Music Reviews
Oct-Nov 2004
Music of the West
Sing and Swing
By Hugh McLennan
Songs of the Sage and Saddle
Abe Zacharias
Take a big, rich, country-sounding voice, some seldom-heard old songs of the west, a touch of gospel and some brand new cowboy songs and you have a very enjoyable collection from a genuine Canadian troubadour, Abe Zacharias.
Abe held the crowd spellbound at the O'Keefe Ranch Cowboy Festival when he sang Rider on The Rim, a song Red Stegall and R.W. Hampton wrote about the time a ghostly rider saved a young cowboy who was pinned under his horse. That song is here along with Prairie Lullaby written by Montana songwriter Stephanie Davis. The tragic story of the unrideable bronc Ol' Red, written by Marty Robbins is given a fine treatment. A fond and nostalgic look at early life on the Canadian prairies is the subject of Abe's own Prairie Homestead. Abe has won a string of awards from the Canadian Gospel Music Association and among the songs of this type, I especially like Johnny Cash's Over The Next Hill. The project was recorded at Slyngshot Studios in Calgary and features some nice guitar work from Abe, with support from Mike VanWensem on guitar and mandolin as well as some smooth playing from Andy Ferraz.
My favorite track on the entire collection is Empty Saddles and Old Corrals written by Abe and Rudy Famulak. Available at azachmusic@telus.net or call (250) 832-1342 to place an order.
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