Marty was so flexible, like others such as Elvis and Linda Ronstadt, I can choose songs of his to suit any mood. "The Performer" is a very easy-listening C&W flavoured album.
Not just a country music star, Marty had a decent NASCAR career. He had 6 top-ten finishes in 35 races.
I'm not a big country and western fan but if I wanted to listen to some of that genre, the first artist I would look towards would likely be Marty Robbins. El Paso is a gem of course and I heard a lot of Devil Woman while it was out. I have very little C & W in my collection but I have a BOX SET by Marty Robbins, so there ya go ...
And from there it became a meme. Now it's been chopped, sliced and diced, combined with other memes, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hajfdGmtZI4 and just generally destroyed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mCkH3TCFyK4 I love the internet.
Look for the full length versions of "El Paso" and "San Angelo". Each has an extra verse, they were recorded & sung only once, before their cut versions became the popularised ones.
Found by chance a Steve Hoffman mastered Marty Robbins album. Its "Twentieth Century Drifter", one of the couple Marty made for MCA before returning to CBS.
An underrated country singer in my view- he doesn’t get talked in the same breadth as Cash, Hank, Merle, Waylon, Willie or George Jones and I think he deserves to be mentioned among them. He really perfected the “Western” aspect of country with his cowboy ballads, each of which feel like a Western movie unraveling right before you. One of the greatest storytellers and vocalists country music has ever had.
in honor of another recent thread. i am now wearing a white sport coat and a pink tarnation. this is a real and irresistible treat. jerry and marty medley. two one of a kinds. together.
Marty Robbins was a great singer who is well represented in my record collection. He made a lot of great music, but I could probably live without his Hawaiian records and most of his other stuff, but I really love his ”Western” records. The Bear Family box set Under Western Skies collects all of that stuff. I don’t know if that set was ever mentioned in the ”favorite Bear Family releases” thread, but it’s one of the box sets I would like to take with me to a desert island, if I ever have to move there (which hopefully won’t happen).
Funny, I was just looking at my Bear Family cd of his Hawaiian songs. The thread makes me think of his song called Am I Right? Disturbing. Sure had a nice voice though.
Looks like Real Gone is doing a repress. Same Vic mastering with new lacquer cut at Well Made Music. I missed the earlier Kevin Gray cut, so I’ll be picking this up. THIS IS A PRE-ORDER. THE ITEM WILL SHIP BEFORE THE 05/06/22 STREET DATE Real Gone Music is proud to present the original mono version of what most folks consider to be the single greatest postwar album of Western music, Marty Robbins' 1959 record Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs. Everything about this album is iconic, from its 'quick draw' cover art to the songs it contains''Big Iron,' 'Cool Water,' 'The Master's Call,' 'Billy the Kid,' 'The Strawberry Roan,' and, of course, 'El Paso' (here in its rare, full-length version)' that have come to define the Western genre. And the music has never sounded better than it does here: this clear with black 'gunsmoke' swirl pressing (by Gotta Groove Records) was remastered from the original tapes by Vic Anesini at Battery Studios in New York with lacquers cut by Clint Holley and Dave Polster at Well Made Music. Comes complete with the amazing original album art, too'a classic album now even more collectible than before!
The radio station my father owned with his sister was XEAK, The Mighty 690, which was considered a "border blaster" as it actually transmitted from Tijuana, Mexico. Because of its power and directional antenna, it could be heard at night in not only San Diego, but Los Angeles and San Francisco as well. In the movie American Graffiti, the station is featured with Wolfman Jack, but it incorrectly puts the studio in Los Angeles. They did have sales offices there, but the studio was in Mission Valley, IIRC. My father loved Wolfman Jack and he came to see my father many years later when my family owned television station KTTY, Channel 69 (what a coincidence, Lol) in San Diego.
The vinyl version is excellent. I have a mono version, which has a great soundstage and sound quality. An enjoyable album in every way.
I may get it too. I hope the Mono "Devil Woman" gets a new cut, owning an original. Are these Gunfighter LPs 180g?
