Jasmine Records Rex ALLEN - Riding All Day - The Life Of A Cowboy CD

However adventurous and exciting the Hollywood movies made it look, the life of a 19th Century cowboy was something altogether more mundane - it was sheer hard work, usually seven days a week herding cattle in the vast expanses of land which comprised the southern hinterland of the United States, and driving them to the nearest shipping points for the big towns. The industry spread across the Great Plains from Texas to Canada and westward to the Rocky Mountains, but the introduction of barbed wire to fence in ranches rapidly encroached on the open ranges. By 1895 railway expansion had made cattle-driving uneconomical, leaving cowboys the option of working on the ranches or disappearing into myth. Assisted on some tracks by wife Bonnie, this compilation conjures up a mixed but cosy vision of the West - from the warmth of comradeship ("Partners Of The Saddle") and humour ("My Cross-Eyed Gal") to the wistful ("Mountain Home") and sentimental ("Night Time In The West"). Culled from rare recordings, we hope the listener will forgive the minor imperfections in this pleasing slice of American musical history.