Glenn Ohrlin - A Cowboy's Life (1998/2019)

Western singer and musicologist Ohrlin works through a collection of 17 songs and two poems, mostly accompanied only by his acoustic guitar, with occasional assistance from fiddler J.P. Fraley and second guitarist Gordon McCann. The solo performances, with their spareness, drive home the bareness of the cowboy life, while the several songs accompanied by Fraley's low-key fiddle work take on a sweeter, lighter tone. Ohrlin is the author of The Hell Bound Train (University of Illinois Press) and has compiled his repertoire via working for decades as a cattleman and rodeo worker. Though worthwhile for the student of western songlore, this is perhaps a little on the dry side for the casual fan.