Thistles & Thorns is the latest CD from Allan Chapman and Rodeo Kate (The Dinosaur Cowboy Band). It is a short collection of original story-songs from the great American southwest desert.
There’s an existential look at small dusty towns at night, a drought solution from over a century ago, a philosophical take on the human condition, a cowboy love song (they always turn out wrong), an ode to eight legged friends and a tragic story about physical abuse. This is a scaled down CD, recorded to showcase the songs, not just the musicians. Thistles & Thorns – Allan Chapman & Rodeo Kate – RSBM Music ASCAP © 2023; recorded at The Office Recording Studio, Decatur, TX |
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"It's difficult to pick a favorite among the songs, each of which is special. There's the small-town nostalgia of "West Texas Blues"; the cautionary tale "Barstow Texas 1904"; a haunting story of love gone wrong, "Midnight in Mesilla; and the powerful and tragic "Tears of the Heart," which leaves you seared with indelible images of abuse, as it should.
Review by Ollie Reed Jr. from the October 2023 issue of Western Writers of America Roundup magazine.
This CD is meant to be a journey West in music and rhyme. Welcome to Travelin’ West. The westward movement of America with its challenges for a new life are part of both our families’ DNA. Going west meant you had to be mentally tough to survive.
In this CD there are some miniature-movies, dark dramas, cowboys on prancing ponies, some spiritual topics not normally sung about, a ghost song, a celebration of Australian Shepherd, the Mexican winds that heat up West Texas and New Mexico and a few winks and nods to old song traditions that came West with the immigrants and changed around campfires and social gatherings. We tried to include songs that are unvarnished and not overly produced. The West will never be like it was a hundred years ago, or even fifty years ago. Yet, we can pay homage to that tradition. The West is changing even now, and the journey continues. We hope there is something here for you to enjoy and even ponder a bit. |
Caldonia Stomp Sweet Jeannie Cinco Peso Signal Fire The Western Star A Hard One To Know The Question People My Age Love in the West Dance Me To The End Of Love 1*9*7*3 Last Roundup Waltz 
Smoke of the Brandin' Fire The Stars Over Benjamin Medianoche West Texas 1949 Radio Days Texas Ballerina Drovers Trail Palo Duro Saguaro Dinosaur Cowboy Pony Dance Rank Stranger |