Free Rangin’
Prickly Pair & The Cactus Chorale
Every time a CD from this group hits our mailbox, I look forward to hearing what Les and Locke Hamilton have whipped up. From the Emerald Isle to the Hills of Old Wyoming, this is cowboy music that runs close to its roots.
Locke’s beautiful voice and her charming Irish lilt breathe life into these wonderful songs. Close your eyes and let Rocky Mountain Morning wash over your senses; you’ll feel a little of what it is that keeps us living in the rural West.
Les’s fiddle has never sounded better. The arrangements also make clever use of the penny whistle, flute and bodhran — to give life to that infectious Celtic sound. Billy Hill’s hauntingly beautiful Prairie Lullaby and Ray Doyle’s Emigrant Trail add to the diversity of this fine collection. The final track is a wistful poem from S. Omar Barker’s Songs of the Saddlemen. Locke started reading the poem and a beautiful memory just came to her mind. It’s probably my favourite track, from a collection I’ll be listening to over and over.
Order it from www.cowboycountrymarket.com
I don’t know if the person who runs the advertising department of Canadian Pacific has heard Track One of this CD, but I sure hope so. They should build a national radio, TV and print advertising campaign using this song as its theme.
Hockeytown is a proud collection of Canadiana;
it’s what we’re all about. The title track will prove irresistible for any red-blooded Canadian boy raised on Foster Hewitt, Don Cherry, Ron McLean and “them Sutter Boys from out in Viking”. Their names are woven into this clever anthem. Maybe someday they’ll play it during the real NHL games.
From coast to coast Tim entertains us with songs he’s written about what makes us unique. From the Maritimes to the West Coast, these songs inspire foot-stomping standing ovations everywhere.
As a diligent historian, Tim’s music covers roots, folk, rural redneck and blue collar. But he considers himself first and foremost a cowboy singer. That’s confirmed in my two favourite tracks: Picture Butte Charlie and Country Music Lament. I played that one on the Spirit of the West in August … and I’m still getting calls about it.
Order this gem from www.cowboycountrymarket.com