The Sons Of The Pioneers - Wagons West (1993)

Wagons West is a deceptively fine account of The Sons of the Pioneers' music, from what were not only their years of greatest popularity - 1945 through 1954 - but also the period in which they started to make full use of recording technology. From 1935 onward, when the Farr brothers came aboard, the group could always function as a self-contained unit, and their 1930s recordings and radio transcriptions are in a class by themselves in that regard; what you heard on the records was what you got in concert. But after signing to RCA in 1945, the group - by now a sextet, including founders Bob Nolan and Tim Spencer - availed itself of a range of session players who included guitarist Perry Botkin, steel guitarist Charles Richard Roberts, bassist (and future official group member) Deuce Spriggins, and Rex Dalton Call on violin, to augment Hugh Farr's fiddle and Karl Farr's guitar on tracks like "The Timber Trail" and "Stars and Stripes on Iwo Jima" (the latter a topical number that works as a Western tune).

And for their next session in January of 1946, they added piano and drums to their studio complement for songs like "You're Getting Tired of Me" and "You'll Be Sorry When I'm Gone" (both authored by Fred Rose). These sides and the ones that followed made concessions to popular taste that, in a way, anticipated the development of the "countrypolitan" sound in Nashville (though the Pioneers recorded in Hollywood or Chicago), but never lost sight of the group's core sound. What's more, the latter was better than ever - from March of 1946 onward, Lloyd Perryman, who was an essential part of the Pioneers' classic prewar lineup, was back in the fold, and they were at greater than full strength with Nolan, Spencer, the Farrs, Ken Carson, and Shug Fisher (or Pat Brady) making them a septet. Thus, the version of "Tumbling Tumbleweeds" here, from March 1946, may not have the lean, stripped-down beauty of the group's classic 1930s recording, but it has a surprisingly tasteful, ornate beauty, even with three violinists working behind Hugh Farr, and the presence of a saxophone on "Out California Way" doesn't hurt a bit, on a cut that's as much Western swing (complete with a bluesy Karl Farr acoustic guitar solo) as it is cowboy music. Plus, anyone who wants more of Farr's solo work need only wait for the delightful break on "Grievin' My Heart Out for You," the next song up from the same session, which also spotlights Hugh's fiddle. The 115 songs are far more diverse than the box's title or the group's image would lead one to expect, comprised in equal parts of traditional country, gospel, cowboy songs, topical songs (including the controversial "Old Man Atom"), movie songs (most notably from John Ford's Wagon Master), and elements of swing and blues, all sung in multi-part harmonies and no two songs alike enough to let a listener anticipate the breaks and solos. They occasionally go over the line into pop music, but the group never gets lost, even on "Baby, I Ain't Gonna Cry No More," with it's 30-man backing orchestra. Some of the most interesting material here is also some of the most improbable, such as the gospel/topical "What This Country Needs," which incorporates some solid country blues elements within it's quasi-"political" sermon. And it ought to be reassuring to potential purchasers that the sound quality is consistent throughout; the whole set sounds very good, and there's no huge jump up in quality from the 1945-1947 sides, which were recorded on wax masters before magnetic tape became available, and those from 1948-1952, dating from after the advent of tape recording. It's all in excellent condition on the listening end, and oddly enough, there are signs of more minor distortion repaired in some of the later sides. The set is topped off with a handsomely illustrated booklet typical of Bear Family's output, which gives complete session and release information on every so.

Tracklist
Disc 1
1. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Forgive And Forget
2. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Cool Water
3. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Timber Trail
4. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Stars And Stripes On Iwo Jima
5. The Sons Of The Pioneers – You're Getting Tired Of Me
6. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Gold Star Mother With Silvery Hair
7. The Sons Of The Pioneers – You'll Be Sorry When I'm Gone
8. The Sons Of The Pioneers – I Wear Your Memory In My Heart
9. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Cowboy Camp Meetin'
10. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Tumbling Tumbleweeds
11. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Out California Way
12. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Grievin' My Heart Out For You
13. The Sons Of The Pioneers – No One To Cry To
14. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Everlasting Hills Of Oklahoma
15. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Chant Of The Wanderer
16. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Blue Prairie
17. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Trees
18. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Letter Marked Unclaimed
19. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Baby Doll
20. The Sons Of The Pioneers – A Penny For Your Thoughts
21. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Have I Told You Lately That I Love You
22. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Let's Pretend
23. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Cigareetes, Whusky And Wild Women
24. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Teardrops In My Heart
25. The Sons Of The Pioneers – My Best To You
26. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Will There Be Sagebrush In Heaven
27. The Sons Of The Pioneers – You Don't Know What Lonesome Is

Disc 2
1. The Sons Of The Pioneers – You'll Never Miss The Water Till The Well Runs Dry
2. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Lead Me Gently Home Father
3. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Too High, Too Wide, Too Low
4. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Out In Pioneertown
5. The Sons Of The Pioneers – A Hundred And Sixty Acres
6. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Sea Walker
7. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Read The Bible Everyday
8. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Last Round-Up
9. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Two Eyes, Two Lips But No Heart
10. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Cowboy Country
11. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Bar-None Ranch (In The Sky)
12. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Where Are You
13. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Calico Apron And A Gingham Gown
14. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Happy Birthday Polka
15. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Let Me Share Your Name
16. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Wind
17. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Whiffenpoof Song
18. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Old Rugged Cross
19. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Power In The Blood
20. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Touch Of God's Hand
21. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Rounded Up In Glory
22. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Santa Fe, New Mexico
23. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Down Where The Rio Flows (Take 1)
24. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Down Where The Rio Flows (Take 2)
25. The Sons Of The Pioneers – My Feet Takes Me Away
26. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Red River Valley
27. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Serenade To A Coyote
28. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Missouri Is A Devil Of A Woman
29. The Sons Of The Pioneers – No Rodeo Dough

Disc 3
1. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Sentimental, Worried And Blue
2. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Little Gray Home In The West
3. The Sons Of The Pioneers – I Still Do
4. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Ghost Riders In The Sky
5. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Room Full Of Roses
6. The Sons Of The Pioneers – No One Here But You
7. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Lie Low Little Doggies
8. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Let's Go West Again
9. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Wind
10. The Sons Of The Pioneers & Dale Evans – Love At The County Fair
11. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Wedding Dolls (From Your Wedding Cake)
12. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Outlaws
13. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Roses
14. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Eagle's Heart
15. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Land Beyond The Sun
16. The Sons Of The Pioneers – I Told Them All About You
17. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Wagons West
18. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Rollin' Dust
19. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Song Of The Wagonmaster
20. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Chuckawalla Swing
21. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Old Man Atom
22. The Sons Of The Pioneers – What This Country Needs
23. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Baby, I Ain't Gonna Cry No More
24. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Little White Cross
25. The Sons Of The Pioneers – America Forever
26. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Daddy's Little Cowboy
27. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Baby, I Ain't Gonna Cry No More
28. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Moonlight And Roses

Disc 4
1. The Sons Of The Pioneers – San Antonio Rose
2. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Bring Your Roses To Her Now
3. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Mexicali Rose
4. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Lonesome
5. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Wondrous Word
6. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Resurrectus
7. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Wind
8. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Waltz Of The Roses
9. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Lord's Prayer
10. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Heart Break Hill
11. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Ho Le O
12. The Sons Of The Pioneers – I Still Do
13. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Waltz Of The Roses
14. The Sons Of The Pioneers – I Still Do
15. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Outlaw
16. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Diesel Smoke (Take 1)
17. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Almost
18. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Diesel Smoke (Take 2)
19. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Empty Saddles
20. The Sons Of The Pioneers – There's A Goldmine In The Sky
21. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Old Pioneer
22. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Home On The Range
23. The Sons Of The Pioneers – If You Would Only Be Mine
24. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Sierra Nevada
25. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The River Of No Return
26. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Lillies Grow High
27. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Lonely Little Room
28. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Montana
29. The Sons Of The Pioneers – Somebody Bigger Than You And I
30. The Sons Of The Pioneers – The Mystery Of His Way