More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs

The follow-up to Marty Robbins' 1959 hit album shows him on the cover looking for all the world like the reincarnation of actor William S. Hart, the greatest cowboy hero of the silent-screen era. In a sense, the repertory reflects the pose on the cover; it is similar to the earlier album, with the sound a little more stripped down in the vocal department and perhaps less romanticized than the earlier record. Robbins' originals are authored in an authentically vintage style, interspersed with public domain titles that are the real article, some established works by Bob Nolan of the Sons of the Pioneers, and a handful of new compositions (notably by Jim Glaser). There's nothing as beautifully compelling as "Big Iron" or "El Paso," but tracks like "Streets of Laredo," "Song of the Bandit," and "Little Joe, the Wrangler" are beguiling on a more subtle level. The album was a success, albeit not on the same level as its predecessor. ~ Bruce Eder