Indians Cowboys Horses Dogs
Tom Russell returns to the Old West with a renewed vision, as this collection of inspired originals and choice covers attests. The album's centerpiece featuresEliza GilkysonandJoe Elytrading verses with Russell onBob Dylan's epic "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts," while another Dylan tune, the little-heard "Seven Curses," proves a highlight as well. Russell's reading of "El Paso" refreshes the classic by refusing to mimicMarty Robbins's original, while a pair of Russell's spoken-word vignettes provide preamble to "The Ballad of Ira Hayes." While the songbooks ofWoody GuthrieandLinda Thompsonalso inspire evocative interpretations, Russell's own songs hold their own in such distinguished company. He applies his literary sensibility to a Western legacy that extends from bounty hunters to rodeo bull riders, while his "Ballad of Edward Abbey," a tribute to the naturalist, serves as an environmental broadside on how the new West has raped the old.--Don McLeese