Bob Bovee When The Cactus Is In Bloom CD

Bob Bovee and Gail Heil have been performing old-time music together since the 1980s. This music is paired down to the basics, with Bovee playing harmonica, guitar, and handling most of the vocals, while Heil plays banjo and fiddle. The songs and instrumentals originate from between the 1920s and 1940s, often found on old 78s or learned from fellow musicians. Bovee sings Western-tinged songs like "'Long Side of the Santa Fe Trail" and "The Sportin' Cowboy" in his down-to-earth vocal style. His natural delivery seems just right for this material, and would fit in perfectly with Western songs from the '20s and '30s (although the fidelity is much better here). Heil sings only one song a cappella, "The Cowboy's Wife," and it's a keeper. The narrator sings of her lonely life, waiting for her cowboy to come home. This song is so good, it is somewhat disappointing that Heil sings no other leads on When the Cactus Is in Bloom. This disappointment is lessened by the inclusion of several instrumentals spotlighting her fiddle work. "The Jones Waltz" is a beautiful, relaxed piece, while "Dry and Dusty" is full of bouncy rhythm. Jimmie Rodgers' "When the Cactus Is in Bloom" serves as the title cut, and lets the listener know that this old-time music is flavored through and through with the West. Bovee's harmonica along with images of cowboys, ponies, and dying rangers re-enforce this connection. This beautifully performed album with its lovely old-time singing should be a real find for lovers of Western music. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr.

Recorded at Custom Recording Studio, Golden Valley, Minnesota in 1999 & 2000. Includes liner notes by Bob Bovee.

Personnel: Bob Bovee (vocals, guitar, harmonica); Gail Heil (vocals, banjo, fiddle).

Dirty Linen (4-5/01, p.75) - "...An honest, direct, homey album of traditional, old-time Western music..."