Reviews (page 2 of 13)
I love this album and this style of western music. Pairs great with Lonesome Dove
Great storytelling, all classics
The first crossover artist ever. The first artist to have a fuzz distortion on his record. The first person to ever win a Grammy for country music. This album proves how all of that could be done by one man. I watched "The Life And Times Of Marty Robbins" on YouTube, and it made me grow even more fascinated with him. From the NASCAR/ Grand Ole Opry double duty on weekedends, to the insomniac songwriting and late-night performances for the farm animals. This man is THE Cowboy. I love crossover country by women, but I didn't expect to enjoy a male country singer's album this much. His voice sounds timeless, and his songwriting feels evergreen. I like how his songwriting recounts the highs of the cowboy lifestyle, and naturally ends on its shortcomings in a fatalistic way. Great Album!
If this gets a like I'll play Fallout 4 again (I'll try like farming now). 5/5
I cant on July 4, 2026 rate this album less than a 5. Robbins has an angelic voice and is a wonderful guitar player.
knew it from way before. a good one. a very good one
🤠
This album makes me yearn to drop my modern life, and go be a cowboy. Just go get the boys and start a cattle ranch out West...
One of the greatest albums of all time. Also the fallout new Vegas song. I also generally don't like country so this one is outstanding
So many great songs…and then you get “El Paso”…SWOOOOOOOON
Incredible storytelling. I actually stumbled across the album a couple of years ago because I found that I really liked Colter Wall's cover of "Big Iron". I listened to to the album several times back then and a couple of other times since but apparently ultimately forgot all about it until it was recommended here. I have now listened to it a few more times. Any album that pulls me in like that easily deserves a 5/5 in my opinion. I'll add this into my old school country rotation. I'm glad some new artists are bringing this sound back because it's infinitely better than most of the garbage coming out of Nashville today.
YEEEHAW! I've listened to this album a few times before, and I feel like I need to preface this with a few mandatory references. First, yes, Fallout New Vegas! But also, El Paso is used to great effect in Breaking Bad and there's some wildly interesting theories comparing the song and the show. So obviously those two songs are the highlights here and if you like El Paso you should give a listen to the entire trilogy! Marty Robbins voice here is great, the layered vocals at times add so much and it really all gives the feel of being sung to around a campfire. I get this type of very story-focused singing isn't for everyone, but it feels like a very nice change in song structure from other albums on this list.
I really loved this a lot. Can’t wait to get it on vinyl.
They'll Bury Flo Tomorrow, But They're Hanging Me Tonight 1001 Albums Generator 304 (6/2/2026) If all country was this good, the genre wouldn't be unfairly maligned as the butt of every joke. Although Big Iron, The Master's Call, and El Paso are obvious standouts, I was shocked at the consistent quality of Gunfighter Ballads. Marty Robbins is a natural born storyteller who happens to have a wonderful baritone voice. The Master's Call in particular almost made me tear up. What an album. Even though I know it's not perfect, I feel that I have to give it a 4.5/5, rounded up to 5/5. Favs: Big Iron The Master's Call El Paso Least Fav: Cool Water
Хауди партнер! Большой железный на поясе? Стал ли ты бегающей пушкой? Марти Роббинс сделал самый ковбойский альбом из всех ковбойских альбомов и это полнейшая база. Обложка, кстати, невероятно потешная, я не могу воспринимать ее всерьез.
Oh boy! Two second in and I’m like “This is that guy!” I feel like every American would recognize the sound, the voice, the songs, on this thing. He’s so embedded in popular culture. When you want cowboy vibes, this is what you need. I feel like even the most stalwart anti-country/western music person would enjoy this. Easy five stars. Must-listen #354.
This is the western side of country and western music. Nostalgic for sure, but a good listen.
🤠
This is one of my favorite country albums. Marty Robbins is one of those artists who doesn't follow a straight musical path. He didn't make 20 albums about the Wild West. And that's what makes him one of the best country artists in history. 5 stars
A fun cowboy album. The storytelling is great. I always thought how fun it would to be a cowboy. On the other hand they always ended up dead. Change lanes. I don't want to be a cowboy.
How had I not heard this album before? Big Iron and El Paso are classics for a reason but the rest is just as strong. Never has gunslinger violence sounded so mellow. Marty Robbins has a beautiful voice that I could listen to all day.
Is Marty Robbins the greatest? I love this album. The instrumentation is amazing, the vocals are amazing. It is a bit predictable, and everything sounds a bit the same. However, the context and time period that this dropped in more than make up for it.
Álbum muito gostoso, o cantor canta muito suavemente e as letras são muito belas. Talvez seja o único album de contry (até agora) que eu ouviria regularmente em algum momento da minha vida.
Dá até vontade de jogar uma bomba atômica em Nevada
YEE HAW
There is only one option for an album like this
An absolute delight of an album. Thoroughly enjoyable, beginning to end.
Really love this stuff. Great story telling, super spacey, almost spooky vocals. Lots of beauty and desperation, some bits really give me the chills. Feeling fivey.
Marty Robbins had a beautiful voice. I almost feel that he wasted it on cowboy music. Nevertheless, this is a great body of work, filled with classic country music’s legendary songs. El Paso alone is one of the most famous country songs, and that was before Breaking Bad. You get both versions here, the single and the album version with an extra passage. Big Iron leads the album off and showcases Robbins’ unique vocals. He had a way with expressing the emotions in the songs that may have justified a career in pop or even (dare I say it?) classical music. Anyone else singing these songs would barely have been noticed, Robbins made them essential listening and earned a spot on this list. 5 stars
Awesome
Great Western CD
In a way, it's the "Whipped Cream & Other Delights" of country/western music; found in bargain bins across the country, recognized as more of a meme these days, and occasionally referenced due to needle drops in Breaking Bad and Fallout and yet still entirely praised in these same contexts. Those bestowing praise are right. Frankly, I didn't expect this to be deeply enjoyable. It always looked like a novelty record to me. What I got was Nebraska for cowboys.
best country album i think
Badass gunslinger country songs from the 50s. Favorite track: Utah Carol other picks: big iron, they are hanging me tonight, El Paso
Хороший базовый кантри
Somebody tell Kid Rock that this is what being a cowboy is all about. Not any of that American flag waving shit. It's that pull-up on the block, in the saloon, fucking your local Mexicana shit. BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM. GANG. (8/10, 5/5 on this scale)
Great fun, very Tarantino esque
Can’t believe that went as hard as it did. Yeehaw baby.
Loved it
This is pretty great!
I expected this to be cheesy (and it was), but it so well done! I love it!
i'm a walking stereotype, so ofc i know every note and inflection of big iron like the back of my hand. but while that song sets the template for many of the album's overall takeaways of blood-stained swagger, its rly not a one-note record either!!! theres equally room for tracks about stubborn horses and near-death spiritual awakenings, all with appropriate tones. even the songs that end in a death can take on all kinds of different emotions about it. and at the heart of it is robbins, who just sounds so warm and sturdy and good-natured even when singing from the first person view of a murderer. its this consistent layer of removal that always reminds u that ur being passed down a Story, something that someone said that someone said that someone said that someone saw someone do. attention-grabbing broad strokes inviting u into all these little nuances...unbelievably likable record!!!!
All time great
classic album, fun listen.
Love this album. Is there a smoother voice in all of music? Especially one signing about shooting people?
My favorite country album so far. Great storytelling, charming vocals and a variety of songs that range from classic cowboy stuff to traditional-pop adjacent tunes.
I am not a cowboy nor am I American. However, I can still appreciate this record. What a great artifact of a time and place.
BIG IRON ON HIS HIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Un des meilleurs album country de l'histoire du genre 5/5
Wow, what a cool find. I’m not someone that normally gravitates to country/western music, but this album was so full and compelling with just a sparse arrangement. There’s no special effects or gimmicks to be found (apparently the entire album was recorded in a single session), and the success of these songs relies solely on its emotive songwriting and powerful performances. Also, somehow records from the 50s manage to sound more hi-fi than what most engineers are able to create today. For me, this music evokes fireside folktales, gritty mandolin rags, Irish reveries, Norteño ballads, and the blossoming of a new outlaw country sound. Highlights include “Big Iron” and “They’re Hanging Me Tonight.”
Here it is, the album I was waiting for after hearing such good reviews from this group, not only that but surprised good reviews. It definitely exceeded expectations if that is possible, by the first song I was humming, by the time I got to El Paso (not literally) I was singing so loudly people came to look. It is like the soundtrack of a Western and so evocative is this album I’m imagining myself in Monument Valley, a Roan by my side. I so need this rose-tinted record in my collection.
It's exactly what it's trying to be and it's perfect at it. Also big iron is an all time classic. 5
Really great. Reminds me of Orbison and Elvis in all the best ways. Get ready for El Paso to get stuck in your head. I would pick this up in a record store without a second thought.
All time classic. If you can listen to this and not want a big iron on your hip, you may not be a human being.
DO NOT SIMP FOR LATINAS
Pure, iconic, genre-defining country that's so exceptional it's hard to believe. My fellow Glendale boy was cooking with napalm on this one
I surprisingly absolutely loved this, it sounds like something my gran would listen to.
Low poly cowboy obsessed with counting things. I'll have one and nineteen more sips of that cool water pleaseandthankyou. Five sheriff badges.
Unexpectedly really good!
I love this album
Muito bom! Ouvirei mais vezes
Love this! I always wanted to add some Marty Robbin’s to my library and here it is! Most of my family is in El Paso and Mr Robbins is SO descriptive that you can really feel the place and put yourself in the saddle.
Happy trails indeed.
Pure cowboy kitsch in the absolute best way.
Expansive and Western. Great. Almost all classics, and a worthy western inclusion on the list. Includes murder ballads, classic cowboy stuff, and even early cosmic country on The Masters Call that I think prefigures other life and death / spiritual themes later on in country. Highlights: Strawberry Roan, The Masters Call, and all of the other songs. From Musicboard (OG 1/18/26 [#30] Imported 2/26/26)
Every song rules. Amazing melodies. Amazing stories. Amazing voice. Master's Call is one of my favorite songs. Legit one of the greatest albums ever
Immediately greeted by an absolute banger I fell in love with from playing New Vegas. The rest of the album is amazing too and I'll surely be coming back to it when I need a western fix
Absolute surprise but this is gold. I've enjoyed this a lot, some good songs, lyrics and arrangements throughout.
a total classic!!!!!
BIIIG IIIIRON BIIIG IRRRONN
Perfect
Classic album full of classic songs.
Very cozy
Den bästa Western musikn som finns! Älskar det när jag spelade New Vegas
Who knew country music could feel so elegant? Marty's vocal tone is lovely and the guitar is very tasteful. Great storytelling throughout.
just fantastic through and through
another banger, obsessed with his voice could listen to it all day, knew some of the songs because of caleb and because of that ill always think of him with this album. a few other songs i also enjoyed that i hadn’t heard before like little green valley, hanging tree, they are hanging me tonight ugh overall such good album
Amazing album. Very reminiscent of the tenor country songs I listen to in the modern era.
Simply amazing!
Excellent songs for my gun fights
This is my kind of country music. Love love
Well this comes out of no where what a fantastic album. I loved every second of this album start to finish beautiful lyrics and music that makes you feel like a badass cowboy the whole time.
Great country singer. Great voice, and music. Love his ballads.
Every song is gold, everything is cohesive as well. My first 5 and it was immediate, how can you not love this.
Love this man. Always have, always will.
I am insnaely biased because of my time in New Vegas, but this album sets the perfect mood for a lone adventurer venturing into a pastiche of America we do not see anymore
Transports you through time
Fun Wild West stories (—and, in my age range, inextricably linked with Fallout: New Vegas.)
Overall: 8/10 Vocals: 8/10 Lyrics: 8/10 Instruments: 8/10 Likely to listen again: 8/10 Good album, each song has its own story. It is like old-fashion western small town music, robins has a good raspy old-timey voice.
🤠 I liked this album more than I thought I would! Life was Hard in the Wild Wild West
Perfect album. So much fun!
I don't think I need to mention El Paso, we all know how great of a song it is but there are plenty of other great Marty Robbins tracks here. My personal favorites are Cool Water and Big Iron. I think when people talk about "classic country" or "old good country" music they are usually thinking of the 'outlaw' style and I'm not going to argue with that but I also would love to see the sounds and styles of artists like Marty Robbins and Tom T. Hall make a come back as well.
would say this is a classic in our family, haven’t listened all the way through in a while, but i am quite enjoying i love cowboy tunes and i love ballads standouts: el paso - duh the masters call running gun big iron i like how the songs are short but still you get a lot of story with each one el paso will always make me think of driving and singing with addy and dad
Ohh water
Enhanced many a soundtrack this bad boy. Love that beginner vinyl collectors are obsessed with this $10 goodness.
What a delight! This is the exact type of album that makes me grateful I started listening through this. A sound I never would have sought out on my own, but I am so glad I listened. I’ll be going back for sure. Best Track: Big Iron
Love this album. Many memories
Fantastic country and western album! Timeless
I really liked this. I'm a sucker for old time country & Western like Merle Haggard. This is classic.
loved it, i’ve been looking for a country album like this for a long time
So far my favourite country album on this list. Really loved the attitude on this one.
No-frills, old world musical storytelling that captures the attention, performed by a man with a voice of gold. What's not to love?
His story telling abilities are so phenomenal. It’s like you can envision yourself there.
Country as hell. This is what I want playing in my head every morning. I immediately played it over again upon finishing it. Saddle Tramp and Big Iron were my faves, but the whole thing is a classic.
Fuck it. Marty Robbins gets five stars.
Not a country fan at all but I don’t mind the “old” country - especially ballads and those that tell a story.
Dark themes never sounded so pleasant!
Great!
This shit is fly
I’m a sucker for a simple old sound like this. Big Iron and El Paso are the bigger hits, but the rest of the album hits well for me.
Marty Robbins has the perfect voice for these types of ballads, this album is already a frequent repeat listen for me. Easy 5/5
Gangsta
Not really a thing I would seek out, but it's extremely pleasant to listen to. The RevOla remastered release also sounds great for a 66-year-old record.
This is one of my favorite albums. I've listened to Marty Robbins my whole life. I remember when he had a variety show on tv. He's the real deal. A true entertainer.
"Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs" is the fifth studio album by American country and western singer-songwriter Marty Robbins. Country and Western are the Wiki-listed genres. We got both kinds, we got country and Western. I did not expect the Blues Brothers turning up twice on the bingo card this week. The album is critically cited for being the most influential album of Western songs in post World World II American music. The bandmembers included Robbins (vocals, guitar), Grady Martin (lead guitar), Jack Pruitt (rhythm guitar), Bob Moore (bass), Louis Dunn (drums, fiddle) and and backing vocalists Tompall & the Glaser Brothers and Bobby Sykes. The album reached #6 on the US Pop Albums Chart and #20 in the UK. In 2017, the album was inducted into the National Recording Registry by the Library of Congress for its artistic significance. The album opens with "Big Iron." Acoustic guitar and soft drum ticks. Robbins with an outstanding high tenor voice. Harmony backing vocals. Robbins describes the legendary dual of an Arizona ranger and the notorious Texas Red who meets his match. The fiddle is featured in the Bob Nolan cover "Cool Water." Strong harmonization as Robbins' vocals soar as he struggles with despair and searches for hope. The narrator struggles to tame his horse in the waltz-timed "Strawberry Roan." A comparison of life's challenges and taming his horse. A Spanish-sounding guitar is one of the highlights in "El Paso." Robbins falls in love with a Spanish girl. Outstanding vocal harmonies as Robbins' vocals approach mythical Roy Orbison levels. "The Master's Call" is a religious parable of a man with a life of sin who gets redemption. A softer song with a strumming guitar and soft backing vocals harmonies. This album is outstanding if just for Robbins' tenor voice which is on par with Roy Orbison and for the outstanding backing vocal harmonization. The stories are compelling true to the album title with gun duals, a religious parable and tales of outlaws, cowboys and hitmen and with themes of regret, jealously, loyalty, hardship, redemption and love. The music is sparse with acoustic guitars, soft drums and sometimes a fiddle. It's easy to hear the album's influence on country, folk and country rock music over the next two decades. This is an outstanding album well deserved of its historic placement. A very high recommendation.
I loved it???
Sometimes the best music is little more than a hoot and Gunfighter Ballads is a hoot and a half. Even when the subject matter is more serious Gunfighter Ballads is a feel-good album that leaves you in high spirits with a smile on your face - sometimes art has no higher purpose than to keep you company on a cold Monday morning as you drink your first cup of coffee and feel all but certain that it would be a good week because no bad week has ever started with the reassuring music of Marty Robbins. Happy trails young buck happy trails and lots of luck.
An enjoyable album. Marty had a pleasant voice. His songs told a story. I liked the Spanish guitar in "El Paso". Worst song: "Cool Water" and two very emotional songs: "They're Hanging Me Tonight", and "Utah Carol", and best song: "El Paso".
A classic country album .
Great stories and western music
CLASSIC. Always loved this record. It gets a lot of love for Big Iron, and rightfully so, but the whole album is chock full of wonderful tales of the wild west. Marty's singing perfectly captures the aesthetic he's going for, and the tunes are all catchy and fun. Despite the fun musicality of the record there's an underlying darkness that the stories don't shy away from. If you take the time to follow Marty along on the adventures he takes you on, you'll find death and despair at every corner; I appreciate this kind of sad, grounded presentation of the lawless west, which is often sanitized in the same way pirate stories are. *Heard before
EVERY SONG IS A 10/10
easy 5! great storytelling and simple twangy old boy country. Marty nailed it with this one. Also my introduction to Marty was Big Iron like everyone thats played Fallout, wish I came across his stuff earlier.
Love love love this album! I once bought an entire crate of records because this album was one of them. The rest were mostly junk but it was worth it for ol Martys cowboy songs. I love that most of the people in these songs are absolute fucking idiots. El Paso is literally about a guy who shoots another man in a bar because he’s talking to a woman the first guy… likes? She doesn’t even seem to really care about him at all and he just guns a man down. He’s down bad. Marty wrote lots of great albums but this is his best!
I really loved this album and realized El Paso was very familiar from my childhood! The vocals were great throughout the whole album!
This was great! I don't like more modern country, but the older artists I can usually enjoy and this was a big surprise. I had heard El Paso before but the rest of this album blew me away. This will probably go into my regular listening rotation.
Great
I know "El Paso" from the Grateful Dead.
Gunfighter Ballads is not only a culturally significant album but it is a delight to listen to. Robbins not only wrote 4 of the songs on the album, all of which have become legendary folk songs, but his renditions of the other songs have become the versions that introduced post-War America to the Spirit of the West. Robbins' singing, storytelling, and strumming is earnest and yet performed with the ease of a Cowboy.
Classic stuff from one of the greats! saw him live at the Grand Ol' Opry back '73... fun stuff.
I love Cowboy ballads. And this is one of my favourite albums
This is the two hundred fifteenth album I’m rating. I've heard many great things about Marty Robbins, but I've yet to listen to a song. Adding to my Playlist - Big Iron, Cool Water, The Strawberry Roan, In the Valley, The Master's Call, and The Little Green Valley. Not Adding to my Playlist - Billy the Kid, A Hundred and Sixty Acres, They're Hanging Me Tonight, El Paso, Running Gun, and Utah Carol. All in all I liked 6/12 songs. I liked it but not as much as The Louvin Brothers which came out around the same time.
Wow! Did not expect this to be as incredible as it was. From the first guitar twangs in Big Iron to the last beat in the repeated El Paso, I was hooked. Marty Robbins has the perfect voice for this country/western style, the music was a treat to listen to throughout, and the storytelling was top notch. There were several highlights on the album. Starting off with a bang, Big Iron is the best track on the album, fun story. Billly The Kid also has a good story going. They're Hanging Me Tonight is sad and sweet. The Strawberry Roan, The Master's Call, Running Gun, Utah Carol and El Paso are all great. No blanks in Marty's revolver, he's firing all shots off. Loved it! Best song: Big Iron
You know, even when you throw away all the memes, this is a very solid album. It might feel a little one-note after a while, but I could enjoy every song on this album individually and would be happy to revisit each of them. That's a 5 in my book.
Rating: 4.8/5 Short Review: Cowboy fatalism in pink dust and perfect harmony. Favorite Track: “El Paso” — a tragic novella disguised as a country hit; still one of the best story-songs ever written.
This rules!
Classic album with fantastic cover art
always a banger
5/5 some of the greatest western n cowboy songs love it
Wow! Gotta love Marty !
Yippee ki-yea!
THIS IS WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT I joined this project for exactly this type of album. The music and singing are good here, but an album with narrative songs about wild west banditos who get shot to death or who find Jesus because they saw a herd of cattle get blown up by lightning? Hell yes.
Stealing this review "gangsta songs to listen to when you wanna shoot someone"
This album is beautiful. I can’t think of any other collection of songs where the story telling is so vivid. Possibly Gordon Lightfoot, but this is more consistent. I wish lyrics were written this way today. Not necessarily about gunslingers, about anything.
One of my favorites
Every song great... all sung greatly... by a great singer... Five Stars all day long...
This sound is iconic. I don't think I have ever heard it, but I have heard countless songs inspired by it. I love the story-telling! "Big Iron" got me right out the gate, but I really like "In the Valley" too. I feel like my Grandma played this many years ago. I want to listen to this on a road trip!
There’s something about an old Western ballad that makes a red-blooded American boy like me wistful for the days of cowboys, Indians, trail rides and campfires. It’s a false history that we’ve been sold from John Wayne movies and our own self-delusional national mythology, but the feeling are oh so real. Marty Robbins, like most old country and western singers, has a voice that makes whatever he’s singing about sound somehow wistful, reasonable and noble. It doesn’t matter if it’s a cowboy sacrificing himself to save the boss’s daughter or a guy in a bar gunning another guy down because he’s dancing with a Mexican girl, Marty tells it like it is. It's a bit easy to see the songs as old-fashioned and naïve (they are), but I’ve rarely heard this level of storytelling in a song that isn’t from Ghostface Killah or another rapper at his level. I tried and couldn’t tear myself away, the stories are that good. The music is simple, like most country, but it’s so easy to listen to, like the prettier younger sister of traditional murder ballads. Best songs: ¨Big Iron,¨ ¨Cool Water,¨ ¨El Paso¨
Did not expect to absolutely adore this album as much as I did, but it's so fun. Some all time classics and some clever songs, and it all put a smile on my face. His version of "El Paso" is probably my favorite I've heard. This is one of those albums that totally deserves its spot on this list. Just absolutely delightful.
"Big iiiiiiiiron big iiiiiiiiiron" This album slaps. Big cowboy energy
Fire
5/5 I love this album, there's not a single bad song on this. Even on Spotify, the sound quality on this recording is really good. Marty's voice and storytelling has a certain grace to them that you rarely notice in music. Great artist, great songs.
I was considering just skipping this, but there are actually some bangers that I recognized on here! Big Iron was already in my Saved Library, hilariously, and I had no idea that was this album. Very surprised at the quality of this album, give it a chance!
This album is very well produced. Marty’s voice is great. The variety of the songs doesn’t take away from the cowboy around a fire feel of the album as a whole. Great musicianship and the Glasers are amazing backup singers. A true classic.
1959 Country, western
The soundtrack to many a good Western. Can't get much better in this genre
Happy Friday indeed. I've been excited to get this album, have never listened to it in full but have always liked songs I've heard from it. Big Iron is an undisputed banger to kick things off and this thing never loses steam from there. Classic sing song storytelling outlaw yeehaw country. Dude has a powerhouse voice.
yeah i played fallout new vegas before
i've already listened to this in full a few times, and i've grown up listening to Big Iron probably millions of times playing New Vegas. can't say much in my rating other than it fuckin' slaps (rating based on full-length version) Big Iron - 5/5 Cool Water - 3/5 Billy the Kid - 5/5 A Hundred and Sixty Acres - 4/5 They're Hanging Me Tonight - 4/5 The Strawberry Roan - 5/5 El Paso - 5/5 In the Valley - 3/5 The Master's Call - 5/5 Running Gun - 5/5 Down in the Little Green Valley - 4/5 Utah Carol - 5/5 The Hanging Tree - 5/5 Saddle Tramp - 5/5 Average score: 4.5/5 (rounding up) realistically, this isn't quite a 5-star album. however, giving this less than a 4.5 rating here seems kinda criminal, given how much i genuinely enjoy it
When my daughter was a newborn, she hated being changed and would cry the entire time. Big Iron was one of the only songs that could calm her. Today, she dances around the kitchen to any of the songs on this album, but always and especially Big Iron.
Effortlessly cool. I love the storytelling. Five stars.
Sometimes you think god has forsaken you because you’re still in Texas. And sometimes a perfect country album about Texas finds you and reminds you that life really is about horses, guns and women
Wow. I think I want to be Marty Robbins and sing Cool Water and Utah Carol in all black cowboy clothes and make eyes at pretty girls across the saloon.
Great album of ballads, some interesting songwriting in there too
BIG IRON, BIIIIG IROOOON!!! Goated album
Very good album. Old timey country songs, beautiful vocals and beautiful acoustic guitar.
El paso şarkısındaki hikaye anlatımı çok tatlı geldi, big iron şarkısı da çok sardı dinlerken
100% solid classic. Love it
I don’t like country music so when I saw the cover and album title and thought I would absolutely hate this. How wrong I was. This was bloody brilliant. Loved it. Top Track - Big Iron
Big Iron
I listened to the original release (12 tracks). Considering this record is from 1959 the sound quality is very good. I suppose it was remastered somewhere along the line. If some artist were asked to put together an album of cowboy/gunslinger songs, it would not be as good as this one. Marty Robbins songs always tell a good story, which is evident here.
I remember this when I was a kid
Absolute vibes.
This isn’t my kind of music, but it’s incredibly well executed. The platonic ideal of western music.
A blast from my past. This album is dear to me, but it’s soooo freaking fun and good. I hope everyone enjoys it. My heart is healed and lighter hearing this again
Absolutely perfect story telling.
It's interesting to listen to a genre of music that didn't really survive long after it was popular. I really enjoy the flair and unabashed earnestness of it and, man, does that guy have a voice on him. I am going to search him up some more to see if he ever did anything outside the Western thing. Most of the songs are told, basically, by the ghost of someone who just got shot, hanged, stampeded or otherwise snuffed out but instead of dread or depression they seem to accept their end and reaffirm the choices that brought it on. El Paso is a masterpiece and all of the other songs play catch up. Big Iron is just so great and Cool Water is pure longing. What an album out of time but still up to the task.
Great cowboy ballads. This is from the era of good country music, we it told a story and didn’t just repeat the same crap about having a beer on a Friday night and such.
It's me, Arthur Morgan and John Marston against the notorious Micah Bell and the charming Dutch van der Linde.
Awesome
One of my all time country records. Not like all that mainstream shit that’s peddled as the genre that gives it its deserved bad name. The storytelling, the voice. Can and have on occasion just had this album on repeat all day, and then they went and used it in Fallout, so many more hours listening there. Did I mention the storytelling the lyricisms, it’s like watching a movie in 3 minutes, with such a voice that gives you all the emotion. Don’t think Marty gets his props enough nowadays, as you can see his genes in a lot of music, that’s not country. Stone cold killer 5 Star
Bonafide classic
Can’t beat a bit of outlaw country. Hadn’t heard of Marty before but I’m firmly a fan now.
This is an album that has been with me all of my life. In fact my father's mono copy now adorns my collection. I can remember loving this album as far back as four years old. (10) ★★★★★ for me. Honestly one of might even be in my top ten country albums of all time for me... top 25 for sure.
Hahaha I LOVE Marty Robbins!! This record is a masterpiece and it deserves more recognition! I found this album because of his song El Paso some years ago! ❤️
Fantastic album, lots of cool stories. I generally hate country, but Ive learned that I enjoy it when it is about western or outlaw topics.
Huge fan of this. Easy to listen to, love the sound, sonically amazing.
When people say they hate country music, it’s because they’ve never listened to this masterpiece. The five isn’t even ironic.
The only time I recall hearing the name Marty Robbins before this was on Endless Wire by The Who, so I wasn't sure what to expect. This record was badass. I'm an instant fan after hearing it.
What I thought would be just a collection of cowboy songs turned out to be a masterclass in narrative songwriting. This album pulls me right into the saloons, deserts, and gunfights of the old west. I'm from El Paso, so listening to this made me homesick for chile relleños and dust devils.
Great old style country western
FUCCKING TREMENDOUS
Straight up one of the best country albums of all time. Marty Robbins voice is crazy pleasant to listen to, and every song on it will just stick in your head totally rent free for the rest of time in a way that you'll find yourself belting along to them in the car every time you relisten to it.
Hit me on the right day. Couldn’t stop listening. Loved it. Country from way back, before country went proper shit. Original gangsta rap? 4.75
Without a doubt, one of the singular most important country music albums of all time. Some of the most well known songs of the genre appear on this album. Not a skippable song on this one I feel. Also, who doesn't love to sing along to big iron while wandering the Mojave wasteland of New Vegas
one little kiss and felina goodbye 🔥
I've mainly heard "El Paso" and "Big Iron" throughout the years. The whole album is great. Marty can sing the lights out.
How did country music go from the great melodies, performances, and story-telling of Marty Robbins to the utter travesty to music that is Morgan Wallen? If nothing else, this album demonstrates just how terrible modern country music is, and that's a shame. 5.0/5.0: Iconic
Great country album
I have a definite soft spot for old country that only came about in the last 10 or so years. This was a fun album to find. I knew the hit of El Paso but the rest were new but yet felt comforting.
What an absolute joy! A must for singer songwriters. A clinic on storytelling trough harmonies and melodies. A must for any good record collection.
Overall: 9/10 I used to play a lot of Fallout: New Vegas when I was in high school and the song Big Iron played on one of the radio stations you can listen to in that game. It was always my favourite song and years later, I found this album in a CD store and bought it as a joke just because Big Iron is on it. I ended up listening to it on the way home and fell in love with it. The best songs on this album are the ones that tell a story about outlaws. Storytelling seems to be Marty's biggest strength. I also love the harmonies. I don't listen to a lot of country but this is my favourite album from the genre that I've heard. Fav Song: Big Iron Least Fav Song: The Strawberry Roan
Wow, I really loved this. so much nostalgia for this actual badass country music. His voice is absolutely amazing too
Really enjoyed this album. Robbins has a great voice. I can see how many of these tracks have influenced other artists such as Jonny Cash. Big Iron my favourite.
This is one of my favorite albums period. 5 Stars - great writing/storytelling and remarkably performed. My Step Father-In-Law introduced me to Marty Robbins and for that I am thankful to him for doing so.,
El Paso Big iron They’re handing me tonight
“BIG IRON ON HIS HIIIIIIIIP” Music like this taught me that I don’t hate country music, just the modern iteration of it.
Weirdly fun album. I love this type of music, idk what it is called
Classic, Big Iron alone puts it as an instant classic, El Paso and Cool Water are equally strong
Just a classic. The platonic ideal of this sound.
Divertidísimo, nostálgico, genial. Cuando me salió un disco llamado "Baladas de pistoleros y canciones para la vereda", pensé: Esto puede ser lo peor o lo mejor que he escuchado jamás. Y qué manera de pasármela bien, de divertirme y de meterme a un saloon, darle unos besos a una dama ajena, empezar una balacera y luego reflexionar sobre mi vida mientras espero en una celda a que llegue la hora de la horca. Así de bueno es este disco.
uuuh big iron findi reeecht cool? er het iwie so e fründlichi stimm mengisch auchli wie de elvis? wow unnötige flex mit dim real estate they're hanging me tonight isch recht krass aber halt au...schön? FUCK CHANER SINGE hahahaha es isch mal es meme worde? weg fallout? the master's call isch unnötig schön???? gnueg christlich aber naja DAD ALTE HAUS VON ROCKY DOCKYYYYY also es het mich zumindest ah das erinneret lol el paso findi naja für das, dass es sin berüehmtist song isch ah nvm jz ischs natürlich big iron hahahah muss immer mindestens 1 person sterbe ih sine lieder? sorry de marty het würkli kein grund zum so banger ah banger annenand z reihe FOIFOIFOIFOIF
A perfect concept album for degenerates like me who belong on a cross
Really enjoyable. Well written songs which tell folk tales set to complimentary music. Somewhere between a 4 and a 5, but Big Iron is always a banger and deserves the rating.
Loved this album. Love the story telling in this album. I have many fond memories of Marty Robbins.
i love this old cowboy shit. the pride and ego of men in the old west, facing death and violent consequences for their misplaced love and jealous rage. a lot of morbidity in these stories but it serves a purpose, the lyrics wouldn't make any sense without it. honestly there's a lot here that's still relevant to so-called alpha males today.
Big Iron being iconic aside. Marty Robbins is a phenomenal singer and story teller.
Beautiful melodies paired with Marty Robbins soothing voice. Really a great listen.
Once again, I love this. It sounds like my Gramps singing songs and sharing stories around the campfire. It sounds nostalgic and familiar, it sounds like home. My Dad's side of the family always loved this Western music, and I'll continue to love it too.
Old school awesome
Perfect example of what this project is all about. Likely never would have found this on my own and now I have a new favorite record of classic cowboy songs.
I love this. What a fun vibe. Very poetic. OMG Utah Carol 😭 why am I crying (I am legit crying and upset haha). I actively loved this album. This was such an engaging album!
This album is so much better than present day country music. I will return to this album for sure.
One of the greatest albums & country albums ever made. Way ahead of its time & nearly an entire zero skip album
i really love marty’s voice… it reminds me of orville peck. this is my brand of country music, seriously
Hell yeah. Huge iron.
A classic, love the whole album. This town is big enough for both of us, Mr Robbins
Masterpiece!
Look at that, the greatest ever country album
yee haw babbyyy les go to new vegas deliver a chip
I grew up on Folk and Country, thanks to Dad. I'm going to show him this album. The captivating storytelling over sweet country instrument arrangements is always a good time, even if some tracks could be mistaken for one another. El Paso is the best example of this recipe's charm. My first experience of Marty Robbins was that edit of a chihuahua with a hat and pistol costume in 2016. I also had a really fucking annoying coworker in 2021 who played this song relentlessly, which temporarily spoiled it for me. She quit, so I can enjoy it now. I don't think I'd listen to this on a regular basis, but I would be sure to savour it every time I do. The next time will be whenever I drive to Toowoomba. Special mention to The Master's Call, what a hauntingly beautiful ballad. Goosebumps. This album is a treasure, Marty Robbins would have been 100 years old this year. May he rest in That Little Green Valley far away.
Best album ever made
dit album zit saamen met bruce bij mijn top albums allertijden. Ik ken het helemaal uit me hoofd. de verhalen die worden gezongen zijn prachtig, de gitaar er bij maakt het helemaal af.
You give this album a better name than "Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs." Every song encapsulates that title. Robbins nailed the formula of a great country/outlaw ballad and every song on here had me hooked. While I will say a lot of them sounded the same, I did not care; he found the winning recipe and a gobbled it up like a fat boy at Golden Corral.
The harmonies, the instrumentation, the tales of heartbreak and revenge, the pastoral nostalgia, this album is just an absolute treat to listen to from the first moment to the last.
I think the most important thing I'm figuring out with all of these albums is to consider what they are by themselves. Comparing this record to basically anything else in its list is a moot point. This was never going to be the best album on the list. But that doesn't matter at all. Let's consider the facts: Is it goofy? Yes. Is it a bunch of similar tracks? Absolutely. Is it fun as hell? Definitely. This record is not groundbreaking by any means. It is fairly standard country fare, with very little else going on. But for 44 straight minutes, Marty conjured images of cowboys and bandits on the trail and made me yearn for my own mustang and ten gallon hat. That, in and of itself is an achievement I can admire. Marty's voice is fantastic, the recordings sound great (especially for this time period), the songwriting and storytelling is ridiculously fun, and I can't help but love it. There's not a single skip to be seen on the whole runtime, but there are a ton of gems (Big Iron, They're Hanging Me Tonight, Billy The Kid, The Master's Call, Running Gun, El Paso, The Little Green Valley, The Hanging Tree). Yeehaw. 10/10
I really love this! Such great storytelling through song. And when you pair Marty Robbins' golden voice with Grady Martin's incredible playing, you have a glorious gunfighter ballad album.
Listening to this felt like a ceremonial victory lap because I already knew it’s my favorite album of all time. In my opinion there is not a single bad song and it contains some of the best songs ever recorded.
I just this album recently and it’s fantastic.
All timer
I just cannot believe I had such a gap in my country music knowledge, ignoring the existence of this man. This is some amazing music. 8.5/10 Fave track: Big Iron
I have a particular fondness for albums that transport me somewhere else, and Gunfighter Ballads… does this with abundance. From Big Iron onwards I was whisked off to a Wild West film set and each song felt like another step on a journey that saw me riding through monument valley or recounting tales of love and adventure round a campfire. Each song was a joy, each was a story and I could listen to it over and over. 5 stars.
Classic record, have listened to this hundreds of times.
Peak.
I had this album on vinyl. It burned in the fire. I loved it. I’m not sure if it’s really 5 stars, but I love it anyway. My favorite was listening to this album with my dad, who is in his 80s, on the way to IKEA. As a lover of western movies, He was blown away. Look, just listen to it. It’s got some bangers and I am a sucker for the clean sound of Robbins’ voice-like a teen idol, but it’s all songs about killing dudes in Rosa’s Cantina.
This is truly one of the greatest albums of all time. This is the sort of thing that makes me wish I could give 6 stars. Incredible from end-to-end.
Love this album. El Paso is a staple.
Yee haw. This is going on regular rotation.
О кайф это знаю и люблюю Песня молодости
Yee-haw I want to play New Vegas now
Johnny Cash and Elvis and... Marty Robbins!
Just about the only country music I can listen to
I liked it! Breaking Bad vibes. :)
A classic and Often listened to album at my house Not just because of Fallout
When I think of old country music, songs like this and Hank Williams Sr come to mind. This sounds like the soundtrack to every old western movie. I think it’s great and sounds more authentic than the shit that is passed as country today.
I'm of two minds on this one. Is it as good to me as the other 5 star albums on my list? No it isn't so I feel like I should rank it lower. On the other hand, I can't really find fault with it, I liked every song. For what it is, gunfighter ballads and trail songs, it is stellar. Great stories, great songs and Marty Robbins soothing voice.
Simple, elegant, charming 5/5
Marty Robbins is like the Homer of country or frontier folk, whatever you’d call this. I could listen to the man spin a yarn for hours. That’s not even mentioning his phenomenal backing on this record - the backing harmonies and guitar fills are absolutely perfect.
I love Marty Robbins voice, and storytelling songs are so great! Sad songs with bullets
Audio sounds amazing, songs are great lyrically. A lot of effort went into making this album great, but it never takes itself too seriously
An absolutely essential country album that adds a soundtrack for the US obsession with the myth of the Old West that took hold in the 1950s and 1960s. I could listen to this all day.
Love it. It’s like being transported back in time to a Western Movie. I could have this on in the background all day.
I've been patiently waiting to review this album, and now, on the eve of my 700th album, I'll finally get my chance. The title of this album, combined with the cover, paints a pretty vivid image with a small canvas, and that's what's made me so excited to listen to it. I'm not sure if I'll love or hate this album, but at least I'll have a unique experience! This album definitely lived up to the hype that I built for it in my head. Every aspect of it was done exceptionally well: the songwriting, the singing, and the guitar playing were all top-notch. I wasn't expecting for most of these songs to be such downers, but all of the sadder songs carried their emotional weight exceptionally well. I really loved the songs that had backing vocals, like "Big Iron," because they really fulfilled that stereotype of a trail song. The guitar playing was really great too, especially on "El Paso." The instrumentals on this album were sparse, but they were all done exceptionally well. The thing that really outshone the guitar playing though was the singing. I really loved Marty Robbins's voice on all of these songs, and I thought he sang everything really well. This was a really fun album to listen to, and certainly a unique experience. I'm glad it lived up to my expectations!
Beautifully atmospheric, luscious instrumentation, superb songwriting and soaring harmonies. This has everything you need to be nostalgic of a time you've not experienced. Best Tracks: - Big Iron - Cool Water - The Master's Call Worst Tracks: N/A Rating: 9.5/10
Morgan “Jelly Roll” Wallen could never.
Perfect album. I love all of it from front to back! What I always find funny is that the music is all a complete anachronism but sounds so perfectly “western” - it’s like the country music version of a spaghetti western
A true body of work, in the sense that eyolf olstrem on dylan chords said about world gone wrong. Everything serves the whole: the lonesome wail, the perfect leads, the stories, the murder, the redemption, the love. It sounds like all of american music and nothing else at the same time. In the glory days of napster my roommate downloaded a couple of these cause his dad had listened, and I'm grateful to be let into this. What an album.
I listened to this multiple times over the course of several days and it just kept growing on me more and more. I love the old West aesthetic and the timeless sound. Each song was very distinct for the time, each having it's own unique hook that on relistens I was excited to hear. I can't wait to go on a road trip through the plains and blast this album. 5/5
This was an amazing album. I’ve never been much of a country guy, but this album has everything I would want in a good Western country album. Every song has a strong narrative, telling a story that draws you in and makes you feel like you’re living it.
Bruh yes x1000. One of the vinyls I am most proud I own
5/5 no notes. Big Iron, they're hanging me tonight and the master's call.
The production sounds great compared to many contemporaneous efforts - reverbed, Everly's-style harmonies, nicely mixed. It's the sound of the Western plains, and it is more Western than Country. Overall, I thought this a great embodiment of this tradition, interesting, excellently produced, and with some great originals, and excellent playing and harmonies.
4.5
еми изкефи ме
The vibe of this album reminded me of those songs from old Disney movies with the chorus of session singers - - I guess coming out of the same era there are certain common hallmarks of the songwriting, arrangement or production, and it's all delivered in Mary's warm, rich baritone croon. The effect is that even when Marty is singing about putting notches on a pistol, casually taking a bullet to the chest, or describing the charms of Mexican women, everything sounds sort of smooth and sanitized and jaunty to my modern ears, which is kind of amusing. This album delivered exactly what the title promised: musical storytelling about the Old West. Everything here was perfectly executed, and I can't find fault with any aspect of this album, which clearly comes from that era when musicians had to have overt raw talent and ability. I just want to know what Felina did to be continually called wicked. God forbid a girl have dark eyes and dance in cantinas! 💃
💜
An extraordinarily pleasant surprise! Beautiful voice, and delicious irony of such a smooth sound belying such sad tales. Interesting, compelling, fascinating.
I absolutely loved this one! The story telling and lyrics were compelling and the accompanying music strummed along perfectly. Now i probably wouldn’t listen to this one regularly, this is one of those albums that surprised me in how easy it was to enjoy.
Awesome!
"Gunfighter Ballads And Trail Songs" gave me a feeling that few country albums give me. It's a bit of a cheesy album, you could say, but I felt my guard down while listening to it, and for some unknown reason it made me smile. I may not own a gun, but this album made me feel like I did. And somehow, that made me relate to the story of the album.
love this so much... so smooth... big iron! they're hanging me tonight dude.... dude.
Y'know, I've liked a lot of the traditional country music my group has gotten, but I'd never been particularly "WOW"ed by any of it. There's a place for it in my heart, but when you put it next to country music from the 90's... Traditional country music just doesn't seem to have as much going on. Like, I'm a sucker for that kind of over-production and high pop-ish energy. So all this spare guitar strumming and close harmony vocals just doesn't hit **as** well for me — unless you're Johnny Cash, but that's the typical exception. So here along comes an album which... Honestly, for the longest time, I'd kind of avoided listening to? Specifically because its opening track, "Big Iron", was such a big meme. Which, that sort of thing isn't unique to this album, by the way; there's a lot of stuff I've been turned off to 'coz I encountered the memes of it first. Look at Scott The Woz, for instance. And it's not even like I'd heard any of the "Big Iron" edits, by the way. I just saw the thumbnails with the album cover all mangled up and I was like, "No thanks." Unsurprisingly, I had nothing to worry about. This isn't just good country; I'd go so far as to call it **classically** good country. The bedrock kind of country music so much afterwards is built on; the kind of country music you think of when you think "traditional country music." And it's all about the story-telling — and I don't know if the stories here are really any more or less interesting than the ones I've heard on other country albums, but whatever the reason, I got pulled into this one way more. And, like, I'm not sure if I can even go into any more detail than that. It's just really good playing and singing, relaying good stories that are easy to follow along with. (And if there's anything **I** need, it's stories that are easy to follow, goodness.) I can give it a 5, easy. Maybe I'll look back and think I'm too generous, but, hey, all the last few traditional country albums my group got could give me were "good beer on the porch songs." I'm happy to get anything with a little more depth to it than that. And, hey, if the "Big Iron" memes helped introduce people to this music, then I can hardly be too mad at it, now can I? (Especially since I never even heard any. Goodness, my occasional inclination to dislike popular things, I swear...)
I’m at a 5. It’s just great storytelling, man. Every track here just nails it. I know I harp on “old country” a lot, but this goes a bit beyond that – this is a fabulous showcase of music as a device for pure storytelling. I think sometimes it’s very easy to get caught up in neat instrumentation, melodies or vocals, and I’m as guilty of that as anyone, but this is just pure storytelling. Yes, his vocals are great throughout this album, and his higher registers are stunningly emphatic, but what makes this album work is in the simplicity of it all. Most of these have really easy vocal patterns in the verses & choruses, really basic instrumentation in the guitar, and all the strength is laid out in the lyrics, which have more of a poetic scheme to them. It’s very easy to follow along to, and it is a reminder that music, as an art form, was originally made for stuff that sounds like this, at its very core, because it was made to be easily digestible, teachable, and shared to the masses. I really liked it – it just clicked wonderfully for me, and it does make me sort of yearn for music to be this “simple” again. OK, well, maybe not this simple, but I’d love to be able to just sing a song without having to feel like I need to hit a whistle note like Mariah Carey or anything. It is pure country music, plain and simple, and it should be up there within the standards of the genre itself. That’s just how you do it; easy 5.
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs by Marty Robbins is pure cowboy poetry — smooth, nostalgic, and packed with Western charm. But let’s be honest: if you’re here giving this album five stars, there’s a good chance you wandered in from the Mojave Wasteland. Thanks to Fallout: New Vegas, tracks like “Big Iron” and “Cool Water” have taken on near-mythic status. Hearing Big Iron kick in while patrolling the desert with a revolver and questionable morals? Unmatched. Suddenly, Robbins’ rich voice and storytelling aren’t just old-school country — they’re the soundtrack to dusty showdowns and wandering loners trying to do the right thing in a broken world. Outside the Fallout connection, the album is still a gem. Robbins was a master storyteller, and songs like “El Paso” and “The Master’s Call” hold up as classic narrative-driven country. But it’s the pop culture revival that makes this record feel alive again. So yes, this is five stars — not just for the quality, but for the sheer atmosphere it brings to anyone who’s roamed the Mojave with Big Iron on his hip.
5.0
Clean, well produced and sparse. There are just a few instruments and you make out each instrument and they never trample over the vocals. The songs tell stories and if you listen you can imagine what's going on as the vocalist weaves his tale. A C&W masterpiece.
... but my felinas shoot me with 12 gauge rounds
This album is ICONIC. It is basically the epitome of western country music. Marty Robbins was a master of story-telling, and his voice fits cowboy ballads perfectly. As someone who grew up in the "west" this album makes me nostalgic for an era that Marty didn't even experience. I don't know what magic was put into this album, but it deserves its spot in the annals of history. Best Songs: Big Iron, Billy The Kid, El Paso, Saddle Tramp Worst Songs: NA
A cool record filled with descriptive, scenic, and catchy country songs. Prior to hearing this record, the only song I knew by Marty Robbins was Big Iron; But I’m learning that even outside of that track, Robbins has knack for storytelling through his music and seems to do it through relative ease. And I love the artistry displayed in the guitars. Those and the singing accompaniment compliment Robbins’ singing so well. Definitely a great find to have on this list and is very unique compared to what I’ve heard so far. Favorite track: They’re Hanging Me Tonight
11/11/24 A brilliant album and each song tells its own story.
Omg so fun! The lyrics tell like dreamy story of the west full of gunsligers and outlaws... Immediadly starting with Big Iron put the expectations high, a few songs were kinda repetitive but still good. I think only thing is like this music is for certain kind of feeling but you could argue that all music is Quality also great, Marty sings kinda well?? Am i crazy for saying that?
One of my favorite country singers. This album is truly phenomenal. Hard to even pick a favorite, when most of the album was truly amazing.
The man with the big iron on his hip featured on this album. I didn't know it was so legendary, but it was a great listen.
Loved it. Knew Big Iron from Fallout: New Vegas. Just love this kind of music, and Marty Robbins is an amazing singer. The large group version of E Paso was the cherry on top. Standouts: Big Iron, They’re Hanging Me Tonight, Cool Water, The Strawberry Roan, The Master’s Call, The Hanging Tree, and El Paso.
Was ist ein Sattelschlepper im Wilden Westen? Ein Cowboy ohne Pferd xD Fand das Album cool
Bangeralbum.
Pure classic!
To me this is proper music. Stories well told set to great melodies. El Paso is a song so good the Dead played it over 400 times and Breaking Bad based their entire final episode on it. To top it all off Marty Robbins became a NASCAR driver. What a life. Hard to fault 4.75/5
The 50s really loved their Westerns. This album is full of outlaw tales and it's honestly great. Marty Robbins is an awesome story teller. Big Iron is such a cool opener, with a tale of Texas Red vs the Ranger. A lot of the album is similar, but Marty's voice is compelling enough to drive the album for it's whole length. Other standout is obviously El Paso, but I also liked The Master's Call and The Hanging Tree. Would definitely listen again if driving through any dusty old towns.
Marty Robbins, one of the coolest crooning cowboys in classic country. This album is just wonderful. Big Iron is a song so good that it may be more popular now than it was when the album came out 65 years ago, if that’s not evidence of its excellence, then I’m not sure what is. This record is such a great mixture of uptempo cowboy tunes, deeply depressing western ballads, Spanish guitar, and incredible vocal melodies and harmonies. Easy 5 stars.