Music of the West
By Hugh McLennan
Apr-May 2007
Rhythm of the Ride
Dogwood Road
 Rob Dinwoodie’s day job is riding the rugged beautiful rangeland of the B.C. Interior as a range technician with the provincial Ministry of Forest and Range. He works with the ranchers who graze their cattle over thousands of acres of crown range, taking care of the land and the cattle. That’s the inspiration for his original contemporary songs of the West and this CD is the first for Rob’s band, Dogwood Road.
The sound is diverse with some hard-driving electric sounds and some blues-flavoured ballads like Ride Like the Wind. There’s a fine tribute to one of the greatest Canadian cowboy heroes of all time, John Ware. Slick fork riggin’ with oxbows and bucking rolls, rawhide bosal with a blind – these are some of the items Rob works into his song Tools of a Cowboy. It’s an interesting blend of a traditional theme with a contemporary arrangement.
The band showcases acoustic and electric guitars, accordion, keyboards, bass and a drum set. It’s a little like western swing without the fiddles. My favourite track and the one I grabbed for the airplay on The Spirit of the West is Sad Day, by Rob and his brother Keith Dinwoodie.
Order from www.canadiancowboy.ca.
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