Reviews (page 8 of 14)
Cowboy style songs. Fit for a very narrow niche of listeners.
I like this style of music for the usually interesting story telling. Nice vocal and overall, a good album.
Look at that, the greatest ever country album
Somehow this album manages to create some genuinely amazing stories that really keep me captivated. There's even a lot of emotion in the vocals in some moments which was really unexpected. Overall definitely enjoyed this one a lot more than I anticipated.
I mean, if you like Big Iron, this is a whole album of that. Can't complain, personally. Gotta be in the mood, but it definitely scratches and itch.
Not for me
yeehaw
yee haw babbyyy les go to new vegas deliver a chip
Highlights: El Paso, Big Iron, The Master's Call. In a nutshell: rolling rolling rolling...raw-hide! You can't help be drawn to Marty singing tales of the Old West. It's kinda romantic and it doesn't shy away from telling us how rough that era was. The composition is repeated throughout (I guess that was the style at the time) but focus on the lyrics. They are magnificent. Overall: 7/10
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.
This shit makes me wanna play Red Dead 2 with this on in the background. I love the vocals on this thing. Reminds me of O Brother Where art Thou - full and crisp 👍 You won’t find me talking about lyrics too much - they’re just another instrument to me on first listen. But since orchestration is so simple, if I wanted to review anything I had no choice but to read along while listening to Marty’s cowboy cries. Not sure what 1959 Marty knew about the wild west, but something tells me he had some John Wayne posters in his bedroom. Taking with me: El Paso (latinas), Billy the Kid, The Hanging Tree
This shit rules. Songs to listen to with my grandmother.
I was very excited to get an old western/country album. It's a breath of fresh air from the garbage country music that Nashville has been pumping into my ears (Gavin Adcock). I can't relate to anything that Marty is singing about, but it feels like I can. Storytelling is great, music is great given the time period. Healthy 4/5
For an album old enough to be pulling social security checks, it holds up pretty well. Marty Robbins lyrics center around 3 themes: God, guns, and dying. The songwriting is straightforward, guitar fills in the space that Marty isn't using. Album cover screams clearance record bin. Nothing spectacular, but this is a good record if you're looking to do some driving or relax by a camp-fire somewhere. ------------------------------ Highlights: Big Iron, Cool Water, The Master's Call, The Hanging Tree, El Paso Stinkers: None of them are that bad, maybe Billy the Kidd. -------------------------------- My Rating Scale: 1 - Trash. Why is it on this list? 2 - Mostly disliked, some good/great tracks 3 - Mostly liked, some exceptions 4 - It's great, with one or two misses allowed 5 - Masterpiece
Genuinely entranced by gunfighter ballads like an 8 year old in 1955 watching Davy Crockett, my god some things never change.
Best album ever made
There's no way to honestly review this without admitting that, yes, I've played Fallout: New Vegas. Multiple times. With mods. With a lot of mods, including radio mods, that add more songs to the in-universe playlist. And despite playing most of the Fallout games (again, with radio mods), Big Iron in New Vegas is the best use of music in the franchise. The only other one that comes close is "I Don't Want to Set the World on Fire" by the Ink Spots. In fact, it might be the best use of existing, diagetic music in gaming. The rest of the album is more of the same. Solid ballads, good storytelling, over some 50's country music. It's got a lot of good ballads on it, but the ones I liked best were El Paso and Billy the Kid.
Very traditional. Certainly well sung and performed, but not my cup of tea.
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.
Good
I'm pleased that "The Ballad of Buster Scruggs" helped me recognize some music on this album that I would have had no touchstone for. Big Iron was a certified banger.
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.
Big Iron and El Paso are classics. Some of the songs are sleepy but I appreciate the simplicity and stellar vocals.
Actually ok.
What a romp thru the prairie
There's just something about songs about Guys committing crimes of passion then getting captured and hanged that I can't get enough of. This was really good. 4 Stars
3.5
This has to be the best sort of Country to listen to. Very listenable with some great storytelling allowing the listener to place themselves in the songs they’re listening to. Didn’t think I’d enjoy it but I did.
Moderatly fun, mainly novelty.
I feel like a bit of an idiot now. There was I thinking the glamourising of gun violence was the fault of the late 80s gangsta rap crowd, but dear old Marty here had kicked it off 30 years earlier. It’s also got a similar but old fashioned sort of mysogeny insofar as shooting any man perceived to be trying to woo your ex, wife or somebody you’d just like to be your girl. Not so much bragging about how rich you are though, the vibe seems to be more about being lonesome and free (while crying a bit sometimes, which seems oddly mindful and open for those times). All in all though, I enjoyed that. Some good old straight up story tellin’ from another world (albeit bleakly romanticised somewhat). Some nice subtle guitar work too.
Big Iron and El Paso are the only good ones
Classic Country and me are simple incompatible. 2/5
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 really love "El Paso". The other songs were ok, some quite nice, others not so interesting. But overall a decent album.
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs ist ein klassisches Album von Marty Robbins, einem US-amerikanischen Country-Sänger und Songwriter, das 1959 veröffentlicht wurde. Es ist ein bemerkenswertes Werk, das sich mit den Themen des Wilden Westens und der amerikanischen Pioniergeschichte auseinandersetzt. Das Album wurde in verschiedenen Studios in den USA aufgenommen, unter anderem in den legendären RCA Studios in Nashville, die für ihre hohe Produktionsqualität bekannt sind. Das Album bietet eine Mischung aus traditionellen Country-Balladen und Western-Songs, die oft dramatische Geschichten erzählen. Besonders hervorzuheben sind die Songs „El Paso“ und „Big Iron“. „El Paso“ ist ein epischer Song über Liebe, Verlust und Rache und gilt als einer der bekanntesten Titel von Robbins. „Big Iron“ folgt einem ähnlichen Erzählstil, in dem es um einen revolvertragenden Helden geht, der einem Gesetzlosen gegenübersteht. Beide Lieder sind für ihre starke narrative Struktur und die charakteristischen Melodien des Country-Western-Genres bekannt. Das Genre des Albums lässt sich klar dem Country zuordnen, wobei es auch starke Elemente des Western-Folk und der Balladenmusik aufgreift. Robbins, der aus Arizona stammte, brachte seine Heimat und die dortige Kultur in seine Musik ein, was zu dem authentischen Flair beiträgt, das das Album auszeichnet. Insgesamt ist Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs ein wichtiger Meilenstein in der Country-Musik und ein frühes Beispiel für die Verschmelzung von Country mit Western-Narrativen. Marty Robbins gelingt es, die Geschichte des Wilden Westens auf eine Weise zu erzählen, die sowohl zugänglich als auch tiefgründig ist. Das Album bleibt auch Jahrzehnte nach seiner Veröffentlichung eine prägende Sammlung von Songs, die das Bild des Cowboy-Mythos in der amerikanischen Musiklandschaft mitgeprägt haben. Fazit: Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs ist ein solides Album, das einen prägnanten Eindruck von Marty Robbins' Fähigkeit gibt, Geschichte und Musik zu vereinen. Es bietet eine interessante Mischung aus Erzählkunst und musikalischer Handwerkskunst im klassischen Country-Stil.
Super tacky, but I love it
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 quite enjoyed listening to this throughout the day. Good ol' western music. It's not something I'd put on regularly but it does what it does very very well
1. iron - 3.5 2. acrez - 1.5 3. tonight - 2 4. uuater - 1.5 5. kid - 3 6. utah - 1.5 7. roan - 1.5 8. call - 4 9. gun - 1.5 10. el pazo - 5 11. valley - 1.5 12. green - 1.5 13. tree - 1.5 14. tramp - 2 15. el pazo too - 5
Not really sure what to say other than I enjoyed it. Reminded me of Johnny Cash
Not something I'd have picked up to listen to ever. I quite enjoyed the tone of the recording and the storytelling in the lyrics
Great voice and story telling. Kind of feels like it should be an album for kids in the 50's.
He’s pretty cool marty robins/ musician and race car driver. Also pretty fit ngl Big iron is pretty great/ so is they’re hanging me tonight. I honestly worried it was going to sound like the last chance saloon song on dr who. (You’ll get why I dreaded that of you’ve watched the gunfighters). 4/5
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.
Wel lachen, maar voor mijn gevoel was het ook veel hetzelfde. Het is ook wel de jaren '50/60, dus ik kan ook niet heel veel verwachten haha
Really don't know Country well at all. Glad this list is showing me the way. Marty Robbins, a man who released 52 studio albums in his 57 years on this earth, provides an interesting listen. Big Iron and El Paso are deservedly classics. El Paso is very Spanish sounding, can really hear the influences of a range of music backgrounds. Hadn't made the connection between Country and Mexican, Hawaiin, even Irish music before. Country may be more musically interesting than I had previously thought. Cool Water, Strawberry Roan, Little Green Valley were also memorable. Definitely still have to be in the right mood for an album like this, but after ignoring it yesterday, I'm glad I gave it a try today. Going on a country exploration now - my favourite part of this list, inspiring musical rabbit holes.
Pleasant cowboy music with a few notable songs about getting shot.
Bit shit but different
This one's cut from a different cloth. It's not actually the oldest album to come up for our group but it definitely *feels* the oldest. Maybe a little bit one-note, but it's a pretty good note.
6/10. The songwriting on this album is quite nice. However, this album just isn't for me. Sorry!!!
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.
Classy El Paso
surprisingly enjoyable. wouldn't mind having a copy of this one on my shelf.
Hell yeah.
Great cowboy music, transportive and with a great voice. But it's still cowboy music from the 50s - some of it sounds like it belongs in an old movie about killin' lawmen, some of it sounds like it belongs in an old movie about being in Hawaii, somehow. Nice artifact.
All timer
Sviđa mi se rockabilly vibe koji se tu i tamo pojavi, ali to je i dalje country. Ne mogu reći da mi je užasno jer imam ogroman respekt prema tom razdoblju glazbe, ali mi je mlaki filing kad slušam jer nema ničeg preuzbudljivog. Zbog toga će biti 2/5, 4/10
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
Interesting
He's got a fine voice, and it's a good representative of its genre, but this isn't really my kind of thing. The lyric "He's about the worst bucker I've seen on the range" made me double take when I (mis)heard it.
A truly entertaining listen. Storytelling at its peak! “Old western” style country music where horrific tales of violent death are set to a jaunty tune.
Pretty good, surprisingly.
Takes me back to the wasteland.
If I could have given this a zero I would have - soz Martyn
Дед прослушает, батя оценит, а сын пройдет мимо. Я не знаком с творчеством Марти Роббинса, и этот альбом (как я понял, сборник хитов) стал для меня первым в его дискографии. Мне было действительно интересно погрузиться в атмосферу дикого запада и послушать его звучание, а оно здесь достаточно примечательное. Первостепенно в песнях с этого альбома воспринимается вокал в стиле Фрэнка Синатры. За ним слышен инструментал, и он звучит так, будто The Beatles после дебютных альбомов решили замедлить темп своих песен и уйти в минимализм, оставив лишь акустическую гитару и пару тройку духовых инструментов для припевов. К тому же в песнях присутствует замечательный бэк вокал, он играет достаточно важную роль в их восприятии. В этом альбоме слушатель не найдет ничего экспериментального, каждой песне с альбома присутствует уникальный мотив, который многократно повторяется на протяжении трека, что делает почти все песни однообразными и незапоминающимися. К слову, однообразность песен определенно положительно сказывается на прослушивании альбома в качестве фоновой музыки (если вдруг обычные lo-fi стримы с ютуба надоели). Я прослушал версию альбома с 27 песнями, хотя в оригинале их количество составляет 12, и хотелось бы мне конечно же сказать, что альбом затянутый, но нет, 27 баллад подряд звучат как одна большая история в стике кантри и воспринимаются как настоящий концептуальный альбом. К сожалению, отсутствие настоящих хитов и конкретно устаревшее звучание (в отличие от битлов, которые всего через несколько лет покажут классику рока) не дают мне поставить высокую оценку данному альбому. Послушать его хотя бы раз безусловно стоит, но на постоянной основе я это сделать не смогу. Ковбойские 3,5/5 (3/5).
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.
Saddle up pardner
Not really my style, but I love that every song is about murder
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.
Oldschoolowe country. Jak z Radia Pogoda. Ma to swój urok, ale w pewnym momencie staje się bardzo monotonne. Każdy kawałek jest przyjemny, bo każdy jest taki sam. Na jedno kopyto ten koń jest kuty. Mimo tego nadal całkiem nieźle się bawiłam przy tej płycie. 6/10
Of its time, music romanticising the old Wild West. Quite popular with the generations that preceeded mine. Can't doubt he's got a good voice and the lyrics are well crafted as vignettes. The sort of music my late mother and her generation seemed to love
First listen. Impressive, most impressive!
Yeah
El Paso is a classic
Even if you imagined what the epitome of old school country sounds like, this would still blow it out of the water. A bit too twee for me
I know cowboy is having a moment and objectively his voice is lovely - but I simply could not bring myself to engage with this.
Smooth country swing
Very linear, over-explanatory storytelling. Also has a strange fixation with geography. Idk, this was a weird one. Like if Lawrence Welk was doing Johnny Cash.
I'm not sure how to rate this! I liked it and thought it was good at what it was going for. So, 3 stars?
Oldies country pop. Some songs sound like an old TV theme song, and that's just fime by me
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.
I'm a sucker for songs that tell a story and that's this whole album. Great.
first “i have no idea what this is” album of the project but it was fun! Robbins doesn’t have quite the same cultural foothold as, say, Johnny Cash, but it definitely speaks to something timeless about this album that so many of its songs have been used in modern media. Shoutout Breaking Bad
I’ve always enjoyed this sort of stuff. Classic, simple, super singalongable even if you’ve never heard it before. Reminds me of Burl Ives who I listen to a lot with my sister as well as others of that era and ilk. Makes me want to pick up the guitar again. (3.5 stars)
Won't lie, I thought I was going to hate this from the cover. But it was actually good fun! The songs felt a little same-y is my only complaint.
Love this album. El Paso is a staple.
Shout-out to El Paso for it's place in Grateful Dead songbook. Otherwise not really a fan of the smooth, straight-ahead, and of it's time nature of this music.
I liked the palate and story telling
Yee haw. This is going on regular rotation.
I liked this way more than I expected. Reminded me of a Quentin Tarantino movie. Looking at the cover it was exactly what I expected. Great storytelling, pleasant melodies - I really liked the vibe surprisingly. I’m giving this 4 stars sorry not sorry.
Gunslinging perfection…
maybe the most classic of all classic western albums. this album puts the western in country and western music. the songs are short, sweet, and catchy. marty robbins' voice is so great and pleasant to listen to. to be honest, i think marty robbins was the vocalist early elvis was most trying to be when he sang ballads. just a really solid album.
Considered a classic this is just too far outside my wheelhouse to really enjoy.
Country western songs from the 1950s. A little bit Cash-Style, not as dark. Happier.
Sometimes things can get a little too yeehaw for my liking. I do enjoy country music, and the tracks in this album are a full reflection of the album's art, but my problem with it is that almost every song sounds the same. There are some highlights, like The Master's Call, but most of them were as catchy as the same cords over and over again in a track can be. Enjoyable, nothing mind-blowing.
О кайф это знаю и люблюю Песня молодости
3/5
It was okay, nostigia-type feeling while listening to it. But nothing that would make me wanna think or vibe to.
2 Stars (5/15)
Totally good, but very repetitive to the point of songs blending together
Was almost a western storybook album, made me laugh in places and surprisingly I didn’t hate it.
Yee-haw I want to play New Vegas now
Johnny Cash and Elvis and... Marty Robbins!
Surprised with how much I enjoyed it. Not a fan of country, but I do like the classics like this one, and the more popular stuff from the 70s and 80s
Surprisingly pleasant, actually.
Decent
Just about the only country music I can listen to
Hits
Big iron on his hip
I own this vinyl, bought used in the 80’s. Transferred it to cassette, and loved cranking Big Iron as I roared across the desert Southwest in my old Fiat ragtop. The Spider is long gone to the scrapper, but the outlaw ballads still gets regular PT in my space. God Bless Marty Robbins!
yeehaw cowboy outlaw sheriff !!! good lyrics on this one
YEE-HAW
not for me
A big iron on his hip
oh helll yeaah
I liked it! Breaking Bad vibes. :)
A classic and Often listened to album at my house Not just because of Fallout
Its kinda fun. The songs start to sound the same to me. Its not really for me, but it was a fun listen and the stories painted were kinda fun lol. "Big Iron" and "El Paso" are classics. I think this is actually like a 2.5. Liked Songs: "Big Iron" , "Utah Carol" , "The Strawberry Roan" , "El Paso" , "The Hanging Tree"
liked songs: I definitely recognized Big Iron. I can't say I'm a big fan of this genre (cowboy country??). 1.75
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.
Who knew Marty Robbins wrote the original Hanging Tree song
i really don’t know what or how to rate this. the songs were fine but with this genre i can’t tell them apart, they all sound the same to me
Made me feel like I was sitting in a rocking chair on a porch in a big ranch house drinking bourbon and smoking cigars
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.
Giving this a 3 because I can’t really imagine ever seeking this out to listen to it again but I actually enjoyed it. Great story telling, simple but complementary music, nice voice.
I am now trans.
Great!
Fun
Not my thing generally; too plodding. But Cool Water has nice harmonies. "The night's are cool and I'm a fool" is great.
Simple, elegant, charming 5/5
This was nice. Cool. Interesting. I enjoyed it and will definitely come back to it.
they all kinda sound the same, but thats not really the point. Quite alike Johnny Cash, which is great. cool storytelling. Favourite songs: Big iron, a hundred and sixty acres, Utah Carrol, El Paso, the hanging tree. Overall around 7/10
I suppose if I was going to go out to an old-timey western-themed restaurant.... well, I think I would still get pretty tired of this after just a couple of songs. My tolerance is even lower in my own home. I can tell it's got some merit to it, though, so I'm not giving it the dreaded one-star rating.
Artiste inconnu. Très répétitif, donc très ennuyeux. Rien de bien intéressant, j'ai arrêté au 4eme morceau. =>1/5
Hell yeah brother What else can I even say here
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.
Solid and consistent El Paso is on the album twice for some reason.
This is a pretty typical cowboy album - or perhaps prototypical. It's fun, often melancholy, and a great listen. Favorite track: "Big Iron"
4/5. Bardzo przyjemne i kilka piosenek zapisałem.
Country music, cowboys in the Wild West - Voice is smooth and deep - Pretty boring for melodies, lyrics, and instrumentals
I almost would have liked to hear the band play without Marty’s vocals on several of these songs.
I love Marty Robbins voice, and storytelling songs are so great! Sad songs with bullets
This was a really, cool old school country album! It was interesting to listen to this and hear what a country album was like from the tail end of the 50s overall it was an interesting addition to this!
Not my cup of tea
Classic country.
Great album if you’re not a Mexican broad or a horse
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.
This was quite a pleasant listen
Pretty decent album, but Marty Robbins was MAGA before MAGA was a thing, so fuck him.
Wish I had a big iron on my hip.
I actually really like music like this, though I hardly ever listen to it. The story telling always makes it feel like an action movie. As an album, it's not coherent but thats to be expected for 1959. I will certainly explore this sound more
A little too much country 4 me
Gunslinging ballads aren’t my jam
Love it. It’s like being transported back in time to a Western Movie. I could have this on in the background all day.
Starts out like a gunslinger; quick and sure. But tumbles down into the little green valley faster than a wild mustang being chased by a runaway wagon wheel. OK finish with Saddle Tramp and El Paso, none the less it’s still old country. Overall, the album feels dated and a bit hokey. Limps in at (2.1*s)
I don't know what's stranger: the fact that I recognized a few songs on this album or that I actually enjoyed it all the way through. I expected to rate this very low but to my surprise it was really fun and engaging. I also like how this is considered "Pop" for 1959; catchy strumming, detailed stories, and a copper voice make these bonafide foot-tappers. You're damned if this doesn't make you wanna grab your boots and go herd cattle. It definitely evoked feelings and scenery in a very tangible way. An easy 2.35 for the cowboy waltzes, now go watch The Ballad of Buster Scruggs.
Some jaunty cowboy tunes from a bygone era. Marty my boy can spin a good yarn about the gunslingin' west. Little surprised it was written and released in 1959. I was quite caught up in the ol' saddle tramp's story telling, despite the repetitive themes and it being country music. "El Paso" and "Big Iron" were best tracks. Much more enjoyable then I expected...2.39.
From the onset of the first note I was worried that this would be a struggle. I expected a collection of outdated country western songs with limited appeal. While that's pretty much what I got it was a little better than my initial judgement. Classic western country is pretty far from my personal taste so I won't be coming back but I didn't struggle with this as much as many other entries on the list. I'm sure there was an era and a setting when this was appealing but as a coastal city boy it just doesn't resonate with me in any way. You can throw one of these on in a late night saloon every now and then but otherwise I'll mostly skip the entire genre. 1.57 stars
Great driving album, a gem of American west
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!
Great singer - kind of an Elvis vibe. Even though it's old and not really my style, I definitely appreciate the musicality.
This album makes you realize how really radical the Beatles were in 1962.
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
Classic american western feeling album!
Really enjoyable. Vocals were amazing, melodies were great, some of the songs were brilliant. But generally some songs felt too slow or like filler so I have to mark it down a point
El bodrio del country no termina. 1.5
I enjoyed it. Not the type of music I'd go back to but it was a good listen.
Sorry, not for me, I skipped it after a while! I guess it's a cultural thing, I don't know; for English native speakers I understand the storytelling can be fabulous but for me, meh... let's just say, doesn't make my type ;-)
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
Classic
I’d give Marty Robbins a role in the sack.
I can see why something like this would be on this list. It's very pleasing on the ears. Light, fun, simple, great melodies. Just not my daily listening preference, but glad I am now familiar with it.
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.
This yee do be hawing, ain't it right, fellas?
++: Big Iron, Cool Water, Billy the Kid, A Hundred and Sixty Acres, They're Hanging Me Tonight, The Master's Call, Running Gun, Utah Carol +: The Strawberry Roan, In the Valley, The Little Green Valley +-: El Paso 7,9/10
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
I enjoyed the bad boy vibe and some of the country sounds, but it's a product of its time and just sounded a bit too close to eat listening for me
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.
achieved exactly what it set out to do. very repetitive but not a bad listen. nice to hear the original (?) recording of El Paso but weird that it’s on the album twice
The album overall is great, old country. I've only recently discovered any country music that I like. The stuff that I do like that's contemporary, has an older feel to it, harkening back to music like this but more rich (given that it's written more recently). I'd give this album a 4/5.
Lay still, Lenore, I'm coming? Big iron, indeed! 3.5
Bruh yes x1000. One of the vinyls I am most proud I own
Fun, but a bit too country for me
Fun and nostalgic
It wasnt as bad as I was expecting, although it was exactly what I expected. They're of a time and they do really make you feel like you're watching an old cowboy film.
Very catchy songs, happy to finally discover country music ( i think it's country ? ). I find the music a bit childish but it's nonthenless great.
Cowboys hiya chevals chapeaux youpi vive le grand Ouest. De la country mielleuse.
Thought I'd scan through the reviews as I listened to this. You really get a sense of the overwhelming lack of empathy from what I assume is mostly younger folks. Might not be younger folks. But the crowd that uses "I hate country" and "this is cheesy" and "I'm not a cowboy so I can't relate" and so on as their justification for dismissing this album are curiously bereft of any ability to connect with anything or anyone outside of their narrow range of interest. Even the video game crowd can sort of only connect with the one song that was in that video game they play. Isn't the point of going on this "1001 records" journey to be exposed to records from different genres, different cultures, different time periods? It seems as though many are seeing it as an opportunity to talk about all the ways they managed to be offended by a record. And then there's those who want to compare this to gangsta rap thanks to the subject matter. Some of the songs on Robbins' album are old traditional songs written back in a time when the west really hadn't been settled yet, and the world was an entirely different place than, say, '90s Compton. And recognizing the huge cultural impact this and subsequent albums, tv shows and movies had... the "western" was ubiquitous back in the day. This record absolutely deserves to be on this list for any number of reasons. For me, ultimately, I see his perfectly clean suit and shoes on the cover, and hear the beautifully sung music with no rough edges other than the words themselves, and it feels like a museum piece... unlike the feeling I get when I hear Hank Williams Sr. "El Paso" I've known since I was a kid, I don't remember where I first heard it, it's lilting melody belies the dark story... "Big Iron" is great and "Cool Water" I know from Sons of the Pioneers. I can do about 4 songs on this before the production start sounding samey. Beautiful, but samey. I just encourage people to see the beauty in the world, see the beauty in the records you are unfamiliar with, learn about the artist or circumstances around the recording the album or its cultural impact... practice finding something positive to say.
Yeah... not my cup of tea. Not much of a gunfighter or in need of a trail song. This seems to be the kind of music that rock and roll rose up as a counterpoint to. The only situation I could see liking this music would be in Frontierland at Disneyland.
I was bored after 3 minutes of track 1. A minute into track 2 I was irritated. A minute into track 3 I gave up. Not my kind of thing. 1/5
He has a lovely voice and some really pretty harmonies. I really really don't love this genre, the stories are all basically country and western stories of stealin' girls and shootin' bad'uns and rustlin' horses. I can see the charm and I didn't hate it, but it's not really for me. Tip of the cap for El Paso, though, which is a brilliant song and immediately brought me back to watching Breaking Bad.
1st song is the best in the album.
5/5 no notes. Big Iron, they're hanging me tonight and the master's call.
All the sounds were about the same thing. No variation at all.
pretty fun for what it is
Nej tack. Rätt trist country. Inte min kopp te alls.
Det här tycker jag var en kul överraskning som var lätt att tycka om. Så här ska cowboy-country låta!
Enjoyed - smooth vocals. Only problem for me is that cannot really relate to Cowboy songs about horses so kinda washed over me with no emotional hook.
Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs I really enjoyed this, putting me in mind of The Big Lebowski or a very watchable western on TV on a Sunday afternoon. It’s an interesting genre, Western music, I do like it, mainly as I like a lot of the 50s and 60s western movies. It has probably been subsumed by Country and Country & Western, but I really like its Spanish influenced non-fiddle folk feel, and that it’s immediately evocative of a specific time and place, however mythical that world may be. He has a very 50s voice, almost like a crooner, and he has a great sense of small scale drama that really suits the relatively simple backing and the themes and well constructed stories of the songs. I particularly liked Big Iron, Cool Water, They’re Hanging Me Tonight, The Strawberry Roan, Running Gun and Utah Carol I could happily listen to this all day, it’s on the cusp of 3 and 4, I’ll tip over to 4 as I’m sure I’ll revisit this more. 🤠🤠🤠🤠 Playlist submission: Big Iron
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.
Wie aus einem Paralleluniversum. Ungenießbar.
I was in a 60s mood today. After listening to a random 60s playlist, I remembered this project and came to find a 60s album. Unfortunately this one didn't really hit the spot.
4.5
Easy listening.
When you say that you like country, you are talking about modern pop country. When I say that I like country, I am talking about this kind of country. We are not the same. The storytelling of the songs is just incredible. I'm nearly in tears listening to El Paso. The vocal work of the entire album is really good. The harmonies are phenomenal, and it's a joy to listen to Marty sing. Everything about the album is simple (as it is music from '59), but I think that just adds to the charm of it. I'm not overwhelmed or absolutely in awe of the album, but it is very good from beginning to end. Favorite Song(s): Big Iron, The Master's Call, El Paso
65. Pleasant but it all sounds the same. Good for a night drive or to listen indoors looking at a foggy day outside.
Old
They're hanging me tonight felt more 50s sock hop them cowboy. Overall not bad just not my thing. There is some beauty in the storytelling in the songs. It's straight forward but it's also a good reminder of folklore and story telling traditions through song. Makes me think of some of the songs origin and the cowboy lifestyle long ago. Not wanting to go back but just good examples of a time gone by.
Nope. Couldn’t get into this. Not my thing.
This album is another example of the universe sending a wink. I recently watched an interview with my current pop obsession, Chappell Roan, who is truly freaking awesome btw, saying she chose her name by combining her grandfather’s last name and his favorite song: The Strawberry Roan by Marty Robbins. Lo and behold, here we are. This is the version of country music that I’m 100% in love with. Melodies! Talent! Simplicity! As a kid I would’ve balked hard at this, but age sometimes brings maturity through experience and keeping a mostly open mind. That open mind comes from chilling to grandma’s country records after she passed away 10 years ago, and connecting to her soul through the music she loved. This album wasn’t in her collection, but some of these songs, recorded by similar artists, were. There's not a skip to be had on this.
There was nothing offensive about this, and it was relatively pleasant to my ears, but I just can’t relate to being an old-timey cowboy.
Really good western music. I have heard some of these songs before but listening to the whole album was pretty cool. I'm not sure I would listen to it again but it's classic western type music that I enjoyed. I don't think that I would seek it out to listen again though.
I was familiar with "El Paso" but nothing else. Interesting to read that "Big Iron" had a viral moment because it was included in a video game in 2010. I find this kind of music ages a little better than other genres.
Fun and charming, but also feels kitschy by today's standards. Also telling that people complain about rap being too violent, meanwhile this album might as well be call "Jaunty Homocide."
Quaint and not unpleasant to listen to, but not anything I'd go out of my way to go back to.
Real talk, the best thing the Fallout games did was introduce old-ass bangers like this to a new generation. I wouldn't have given the album much thought without them. This kind of slaps? It's an album full of skits, sung with rich harmonies and twinkly Spanish guitar. What's not to love?
Fun country ballads! Not something I would seek out though
I was once in a semi-fictional band called Nevermind Mr Bear, and this is what we aspired to be. Unfortunately we lost all our music when MySpace ‘accidentally’ fucked up their data migration. This is good at first and then every song is the same!
Classic sounds from old westerns, yes, but must hear? No.
It’s country, but not the kind I hate. This is bearable.
What I expected to hear: cowboy music What I heard: cowboy music, I did recognize El Paso If you like cowboy/country/western music you will love this album. I don't, so this was a tough one to get through.
It was alright for a western type album. But only 3 stars.
Not for everyone, but for people who like this era of music and feeling like their in fallout it's good fun
Nasal sluggish vibrato country western. Not for me.
еми изкефи ме
Tem a importância por apresentar "Big Iron" que boa mesmo é na versão do Johnny Cash. No mais, foi esperar acabar os 40 minutos restantes.
Western, country music. I can't say it's bad, but couldn't make it to the end of the album. 3/10
Great old tunes from a master song stylist! Instantly recognizable voice, and catchy classic country songs.
I’m surprised how good this sounds for being receded in 1959. I really enjoyed this one, added it to a couple playlists and I’m gonna go further into his catalog.
Ha! I listened to this one a few months ago when I was in El Paso. Great Western music with nice harmonies and storytelling. Definitely a classic. El Paso stands out as a favorite. 4 on this one.
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! 💃
Wow. I enjoyed this one more than I thought I would. My dad was a Marty Robbins fan, but as a kid I just never really got into any of Robbins's songs and was only familiar with El Paso. The first song on here was killer. Good story telling, cool background vocals and despite the simplicity it was a really interesting song. I ended up listening to Big Iron probably 3 or 4 times. Marty has a rich crooner type voice and his singing sounds effortless. He reminded me a bit of the Everly Brothers, Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly. Halfway through the album I found myself thinking 'how in the hell did country go from this to what contemporary country music is now'? This album is almost cinematic in a way and has good fundamentals.
💜
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.
the formula of singing 8 songs about murder and then 1 or 2 about jesus never fails to crack me up. this music sounded great and he has a really good voice.
There's like 3 song templates on this album and then there's like 3 or 4 versions of each template, but thankfully they are pretty good
yeehaw
Fallout: New Vegas OST
Awesome!
Yeehaw
El Paso is one of the greatest songs ever. The rest were some very good country and western songs too.
"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.
nice sound, i love when an artist tells a story with lyrics like this. feels like a lost art, you dont hear this sound or type of lyricism that much nowadays, but its a fun one!
Now country in general is not one of my go to genres. I have a bit of exposure to much early country music as well, having grown up with it to a large degree. It just never entered my soul, as such. But I would not say that Marty Robbins, or this album is quite the same thing. Most of the country I am used to is short, tragic tales of down on ones luck, hard drinking, gambling, I don't know... But this is more like stories being told. Hard luck? Not so much, more about choices and the fate that brings. I found I had to pay attention to the songs as stories and did not pay attention to the music as much. I actually really enjoyed some of these ballads, regardless of how different from my own life they are. PS: being a gunslinger might not be the best choice of career.
7/10
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...)
While the first track on the album is legendary thanks to a certain Nevada-based game which I will try to not name as a challenge, the other songs on today's record do certainly hold up on their own regard, with The Master's Call being a highlight for me. Pretty solid 4 in my book.
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.
Buster Scruggs the musical.
Pas pour moi...
I had never heard of Marty Robbins, I am not interested in western vibes of music. I was shocked that I knew a song from the album “Big Iron” and that was pretty catchy. I probably won’t give this album another listen, but maybe it will be good small talk with my grandpa
Like fallout and rdr2 had a baby
I'm not a fan of country music and thought I was going into this blind. Turns out that I already knew a couple of the songs. El Paso was in Breaking Bad and I've heard a cover of Big Iron, although I didn't know it was a cover until now. The storytelling in this album is top notch. I love the vivid imagery that each song paints. Most songs on this album are brilliant, although I feel there a couple that fall a little short.
Macho music that boosts confidence.
Grateful Dead has covered El Paso, so when I heard it, it was the Leonardo DiCaprio meme. Good listen, not in my normal wheelhouse, but that’s why I’m doing this challenge. Would listen to some of the songs again.
I like the content, although the songs are pretty monotonous
Hard to track some of these stories but damn if I don't like some of these melodies. I wonder if D'Angelo listened to this while writing SDM.
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
Bra för att vara den genren men tråkigt. 2+
It's fun, and Big Iron is great, but it's really hard to take this album seriously.
Yee haw. Quite the vibe. Sunday morning TV stuff
Big Iron. It's a chill time, I guess if anything harms my enjoyment is that I'm not a country guy but somehow this album feels familiar with the tejano influences.
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.
frekar skemmtilegt bara. hlusta aftur. 3,5.
This was great! My Grandpa is a huge Marty Robbins fan but I've never really bothered to listen to him. A great album. Great songs, great musicians, what a voice! And these songs really tell some great and even dark stories. I got chills when I heard "They're Hanging Me Tonight". This is the best new album I've discovered on this list so far.
Great voice (if a bit formal and over-trained), crisp and professional delivery. Not the most darkly-delivered murder ballads, but the rich smoothness of the voice and polished playing contrast intriguingly with the grim content. However, there is a paradox in hearing a condemned man and one dying of thirst voice their plights in such balanced, even polished, fashion. Personally one likes the close mixture of thanos and eros especially when there's a backing chorus that seems to sing for uplift (e.g., "The Hanging Tree). A true piece of Americana, this, and quite worth hearing, even if it's not exactly outlaw country.
Just wasn't my thing
Rätt lyssningsbart faktiskt. Några oväntat bra låtar.
... but my felinas shoot me with 12 gauge rounds
It was good, but... same ish?
Flo sounds based ngl
Really fun listen but got a little repetitive towards the end. Big iron is a jam.
Va duro.
Big Iron is a certified hood classic (shoutout fallout new Vegas). The rest of this album is rootin…and certainly tootin
There’s an unhurried grace to these songs, a kind of quiet confidence. It calls to mind the storytelling style of Willie Nelson, but more grounded and direct. The melodies are timeless, and the lyrics are vivid, like stepping into a sepia-toned memory.
I loved this so much more than I was expecting to. His voice is truly lovely, and the backing vocals complement him so nicely. And not only is the storytelling great, the lyrics flow like water, the meter a perfect match for the melody. And the melodies! One of my favorite moments is that climb and fall on the word wind in El Paso. Delightful. This is what I'd been hoping for when I had my Waylon Jennings album, which, while still good, just didn't leave the same impression that this did. When I listen to country music, this belongs in the rotation.
Really great. Enthusiastic and candy like while cartoonishly dark and morbid. What a fun piece of history.
I don't really like it but my horse kinda likes it so it's a 2
good western country, not mine
My initial reaction was “uuuugghh no thank you” but honestly, embarrassingly liked it. Catchy and sweet
This album might more properly be called "Songs About My Own Violent Death" but you gotta give credit to Marty Robbins, he writes a hell of a tune. It's crazy that this album was recorded in 8 hours. His voice sounds great, and his ballads are all fun stories (that generally end in his violent death) 4/5
Unique and perfect for this list. The voice is impeccable and the story telling is top notch
Favorite Track: El Paso
Very fun, reminds me of playing Fallout. 3.3 stars
Kinda fun in the same way that watching movies from that era is kinda fun, but not anything I would play on repeat.
I can get behind county like this
Coming into this one with a bit of knowledge about the album beforehand. This is the peak of western music and contains some of the greatest country songs ever made. Get me a pint of golden water and a cowboy hat - yeeeeeeehawww
4.5 Outlaw country. A couple epic songs: Big Iron, El Paso
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
Some swell guitar picking and singing.
How do I rate a collection of songs that I personally do not care for or about but recognize the importance of to the broader cultural landscape of this country?
This is what I would be if I was a cowboy. Just four part harmonies with my boys, posing, and singing lil story songs.