Bobby Barnett American Heroes/Western Legends CD - Import

Bear Family's 1997 release American Heroes contains the entirety of Bobby Barnett's two concept albums about the history of the American West: 1975's Heroes, History and Heritage of Oklahoma and its 1985 sequel, which cast its sights to the entire West, not settling for just Oklahoma. Unlike nearly every Bear Family set, this plays a little fast and loose with the historical facts (kind of ironic considering the nature of the set), sequencing the two albums nearly interchangeably and not giving indication of the original track order (the origin of the 27 tracks is delineated on the back cover, along with the supporting musicians); the booklet explains the stories of the songs and prints the lyrics, but gives little history on Barnett or these albums. So, the focus is on the history, the myths, and the heritage of the West and Oklahoma in particular, and while it may have been better to have the two albums presented as originally released, the fact of the matter is, these are cult items, and anybody who knows about these albums will likely just be happy that they're able to get them in any form. Also, the two records fit together remarkably well; not only do they share many of the same players, the sound on the 1985 LP isn't overly clean and processed, so it sounds much like those from 1975. Unlike some historical-oriented recordings -- whether it's folk narratives or "The Battle of New Orleans" -- Barnett's records wind up being as much about the sound and feel of the music as they are about the narrative, so this doesn't feel like a doggedly serious listen. In fact, even if the history here is pretty good -- accurate and well-told -- the albums often play like something heard on an Americana segment of the Disneyland TV show, where the myth and fantasia are more important than the particulars. This is not a bad thing by any means, but it does mean this is a corny curiosity more than a great lost album -- but, as a curiosity, it's entertaining, since Barnett has a good batch of songs, a good voice, and a steady-rolling, varied traditional country style that fits the music right. It's easy to enjoy without listening to the lyrics, and if the lyrics are kind of silly, well, that's part of its charm. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine