Editorial Review:

Album Description:
Although he lived most of his life in Nashville, Marty never left the west behind. He proved that he could masterfully reinterpret classic western ballads, as well as write new ones every bit as good as the old ones. His western recordings for both Columbia and MCA are complete here, spanning the years 1958-1979. The set starts with The Hanging Tree, then encompasses the best-selling Gunfighter Ballads albums that included such classic tracks as El Paso, Big Iron, Tonight Carmen, Mister Shorty, and The Cowboy In The Continental Suit, as well as the El Paso sequels like Feleena From El Paso and El Paso City. Marty mixed self-composed epics with many of the greatest vintage western songs to create a tapestry of music that powerfully evokes the old west and the west in transition.

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Related Items:
     see more

Related Items:

• The Essential Marty Robbins
• Country (1960-1966)
• Country 1951-1958
• Marty Robbins Anthology
• Gunfighter Ballads & Trail Songs
• see more

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Disc 1:

1. El Paso - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
2. Cool Water - Marty Robbins, Nolan, Bob
3. In the Valley - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
4. Running Gun - Marty Robbins, Glaser, Jim
5. Big Iron - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
6. The Master's Call - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
7. The Little Green Valley - Marty Robbins, Robison, Carson
8. A Hundred and Sixty Acres - Marty Robbins, Kapp, Dave
9. Billy the Kid - Marty Robbins, Traditional
10. The Strawberry Roan - Marty Robbins, Traditional
11. They're Hanging Me Tonight - Marty Robbins, Lowe, Jimmy
12. Utah Carol - Marty Robbins, Traditional
13. Saddle Tramp - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
14. She Was Young and She Was Pretty - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
15. The Streets of Laredo - Marty Robbins, Traditional
16. Little Joe, the Wrangler - Marty Robbins, Traditional
17. I've Got No Use for the Woman - Marty Robbins, Traditional
18. Billy Venero - Marty Robbins, Traditional
19. This Peaceful Sod - Marty Robbins, Glaser, Jim
20. Five Brothers - Marty Robbins, Glaser, Jim
21. San Angelo - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
22. Ballad of the Alamo - Marty Robbins, Tiomkin, Dimitri
23. The Hanging Tree - Marty Robbins, David, Mack

Disc 2:

1. Jimmy Martinez - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
2. Ghost Train - Marty Robbins, Babcock, Joe
3. Song of the Bandit - Marty Robbins, Nolan, Bob
4. Wind - Marty Robbins, Nolan, Bob
5. Prairie Fire - Marty Robbins, Babcock, Joe
6. My Love - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
7. Ride Cowboy Ride - Marty Robbins, Emerson, Lee
8. Red River Valley - Marty Robbins, Traditional
9. The Bend in the River - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
10. When the Work's All Done This Fall - Marty Robbins, Traditional
11. Abilene Rose - Marty Robbins, Hosdale, J.B.
12. Dusty Winds - Marty Robbins, Babcock, Joe
13. Old Red - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
14. Doggone Cowboy - Marty Robbins, Babcock, Joe
15. When the Work's All Done This Fall - Marty Robbins, Traditional
16. Small Man - Marty Robbins, Perry, Tom
17. The Red Hill of Utah - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
18. Tall Handsome Stranger - Marty Robbins, Dorrough, Henry
19. The Fastest Gun Around - Marty Robbins, Pruett, Jack
20. San Angelo - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
21. Old Red - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
22. Man Walks Among Us - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
23. Johnny Fedavo - Marty Robbins, Babcock, Joe
24. The Master's Call - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
25. El Paso - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty

Disc 3:

1. The Cowboy in the Continental Suit - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
2. I'm Gonna Be a Cowboy - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
3. Cry Stampede - Marty Robbins, Johnson, Bill [3]
4. Oh Virginia - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
5. Meet Me Tonight in Laredo - Marty Robbins, Cordle, Mabel
6. Take Me Back to the Prairie - Marty Robbins, Sykes, Bobby
7. The Wind Goes - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
8. An Old Pal, A Real Pal - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
9. Feleena (From El Paso) - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
10. Never Tie Me Down - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
11. Lonely Old Bunkhouse - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
12. Night Time on the Desert - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
13. Cottonwood Tree - Marty Robbins, Sykes, Bobby
14. Mr. Shorty - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
15. When It's Lamplighting Time in the Valley - Marty Robbins, Traditional
16. Is There Anything Left - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
17. Tonight Carmen - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
18. Waiting in Reno - Marty Robbins, Pruett, Jack
19. The Mission in Guadalajara - Marty Robbins, Emerson, Lee
20. Love's Gone Away - Marty Robbins, Binkley, Phoebe
21. Bound for Old Mexico - Marty Robbins, Lebsock, Jack
22. Chapel Bells Chime - Marty Robbins, Binkley, Phoebe
23. Don't Go Away Senor - Marty Robbins, Sweeney, Jimmy
24. In the Valley of the Rio Grande - Marty Robbins, Russell, A
25. (The Girl With) Gardenias in Her Hair - Marty Robbins, Byers, Joe
26. Spanish Lullaby - Marty Robbins, Johnson, Bill [3]

Disc 4:

1. That Silver Haired Daddy of Mine - Marty Robbins, Long, Jimmy
2. Chant of the Wanderer - Marty Robbins, Nolan, Bob
3. (Ghost) Riders in the Sky - Marty Robbins, Jones, Stan
4. South of the Border - Marty Robbins, Kennedy, Jimmy
5. Sundown (Ballad of Bill Thaxton) - Marty Robbins, Sykes, Bobby
6. Queen of the Big Rodeo - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
7. Ava Maria Morales - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
8. The Outlaws - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
9. El Paso City - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
10. I'm Kin to the Wind - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Ronny
11. Trail Dreamin' - Marty Robbins, Nolan, Bob
12. She's Just a Drifter - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
13. Way Out There - Marty Robbins, Nolan, Bob
14. The Ballad of the Small Man - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
15. Tumbling Tumbleweeds - Marty Robbins, Nolan, Bob
16. San Angelo - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
17. Pride and the Badge - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
18. All Around Cowboy - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
19. Restless Cattle - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
20. The Dreamer - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
21. Lonely Old Bunkhouse - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
22. Ava Maria Morales - Marty Robbins, Robbins, Marty
23. Shotgun Rider - Marty Robbins, Winters, Donnie

Rating: - great collection
It was time to move from a rag-tag set of tattered Robbins' LPs to digital. This Bear Family 4-disc set seems to be an exhaustive collection of his western ballads including multiple versions of El Paso (long mono and short stereo). The re-mastering is excellent. I didn't specially want the handsome box or nice booklet, but those might be important for others.

To complement this set I got the 2-disc The Essential Marty Robbins which includes the other aspect of Robbins' music, like Devil Woman and A White Sport Coat. It also has quite a few of the western ballads, but not enough for me.

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Rating: - You have to buy this!
I was a little put off by the price, but it is worth every penny. 5 stars are not enough. The booklet with the lyrics to all of the songs is excellent. You will note a few of the tunes like El Paso and San Angelo appear a couple of times. Different versions were brought out at different times. They're all here!!!! Wish
Devil Woman would have been included though.

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Rating: - Hours of Listening Bliss
I bought this box set several years ago, listened to it a couple of times, then put it on the shelf where it sat waiting to be played occasionally. Today I dusted it off and played it from beginning to end while catching up on paperwork.
What a bunch of great songs! Native Arizonan Robbins really is at his best when singing songs of the old west, his golden voice being perfectly suited to the genre. I am not sure if "all" of Marty's western songs are contained in this four CD set, but it must be substantially complete. There are songs of love, songs of good vs. evil, spiritual songs, and songs that glorify the simple life and the beauty of the wide open spaces. There are songs that nod to the Spanish/Mexican heritage of the Southwest and others that sing the praises of the cowboy and the gringo interloper who came to conquer and tame a wild and beautiful land. Perhaps the only song that doesn't really fit the theme of the set is the last song on the last CD, Shotgun Rider.

Now, on any project of this magnitude, there are bound to be a few dogs like the song just mentioned and a few songs that are merely weak. Marty had a tendency to go back to El Paso for inspiration, it was after all his greatest hit. And the listener will notice that on perhaps a half dozen songs. But beyond that, the purchase of this box set will buy you many hours of listening bliss.

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Rating: - Wonderfull country songs
This is an excellent collection. Most of the famous country songs by Marty. His voice backed on wonderfull guitars and chorus is really something you cannot miss. I enjoy this album a lot.

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Rating: - Every Marty Robbins cowboy song in one box.
Marty Robbins had a remarkably varied career, singing everything from mainstream country to Hawaiian music with equal aplomb. His most engaging work, however, was with Western music. Whether writing his own material or interpreting traditional favorites and contemporary classics, Marty was clearly at home on the range. Now, Bear Family has gathered every western song Marty ever cut into one terrific box set. The price tag may be a bit off-putting to casual fans, but anyone who has worn out a copy of Gunfighter Ballads and Trail Songs will be delighted to find that almost every track on each of the four CDs included here is of that same high quality. More importantly, this set is the only way to get the majority of these tracks. Once you do get them, you almost assuredly will not regret having spent the extra dough.