Music Reviews
Jun-Jul 2004
Music of the West
Sing and Swing
By Hugh McLennan
Keepin’ It Country
Brett Kissel
 This ranch-raised Alberta youngster is refreshingly modest, sincere and respectful, and his great attitude really endears him to fans of Western music and cowboy traditions.
His CD Keepin’ It Country isn’t pure Western – leaning more to country classics – but I’d include Tennessee Flat Top Box and There’s a Love Knot In My Lariat in the genre.
Brett credits his Grandpa for teaching him a lot of the old country classics while they checked cattle on the family ranch. A fine group of pickers provide the accompaniment on all but two tracks. One of the best Johnny Cash songs of all time Big River features Brett and his guitar. That’s it…and it’s impressive! The other one is an instrumental called Happy Go Lucky Guitar. I think I can hear a little of the Hank Snow influence in his flat-picking style. Leroy Vandyke’s classic The Auctioneer, Don Gibson’s Oh Lonesome Me, and Charlie Pride’s Kiss an Angel Good Morning are all favorites when Brett does a live performance and they are all included here. Stuart Hamblen’s Mansion Over The Hilltop is done well here, and it was a real treat for a group of us to add some vocal harmony to that song with Brett at a little impromptu session following cowboy church in Kamloops.
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