Putumayo Kids Presents: Cowboy Playground is another in a long line of musical compilations produced by the Putumayo World Music label. The album has a very smooth, laid-back, jazzy feel, so if you've come looking for authentic, rough-hewn renditions of old time western songs, you've come to the wrong place. However, Cowboy Playground serves well as both a quick intro to cowboy songs and as an entertaining musical diversion for the whole family. At the very least, Cowboy Playground will have everyone in the living room or car singing along.
The Putumayo Kids Record Label
The Putumayo Kids record label, a division of Putumayo World Music, has a long history of creating high-quality compilations for kids and their families. From lullabies to play songs and sing alongs, from traditional tunes found in our own back yard to unique songs from around the world, Putumayo Kids has it covered. Recent releases include the jumpin', jivin' Jazz Playground and the soothing Acoustic Dreamland, one of the best kids' music CDs of 2011.
Music from 'Putumayo Kids Presents Cowboy Playground'
Wylie and the Wild West get things galloping with the jaunty "Saddle Bum." Oh, and here's a trivia fact: Wylie Gustafson's yodel is the famous audio trademark for the Yahoo! company. The comedy western band Riders in the Sky have been around for decades, first appearing in the late seventies. Their rendition of "I'm an Old Cowhand" perfectly encapsulates their smooth, gentle style, heard by millions in movies like Disney's Toy Story and Monsters, Inc. and on their own television show. Kerry Grombacher sings his own "Close 'Em on Up," sounding a little like a jazzy Ricky Skaggs. In the musical footsteps of Roy Rogers and Dale Evans, the cowgirl/cowboy duo Liz Masterson and Sean Blackburn perform the old favorite "Back in the Saddle Again," written by Ray Whitley and made famous by cowboy movie star and singer Gene Autry. David John and the Comstock Cowboys perform John's own composition "It's the Cowboy Life for Me," while kids' music performer and storyteller Buck Howdy sings a song about "Pecos Bill," the mythologically famous cowboy who once tried to lasso a tornado.
More Music from 'Putumayo Kids Presents Cowboy Playground'
Johnny Bregar's version of Cole Porter's classic "Don't Fence Me In" is one of the better tracks on Cowboy Playground as Bregar brings his own bluesy, jazzy style to the table. Victor Johnson invites Kathryn Claire to lend her voice and violin to one of the first western songs ever written, Brewster Higley's "Home on the Range." Best known for performing hits like "Four Strong Winds" and "Someday Soon" as half of the duo Ian and Sylvia, Ian Tyson sings one of the best known western songs of al time, "Whoopee Ti Yi Yo." Dave Stamey brings his original song "May the Trail Rise Up to Greep You" to the cowboy party, while bluegrass musician Peter Rowan and "America's Cowboy Balladeer" Don Edwards team up to sing "Take Me Back to the Range." The all female singing combo Cowboy Envy brings Cowboy Playground to an appropriate conclusion with another old favorite "Happy Trails," written by The Queen of the West, Dale Evans.
The Verdict
Yet another solid compilation by the folks at Putumayo World Music. Of course, Cowboy Playground isn't meant to be a definitive overview of cowboy music, but it does serve as an entertaining sampler of western tunes, old and new.
Released May 22, 2012; Putumayo World Music
Track Listing
- Wylie & the Wild West - "Saddle Bum"
- Riders in the Sky - "I'm an Old Cowhand"
- Kerry Grombacher - "Close 'Em on Up"
- Liz Masterson & Sean Blackburn - "Back in the Saddle Again"
- David John and the Comstock Cowboys - "It's the Cowboy Life for Me"
- Buck Howdy - "Pecos Bill"
- Johnny Bregar - "Don't Fence Me In"
- Victor Johnson - "Home on the Range"
- Ian Tyson - "Whoopee Ti Yi Yo"
- Dave Stamey - "May the Trail Rise Up to Greep You"
- Peter Rowan & Don Edwards - "Take Me Back to the Range"
- Cowboy Envy - "Happy Trails"
