These came out in 1999 – or at least that’s when I got them. Here’s what I said about them back then (with some minor editing):
Back in the days before The Duke and Clint, cowboys didn’t just have to know how to shoot, rope and ride — they also had to know how to sing. And tune-carrying cowpokes like Roy Rogers and Gene Autrey weren’t just a mainstay of the entertainment industry; they were also the pioneers of today’s country music.
Nobody knows that better than Chicago’s insurgent country label Bloodshot, which is doing what it can to preserve the past with a new series of long-lost country classics from stars of yesteryear. First up is 79-year-old Rex Allen, represented here by 22 cuts recorded back in the ’40s. Backed by some crackerjack barbershop harmonies, and a jumpin’ quartet, Allen melts his buttery vocal cords through happy trails and tough-luck tales like A Human Coyote Stole My Girl, Tyin’ Knots In The Devil’s Tail and I Won’t Need My Six Gun In Heaven (“For there won’t be no rustlers up there.”)
On the other hand, if you’re after something with a bit more jump, jive and wail — not to mention notoriety — try Spade Cooley, a California fiddler and big-band leader who was basically the precursor to Commander Cody. His 25-track collection swings from top to bottom — boppin’ bass, train-whistle fiddle lines, gleaming pedal steel licks and a rockin’ accordion (no foolin’!). Cowboy crooner Tex Williams’ rich, warm vocals are the cherry on the sasparilla. Assuming, of course, that you can stomach the fact that Cooley was tried and convicted in 1961 for murdering his wife, and died in prision while awaiting parole in 1969. After all, not all cowboys wore white hats.
