"This box set includes a fat book full of historical notes, cowboy art, and photos. Not knowing much about cowboy music, I picked this up from the public library because I had seen "High Noon" and fallen in love with Tex Ritter's "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darlin." I usually can't stand country music, so I didn't have high hopes for the rest of the box. But much of this collection totally blew me away with terrific singing and strangely heart-rending lyrics. I'm going to tape the whole thing and play it on my cross-country drive later this summer -- I know it will sound even cooler with the Western landscape all around."
Best collection of old cowboy music ever
budman@ipa.net | Joplin, Missouri, USA | 10/04/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This doesn't have all of them but it has enough to satisfy most. All the greats are represented. I purchased it for myself and have purchased a box for each of my three married children. My grandchildren love this music. If you like real old cowboy music, you have to have this collection. By the way I am still looking for Tex Ritter's collection of children's songs including, Night Herder Song, Pony Express, Green Grass Grows All Around, Big Rock Candy Mountain, and more. If you know of the existence of the old two record set, contact me please."
Perfect collection
T. Davis | Seattle, WA | 12/17/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Pay no attention to the audiophile critic who claims this set needs remastering. It's a gem, lovingly assembled from the best sources and immaculately mastered, housed in a faux-leather album with a fabulous Western motif and a real leather strap that you wrap around a big silver buckle to secure it. A colorful 60-page book profiles and illustrates not only the major performers and genres of Western music but also the art and literature of the period, together with listings of Western museums and recommended resources. This is one of Rhino's most outstanding packages."
Return with us now to those thrilling days of yesteryear.
Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 02/22/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This is a collection of cowboy music. Not REAL cowboy music, but rather the commercialized version that first became popular in the 1930s with the advent of "singing cowboy" movies. The four CDs in this set are divided by themes. Disc One is "Cowboy Classics". These are some of the best known western songs. Disc Two is "Silver Screen Cowboys". These are songs sung by western stars. Disc Three is "Gene Autry & Roy Rogers". These are songs by the two most popular singing cowboys. Gene and Roy also appear on all the other discs. Disc Four is "Movie & Television Themes". These are the theme songs from westerns, some of which are instrumentals. This is a really fun collection, especially for fans of old time westerns."