Christmas the Cowboy Way

Amazon.com
If you aren't familiar with Woody Paul and Ranger Doug, these are real cowboy singers whose smooth three-part harmonies, bad jokes, and old-timey taste in tunes make for engaging and entertaining performances and albums. Like sons of the Sons of the Pioneers, Riders in the Sky do a ranch-hand-like job of exploring the Christmas spirit on their second holiday album. With titles such as "The Prairie Dog Christmas Ball," "Sidemeat's Christmas Stew," and "The Twelve Days of Cowboy Christmas," you get a pretty clear picture of how much fun these buckaroos are having. Which isn't to say they can't be serious ("Virgen Maria" is a moving song of faith). But "The Christmas Yodel" is more their forte. Each disc ought to come with a slice of ham. --Martin Keller

Tracks:

Corn, Water And Wood
Let It Snow/The Last Christmas Medley You'll Ever Need To Hear
The Christmas Yodel
Sidemeat's Christmas Ball
The Prairie Dog Christmas Ball
The Friendly Beasts
Virgen Maria
I'll Be Home For Christmas
An Old Fashioned Christmas Polka
The Twelve Days Of Cowboy Christmas
Just Put A Ribbon In Your Hair
O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Amazon.com

If you aren't familiar with Woody Paul and Ranger Doug, these are real cowboy singers whose smooth three-part harmonies, bad jokes, and old-timey taste in tunes make for engaging and entertaining performances and albums. Like sons of the Sons of the Pioneers, Riders in the Sky do a ranch-hand-like job of exploring the Christmas spirit on their second holiday album. With titles such as "The Prairie Dog Christmas Ball," "Sidemeat's Christmas Stew," and "The Twelve Days of Cowboy Christmas," you get a pretty clear picture of how much fun these buckaroos are having. Which isn't to say they can't be serious ("Virgen Maria" is a moving song of faith). But "The Christmas Yodel" is more their forte. Each disc ought to come with a slice of ham. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews:

Make that all the stars in the world!.......2006-12-13

My Mom gave this album for me for Christmas when I was 18 years old. I'm 25 now and I still love it. It has Christmas songs many that everybody knows and some totally unfamiliar, all of them done in cowboy style. I think the choices that the Riders in the Sky, chose for the album were very appropriate. "The Friendly Beasts," is about Jesus being born in a manger and the animals giving their gifts to them. "I'll Be Home For Christmas," was originally a WWII song, sung by soldiers who couldn't be home for Christmas. And the "cowboys" probably chose the song for this album, because like many soldiers, cowboys often don't have a home to come home to for Christmas either.

So go ahead, buy this album. You'll be glad you did.

I laughed when I heard it, in spite of myself.......2004-12-22

This is a decent Christmas album, done in a Western harmony style that is reminiscent of the Sons of the Pioneers. It's well enough done, but to be honest, I was expecting it to be funnier. There is some humor, but most of the songs are done "straight". And the songs that are "funny" are pretty corny. But if you like that sort of thing, you should enjoy this album.

Christmas out on the range.......2003-12-03

You'll get a real feeling of being out on the prairie or at least knowing what it might be like on Christmas Eve miles away from any town, surrounded by your fellow cowboys and several thousand head of cattle. Some traditional, some more modern, and a few originals are included on this CD. Good for throwing into the holiday music mix.

A distinctive Christmas album.......2003-11-15

This is a very different type of album from the cowboy Christmas album by Michael Martin Murphey. Although both have an upbeat feel, this one is much more relaxing. The other thing to note is that while this album is rooted in western music, it is just as likely to appeal to fans of traditional country. The group like to yodel, so if you don't like that, give this a miss. Another feature of this album is the inclusion of an accordion - an instrument more commonly associated with cajun music than with western or country music.

Many standards are included in The last Christmas medley you'll ever need to hear, though I'll be home for Christmas is sung in full. Twelve days of cowboy Christmas is an adaptation of Twelve days of Christmas. The album closes with a fine rendition of O come O come Emmanuel.

The remaining songs are not famous. Several of them are original, while others are covers of obscure Christmas songs. Michael Martin Murphey included Corn water and wood on his Christmas album. My favorite track is the very romantic Just put a ribbon in your hair. Prairie dog Christmas ball and An old-fashioned Christmas polka are other highlights.

This is a well-crafted album that will not appeal to everybody, but if you are looking for something a little different, this might be what you are looking for.

Riders Christmas CD Review.......2001-01-04

As a 10 year collector of "non-standard" non-traditional Christmas hymns, I look every year for albums which have songs with a different approach/arrangement to the holiday season. This album has four of these songs - "Corn Water & Wood"(also on Michael Martin Murphey's CD), "The Friendly Beasts", "Virgen Maria" and "Just Put A Ribbon In Your Hair". These (except for Friendly Beasts) songs indicate more than a little effort to find holiday music which is not right in front of everyone's nose and for which any listener may obtain with a trip to the music store. This means the Riders (and their staff)put some extra effort into finding and arranging songs to expand the listener's music variety. Many artists make no effort at all to record anything but the most traditional (Same song - different voice).

There are some songs with appeal to children, consistent with the Rider's history. Others are traditional with a Western flair. The addition of an accordion to the combo takes a little getting used to (polka & cowboy music is a different mix) but does provide some variety.

Tracks:

Soon It Will Be Christmas Day - Lynn Anderson
O Little Town of Bethlehem - Marty Robbins
Silent Night - Tanya Tucker
I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day - Johnny Cash
O Holy Night - Charlie Rich
Go Tell It on the Mountain - Jim Nabors
Silver Bells - Tanya Tucker
O Come All Ye Faithful - George Jones
Jingle Bells - Willie Nelson
Joy to the World - Tammy Wynette

Music Album:

Music Album