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Summary: Superb combo of country western folk blues and swing
Comment: Wylie Gustafson's return to rural living in the mid-90s continues to pay dividends in his music. Bred in Montana, Gustafson's act was born of the California scene and tempered by a stretch in Nashville. But years of Eastern Washington ranching and horsemanship has taken his Western-themed music to a more sacred level. He takes a page from the book of Marty Robbins, not only with sweet Western ballads like "Hooves of the Horses" and Mexicali-flavored tunes like "Manolito," but with variety that includes the slinky blue "Leather Lover" and a jazz tinged cover of Bob Nolan's "I Grab My Saddle Horn and Blow."Covers of Buddy Holly ("Everyday"), Johnny Cash ("Luther Played the Boogie"), and Tom Russell ("The Sky Above, The Mud Below") complement fine originals like the slyly sweet "Mmm... Montana" and the instrumental walking blues, "76." Gustafson crafts songs from cowboy poetry and pulls out his considerable yodeling skill for a cinematic cover of Bob Nolan's "Happy Rovin' Cowboy." The song selections move from country to western to folk to blues to swing with a fluidity that puts this release among the group's best.
