Marty Robbins: Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs – all 12 songs recorded in a single 8 hour session

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Tree-bot, Oct 14, 2018.

  1. Chiliarches

    Chiliarches Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago Suburbs
    Thought I'd resurrect this thread, since I am listening to Marty Robbins this evening. I also love this album, but my all time favorite is...

    [​IMG]

    Not as "60's pop country" in style, much more traditional. If I had to live with one recording of cowboy songs, it would be this.
     
  2. Pelvis Ressley

    Pelvis Ressley Down in the Jungle Room

    Location:
    Capac, Michigan
    Likewise. They are both at the top of their class.
     
  3. Chemically altered

    Chemically altered Forum Resident

    Location:
    Ukraine in Spirit
    That's when man were man and songs were cut in a half hour.
     
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  4. Tree-bot

    Tree-bot Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Australia
    I'll have to check this one out. Thanks for posting it. :righton:
     
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  5. rkt88

    rkt88 The unknown soldier

    Location:
    malibu ca
    LOVE robbins. but had to drop this!
     
  6. fenderesq

    fenderesq In Brooklyn It's The Blues / Heavy Bass 7-7

    Location:
    Brooklyn - NY
    A wonderful collection. Shows you needn't take months upon months and a huge budget to lay-down stellar material for an album. Just about any self respecting jazz musician and record exec. would agree.
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2019
  7. Quakerism

    Quakerism Lean into what frightens you.

    Location:
    Rural Pennsylvania
    Every time I find one of these the vinyl is less than VG. I know it’s just a matter of time and I’ll get one because Marty Robbins was extremely popular in this neck of the woods. I used to watch the Grand Ole Opry with my dad and he used to rave about what a great entertainer and singer Marty Robbins was. It was satisfying when we could get my dad to one of his concerts before his death. I must have heard my dad sing “El Paso” a thousand times.
     
  8. rkt88

    rkt88 The unknown soldier

    Location:
    malibu ca


    in other "news" billy ray cyrus is muttering a few syllables on the current #1 country single.

    progress? or egress. you decide.
     
  9. challenge

    challenge Forum Resident

    Location:
    Missouri
    Thank you for this thread I just got the last Kevin Gray Mono on Discogs!

    Have always wanted this album sounds like this should be excellent
     
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  10. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I’ve always preferred “Return of the Gunfighter” over the “More Songs” sequel album.

    This is what I like to listen to along with the pink album. Note: this material is also well presented on the “Western Skies” Bear Box.

    Marty Robbins - The Return Of The Gunfighter
     
    Last edited: Apr 17, 2019
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  11. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

  12. melstapler

    melstapler Reissue Activist

    Tonight might be a good night to stay home and watch a movie. How about watching the 1967 film "Hell On Wheels," which stars Marty Robbins?

    [​IMG][​IMG] [​IMG]
     
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  13. Larsen

    Larsen Forum Resident

    Location:
    Bergen, Norway
    I first heard this album at my Greatuncle's place when I was seventeen - in 2003 (He had the 1999 CD remaster). I am still able to recall the sensation upon hearing it that first time. Also finding out that it was originally released in 1959. It changed my view on old records - having listened to hundreds of jazz, rockabilly and blues records from around that time, I have yet to hear such a clean recording as this. And this release is 60 friggin' years old!!!

    It is hard to fathom the quality of the songwriting, playing and singing. Even harder to understand is the quality of the recording. It is clear as day and amazingly dynamic. Who engineered this treat? And done in a one-day session!?

    As a side note: I always tell people I hate western movies. I've never seen any movie more vivid or stark than the stories shared during 35 minutes on Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs.

    One of my top 5 all-time favourite albums. Gonna have to look for that mono LP version, though I'm sure it is way out of my price range.
     
  14. tcbtcb

    tcbtcb Forum Resident

    Location:
    sugar hill nh usa
    Looking at this thread thinking, "I think I need this album," and then, "I wonder if it's in the stack of old albums my grandmother gave to me"--so now I gotta look
     
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  15. Rick Bartlett

    Rick Bartlett Forum Resident

    nice review! Yep, a great album is a great album. Wonderful to hear you dig it man!
     
  16. Tree-bot

    Tree-bot Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Australia
    Yeah the clarity is amazing. It really hits you immediately like you're watching the performance live right in front of you in a small room.
     
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  17. Vintage1976

    Vintage1976 Way Out West

    Location:
    California
    It's even better while driving in a vehicle through the lower parts of New Mexico on the way to El Paso.

    And yes, I did stop at Rosa's Cantina.
     
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  18. Linnaeus Nightingale

    Linnaeus Nightingale Forum Resident

    Marty Robbin's talent as a musician and songsmith has been rarely equaled, and his Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs merits inclusion on any list of greatest albums of all time. I'm unsure how many times the album has been issued on CD, but most people seem to prefer the 1999 Columbia/Legacy edition mastered by Joseph Palmaccio, which I possess. I do believe this disc sounds pretty good, highly smooth with rich instrumentation. However, like most modern reissues it does suffer (mild) compression, which mutes the presentation a bit.

    With this in mind, I do want to express that the 1996 version of Gunfighter Ballads... (Columbia, 484033 2), coupled with its sister album More Gunfighter Ballads..., provides a more open listening experience. Marty's wonderful vocals on this double-album set are much clearer and more to the forefront. That being said, the instrumental accompaniment is not as evident, with tape hiss having higher relative presence. Moreover, the overall sound is a tad bright, but the music nonetheless seems quite lively and lifelike.

    I tend to sell off or give away one version of an album when I find a better one, but in this case I have kept both given that each has its advantages. However, because I love Marty's voice, I am more likely to listen to the 1996 set; we're probably talking 60:40 here, maybe 70:30.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2019
  19. Rick Bartlett

    Rick Bartlett Forum Resident

    Gosh, I remember that 1996 version, and I have never thought about it since it came out.
    A nice review, thanks for that. I probably never picked it up at the time, as I'd only just purchased:
    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    It's the 1989 Australian press. From memory I believe it's also in Mono.
    Is the two-fer 1996 double CD in mono or stereo?
     
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  20. Linnaeus Nightingale

    Linnaeus Nightingale Forum Resident

    The 1996 Two Classic Albums From Marty Robbins set with Gunfighter Ballads and Trails Songs coupled with More Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs seems to be in stereo. At least that is what my ears tell me, but also" Stereo" is printed on the disc itself. I knew of the earlier Australian set from Discogs but did not know it was in Mono. How does it sound overall?

    I never owned Gunfighter Ballads on vinyl and am wondering whether the 1996 or 1999 versions more closely approximate that. A part of me thinks that the 1999 remastered version sounds a bit too smooth and "modern" to completely reflect the original presentation, but perhaps someone in the know can provide their two bits on this.
     
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  21. onlyacanvasky

    onlyacanvasky Your guess is as good as mine.

    This was my Dad's favourite album when I was a kid (next to Johnny Horton's Greatest Hits) so I heard a lot of it, and have five different copies - 6-eye mono and Stereo, 60s Australian mono and an 80s Australian Stereo reissue which is from the same cut as my dad's old 70s Stereo pressing. The Legacy CD is the only digital version I've ever owned, and I like it - but for some unknown reason the tracks are in order of master number, rather than the original LP sequence. As soon as I got it I burned a CD in the correct order and put the original disc away, only getting it out to rip it to my computer years later. In this computer age, it's easy to rearrange the tracks to the original 1959 order.

    I'm flipping between the recent mono reissue and a mono 6-eye from a little later in the run (1BD/1AK), the new one is definitely brighter and more detailed, with a bit more "airiness". Not to the point of being shrill, it's just got a bit more there - and sometimes this shows up tape edits. It's not to say that the 6-eye lacks tops or anything, it sounds like what it is: a tubey mono album from 1959. My only real complaint about the reissue is that it uses a replica 2-eye label when the original pressing was a 6 eye.

    Flipping between mono and stereo 6 eyes, the mono is far more upfront and solid with Bob Moore's bass right up the centre with the drums, rather than both being panned almost hard right and sat further back in the mix. Very much a 3-track stereo mix, the spread makes for a much more relaxed presentation. The bass intro of Big Iron is wall-shaking in mono! I think I'd choose to play the recent reissue if I was playing the album in the background, the six eye if I wanted to sit and listen to it and the stereo if I was listening late at night, if that makes sense. I didn't make comparisons with the Australian pressings as they're local cuts.

    A final note: Saddle Tramp is a wonderful song and did not deserve to be relegated to a B-Side, but it does make Big Iron/Saddle Tramp into an excellent double sided single.

    EDIT: I just realised that I have the 1996 two-fer, I'll have to drag it out and have a listen to it.
     
  22. Linnaeus Nightingale

    Linnaeus Nightingale Forum Resident

    I like your explanation as to when you might listen to the different mono/stereo versions of the album you possess. I feel the same about discs from other artists as well. Different masterings often have something unique to offer. Things are not always cut and dry, good or bad; they are sometimes just different.

    I can't wait to hear your opinions on the two CD sets in relation to the vinyl that you own. The 1999 remaster is smoother than the 1996 CD, which is a bit bright but presents Marty's vocals more to the forefront. The 1996 set sounds almost like one would expect to hear the album in mono, but it is listed as being in stereo, something which I have confirmed with my own ears.

    I have also been listening to various greatest hits compilations by Marty which I own, and the quality of the songs seems to be all over the map on some of the collections.
     
    Last edited: Aug 6, 2019
  23. notesofachord

    notesofachord Riding down the river in an old canoe

    Location:
    Mojave Desert
    I'm pretty sure that I found my copy (OG Columbia mono) in the $1 bargain bin. I mean, it wasn't near-mint or anything, but still...
     
  24. freq

    freq Forum Resident

    A landmark. Got this record for my fifth birthday. Been a favorite since. When older I loved Bob Weir's takes on El Paso and Big Iron. With all the killing I always wondered how this record slipped under the radar and avoided a Parental Advisory label when Tippers PMRC was tagging gangster rap records with a lot fewer shots fired and less people cut down - might have sold this timeless classic to a whole new generation, as anybody who was anybody cool in the 80s had a Parental Warning sticker!

    Not to steal Marty's thunder, but to add to the legend, here is Bob Weir doing Big Iron righteous with his group Kingfish in 75

     
  25. Quakerism

    Quakerism Lean into what frightens you.

    Location:
    Rural Pennsylvania

    Well, I finally found a VG+ Columbia Six Eye Stereo version. Filled a nice hole in my collection,
     
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