Red Steagall - Lone Star Beer For All My Cowboy Friends (21 tracks) +Album Reviews

Good news and not-quite-good news

Jerome Clark | Canby, Minnesota | 03/28/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The first 10 cuts -- the ones that comprise the wonderful 1976album Lone Star Beer and Bob Wills Music -- are as close to perfectionas honkytonk swing gets. As I hear it again after a long separation, the album sounds as good as it did when I bought the LP version nearly a quarter-century ago and spent the next few years playing it down to the grooves. "Neons and Nylons" holds its own against any country song about drinkin', dancin', and chasin' women -- an inexplicably neglected masterpiece of hillbilly art and a surprisingly subtle evocation of both good times and melancholy reflection. "Under the X in Texas" and "Alexis from Texas" swing jauntily, and "Whatever Made Me Think" is as powerful a catch-in-the-throat country weeper as you're ever going to hear. With its brilliantly imagined and executed stripped-down sound, the album wastes not a note or a lick, and it lays end to end one magnificent song after another, reminding the listener just how good country music can be when placed in the right hands. Perhaps inevitably, Red Steagall's follow-up, included here (the last 11 cuts), is something of a letdown, a decent though hardly outstanding collection of cowboy (mostly rodeo) songs, none bad but none especially memorable; certainly none gets close to the standards Ian Tyson set long ago in his own rodeo tales, notably "Someday Soon" and "Old Cheyenne." Steagall's cover of "My Adobe Hacienda" is just plain uninspired; on the other hand, he proves that you can't go wrong with the venerable Western folk ballad "Little Joe the Wrangler." His "My America," though no "This Land Is Your Land," is better than its title would lead you to believe. Steagall's heart may be on the Western plains, but his soul is in the honkytonk."

Buy NOW!

Per Berner | Skövde, Sweden | 03/21/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I got the original album "Lone Star Beer.." back in '76, when I had just discovered western swing and hard core country as a young teenager. Unlike most albums, this one has never gathered any dust on the shelf. It is still on the turntable at least every three months or so, after nearly 25 years. Naturally, it is worn out by now, so I am getting the CD pronto. You should do the same. This is as real and heartfelt as it gets!"

Best of Red Steagall

Per Berner | 07/10/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you appreciate Red Steagall you will appreciate this cd. It has some of his best Texas Swing music and his very best Rodeo Songs. After thousands of miles my tape of "All My Cowboy Friends" finally wore out and I thought I would never find another copy. Now I have another copy to help me get down the road again. Steagall's music is not for everyone but if you like his music this cd is what your looking for."

Two classic western albums

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 01/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Red was never a big name in country music but he carved his own niche and made a good living in the process. He spent many years performing on the rodeo circuit. His main influences are western swing (especially Bob Wills) and cowboy music (especially Marty Robbins). The two albums presented here demonstrate Red's music superbly.

Lone star beer and Bob Wills music, the first album here, is a western swing album. Red wrote or co-wrote five of the songs here including the title track. One of the other songs is a brilliant cover of Truck driving man, perhaps the best-known song here. In its way, this album is a fitting tribute to Bob Wills although none of his songs are covered here.

For all our cowboy friends, the second album, is a collection of cowboy songs. Red wrote six of the ten songs here including the title track. There are covers of My adobe hacienda and Little Joe the wrangler but Red avoided all the cowboy classics. With original songs as good as Red contributed to this album, he had no need to record the oldies although I'm sure he could have done them superbly.

The albums presented here are far removed from the commercial mainstream but there is a significant market for this type of music. If you enjoy western swing music by such as Bob Wills or Asleep at the wheel, buy this. If you enjoy cowboy music by such as Marty Robbins or Michael Martin Murphey, buy this. If you enjoy traditional country music with plenty of steel guitar and fiddle, buy this. But if you don't enjoy any of those types of music, look for something else."

Red's the Best!

Peter Durward Harris | 01/29/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Are you a fan of western swing? How 'bout cowboys and rodeo? If you can answer yes to either of these, and you like western music then you owe it to yourself to check this out. Red, quite simply, puts out the best. I've been following him since the late 70's, used to follow him to honky-tonks and rodeos, from Sayre, Oklahoma to the NFR. Had both on albums but just now found these on CD. Try this CD and see if it's not the best combo of western-swing and cowboy music you've ever heard. Red, if you see this, wishing you all the best and a great big thank you for your music."

Search - Red Steagall :: Lone Star Beer / For All My Cowboy Friends

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