggio of Chopin’s piano / She’s the mis-tress, the maestro of e-ro-ti-ca.”

But perhaps Raven on the Wind—and Wylie’s career for that matter—is best summed up by the bridge from “Punchy,” the album’s opening track: “Come on, come on. He’s gotta sing that song … and it’s funky. Hey hey

hey hey. He gotta do it his own way ... and it’s punchy.” —Charley Engel

The Texas TrailhandsCowboy Swing 2TTT Records; texastrailhands.comThis talented Fort Worth quintet has garnered many top awards, and their latest release illustrates why. It’s fi lled with toe-tappin’, fi nger-snappin’, feel-good Western ditties that showcase expert musicianship, as on “Gold Minor Swing.” The lyrics are reminiscent of 1940s classics. —C.E.

Johnny CashBootleg Vol. II: From Memphis to HollywoodColumbia Records; columbiarecords.comThis two-disc collection of rare and unreleased recordings, many of them drawn from Cash’s own archives, offers an intimate look at the evolution of an icon. From the fi rst live radio performance of an upstart young artist to early home demos of Cash classics, it’s all here. —T.W.

Corb LundLosin’ Lately GamblerNew West Records; newwestrecords.com Another proud son of southern Alberta ranching stock, Lund carries on the troubador tradition of Ian Tyson. His songs tell vivid stories—like “This is My Prairie” and the Marty Robbins-infused “Devil’s Best Dress.” And Lund can yodel, too. What more can you ask for? —Tracey Feist

newreleases

True GritParamount Home Entertainment, paramount.comJoel and Ethan Coen’s Academy Award-nominated remake of True Grit, starring Jeff Bridges and Josh Brolin, is set for a June 7 release on both DVD ($20) and in a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack ($30). Extras include featurettes on re-creating Ft. Smith and the fi lm’s costuming, with even more on the Blu-ray version. For a chance to win a copy, visit American-Cowboy.com.

BuckCedar Creek Produc-tions; buckthefi lm.comBuck Brannaman was an early and prominent advocate of natural horsemanship and the inspiration behind the novel the Horse Whisperer. Director Cindy Meehl met Buck at a clinic in 2003. His hard-knock youth and gifted way with horses inspired her, in turn, to make Buck, which won the U.S. Documentary Audience Award at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. Its theatrical release is June 17.

MUSIC

MOVIES

Gear

The Bristol SessionsThe Big Bang of Country MusicBear Family Records; bear-family.comIn 1927, a producer from the Victor Talking Machine Company set up a “recording ma-chine” in a warehouse in Bristol, Tenn., with the aim of discovering new talent from Appalachia. The bulk of what he recorded during that 10-day session—call and response songs, hymns, old mountain ballads, fi ddle tunes, and the fi rst com-mercial recordings of Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family—was later characterized by Johnny Cash as “the single most important event in the history of country music.” This massive fi ve-disc set comprises the only complete issue of these legendary recordings, the bedrock of country music. It also comes with a 120-page hardcover book that details the sessions and explains their legacy. —Tom Wilmes

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