VARIOUS ARTISTS
Rivers and Rails
Independent
· A couple of local music lovers have coaxed together an eclectic batch of songwriters to create a musical snapshot of Alberta’s history.
They’re all gathered here together, shoulder to shoulder, bellied up to the bar at the Alberta Hotel. There’s a gunrunner downing bourbon, a roughneck washing away his rig memories with beer, and a chuckwagon driver getting the grit out from between his teeth with a shot of tequila. Outside, a settler stops to give directions to a girl from Vulcan while in the distance the steady beat of pow-wow drummers splits the evening sky.
When these earnest characters collide with Alberta’s rich history, their tales are brought to life by a collection of some of the best songwriters ever to place a boot heel on a honky-tonk floor. Steve Pineo sings of "Canadian Whiskey, American Guns," Tom Phillips sings of rig crews waking up in cold trailers on "Roughneck’s Lament," and Stewart McDougall sings of the power of horses to turn a bad day good. Added to the collection are tracks by Black Powder Drummers, Kit Johnson, Ralph Boyd Johnson with Suzanne Leacock, Billy Cowsill and others. While the album feels a little uneven, there are enough standout tracks to keep you coming back to the trough for a little more.
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