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Christmas for Cowboys


Wylie performs some of your favorite traditional Christmas songs and perhaps a few that will be new music to your ears. Recorded in Nashville, this album is destined to become a classic that will be cherished for years to come.

This is not a tired remake of worn out Christmas music. It's a beautiful and moving collection with several seldom-heard titles. Wylie's presentation makes them all sound new.

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As Reviewed in Lively Times
December 7, 2008

"Montana son and Grand Ole Opry veteran Wylie Gustafson presents a likeable collection of Christmas music on this 2007 release. It’s a rendering of traditional hymns, with a dab of original music thrown in.

"Gustafson’s bare-bones arrangements, backed by five stellar Tennessee musicians, work well here. The understated riffs from fiddle, mandolin, accordion, concertina, and electric guitar, fill out the sparse and spare cuts, contributing melody and mood. Fine percussion and bass carry the bottom.

"The album comes out Texas-swinging on 'Go Tell It on the Mountain.' And, as anyone knows about a Wylie album, the 'oh-delay-e-hee' of a yodel makes an appearance right away. Fiddle strains infuse the title cut, a Steve Weisberg tune, about a trail rider expecting to spend Christmas on the wide-open plains. Gustafson puts in a pretty snippet of his own duet yodeling on this one.

"The simple, pensive prayer, 'In the Bleak Midwinter' is next; and a gospel version of 'Behold that Star' rocks with its Peggy-Lee nuances of slappin’ bass and finger-snap, and a cool gospel chorus.

"Gustafson yodels a verse on 'Silent Night,' and sings a verse in German. 'The Gifts They Gave,' a country-plunker à la Johnny Cash, tells of the animals that provided for the Baby Jesus on his birth night. And if there’s such a thing as a 'gospel country waltz,' 'Beautiful Star of Bethlehem,' by A. L. Phipps, is it.

"This album is not only a treat for its musicianship, but also for the songs of old about the holiday."
– Mariss McTucker
Lively Times: Montana's Source for Arts and Entertainment

 

As Reviewed in CowboyPoetry.com

"Christmas for Cowboysnew from Wylie Gustafson (of Wylie & the Wild West)brims with singular spirit. The carefully chosen traditional songs are delivered with inspired reverence, dazzling style, and, of course, a bit of yodeling. Wylie's masterful  interpretations of familiar and lesser known songs shine with the true joy, grace, and meaning of the season. Selections include 'Go Tell it on the Mountain,' 'I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day,' 'Silent Night,' 'In the Bleak Midwinter,' and six others." Margo Metegrano, Editor
CowboyPoetry.com
 

Click on the MP3 links below for samples from Christmas for Cowboys.
Christmas for Cowboys

1. Go Tell it on the Mountain - MP3
2. Christmas for Cowboys - MP3
3. In the Bleak Midwinter - MP3
4. Behold that Star - MP3
5. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
6. Christmas Time's a Coming - MP3
7. Silent Night - MP3
8. The Gifts They Gave - MP3
9.  O, Little Town of Bethlehem
10. Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
 

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From the Liner Notes:
Dennis Crouch - Acoustic Bass
Hoot Hester - Rhythm guitar, fiddle, mandolin, harmony vocals, whistling
John McTigue III - Drums
Jeff Taylor - Accordion, concertina
Mark Thornton - Electric guitar
Wylie Gustafson - Vocals, acoustic guitar 
 
Recorded at Sidekick Sound Studios, Madison, Tenn.
Produced by Wylie Galt Gustafson
Engineered by Mark Thornton
Mastered by Larry Marrs, Sidekick Sound Studios

Traditional songs with arrangements by Wylie Gustafson/Two Medicine Music, BMI. Christmas for Cowboys written by Steve Weisberg/Cherry Lane Music Publishing, ASCAP; Christmas Time’s a Coming written by Tex Logan/Unichappell Music, BMI; Beautiful Star of Bethlehem by A.L. Phipps/Trio Music Co. Inc, Fort Knox Music, BMI.

We celebrate our greatest blessing, the birth of a Savior, with these songs.  May they be a testament to His everlasting glory.
~WG