Music of the West
By Hugh McLennan
December-January 2009
 Cowboys & Soldiers
Vannatta
“The sailors caught a break that the cowboys never could, ’cause they never fenced the sea.” That’s a line from the hauntingly beautiful song, Cowboys and Sailors from a CD produced by Larry Vannatta and Bud Maynard. The project features session leader Larry Vannatta on vocals, banjo and guitar, Bud Maynard on bass and vocals, Blaine Evans on mandolin, Lloyd Humphrey on accordion and spoons, Lisa Nail provides vocals, Marina Vannatta on keyboard, Larry McIntosh on drums, Susan Leroux on violin and Arturo Raimirez on percussion.
A flute weaves through the melody on this Bud Maynard composition, but the liner notes don’t tell us who’s playing it.
This neat album is dedicated to the old cowboys and pioneers who opened up the West and the men and women of two generations who gave their youth and freedom to fight in two world wars. Many of the songs are the ones we remember from the war years — Tipperary, White Cliffs of Dover and Long Long Trail — blended with some cowboy classics of the same era. It was recorded in front of an enthusiastic and appreciative live audience at the Horton Road Legion in Calgary. Those of us old enough to remember songs from that era will be transported back to those earlier times. If you’re too young to remember, you’ll still get a sense of what brought the free world together in those challenging times.
Order this one from canadiancowboy.ca or vannatta.ca or call 403-599-2397.
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