Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs

by Marty Robbins

Overview

The single most influential album of Western songs in post-World War II American music, Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs touched a whole range of unexpected bases in its own time and has endured extraordinarily well across the ensuing four decades. The longevity of the album's appeal is a result of Marty Robbins' love of the repertory at hand and the mix of his youthful dynamism and prodigious talent that he brought to the recordings, and the use of the best music production techniques of the era. Add to that the presence of a pair of killer original songs that were ready-made singles, "El Paso" and "Big Iron," and a third, "The Master's Call," that was startlingly personal, and the results are well-nigh irresistible. The range of material on this album is extraordinary, from love songs to spirituals, songs so old they have no known author, and originals by the singer, all of which seamlessly fit together. Robbins' subject is mostly the west of myth and movie, which benefits from his ability as a storyteller -- "Big Iron" or "El Paso" may tell tales heard or seen 100 times onscreen, but he makes listeners feel like this is the first time they're hearing them, complete with excitement and anticipation of a poet in the middle of a spellbinding recital. The guitars, played by Robbins, Grady Martin, and Jack Pruett, and Bob Moore's upright bass all have a crisp sound, and the Glaser Brothers' understated vocal accompaniment embellishes the singing in key spots without intruding on the spell cast by Robbins' singing. Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs has been reissued several times on CD, paired with its follow-up, More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs, as part of Bear Family Records' Under Western Skies box, and in an expanded edition in 1999 with three bonus tracks. "The Hanging Tree," written for the 1959 movie of the same name, was actually Robbins' first commercial recording of a cowboy song, predating the album by six months. Meanwhile, "Saddle Tramp" was a Robbins original recorded eight months after the album -- their presence adds another significant dimension to the album and its scope. There was a reason why the Western movies and television shows started to be called "horse operas" -- at their best, they had a sense of drama and were driven by charismatic leads. "Saddle Tramp" and "The Hanging Tree" both show Robbins as a kind of cowboy heldentenor creating two beautifully wrought vestpocket Western dramas that significantly add to the appeal of the original album, with the chorus on "Saddle Tramp" among Robbins' most beautiful moments on record. ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	03/12/2021
Label:	Glamourama
UPC:	8436563183263
Rank:	29318

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Marty Robbins   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Lead Vocals
The Glaser Brothers   Guest Artist,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Ray Conniff   Orchestra Leader
Hilmer J. Timbrell   Guitar
Trefoni Rizzi   Guitar
Louis Dunn   Drums
Bob Moore   Bass
Jack Pruett   Guitar
Ted Romersa   Drums
Philip Stevens   Bass
Allan Reuss   Guitar
Grady Martin   Guitar
Bill Pitman   Guitar
Si Zentner   Trombone
Joe Zinkan   Bass

Technical Credits

Jim Glaser   Composer
Marty Robbins   Leader,Composer
Howard Fritzson   Art Direction
Don Cravens   Photography
Jimmy Lowe   Composer
Randall Martin   Design
Art Wolfe   Composer
Bill Barnes   Design
Art Wolpert   Composer
Traditional   Composer
Steven Berkowitz   A&R
Carson Robison   Composer
Jerry Livingston   Composer
Bob Nolan   Composer
Tompall Glaser   Composer
Al Quaglieri   Reissue Producer
Mitch Miller   Producer
Joseph M. Palmaccio   Mastering,Mixing
Dave Kapp   Composer
Mack David   Composer
Don Law   Producer
Curley Fletcher   Composer
Bill Johnson's Louisiana Jug Band   Art Direction
Billy Altman   Liner Notes