Cowboy in Flames

Last updated
Cowboy in Flames
Studio album by
the Waco Brothers
ReleasedJanuary 21, 1997
Studio Kingsize Soundlabs
Genre Country, rock, alternative country
Label Bloodshot
The Waco Brothers chronology
To the Last Dead Cowboy
(1995)		Cowboy in Flames
(1997)		Do You Think About Me?
(1997)

Cowboy in Flames is an album by the Chicago-based band the Waco Brothers, released on January 21, 1997. [1] [2] The band supported the album with a North American tour. [3] Frontman Jon Langford used the title of one of the album's tracks, "Death of Country Music", for an art project that was exhibited in Chicago and Nashville in 1998. [4]

Contents

Production

The album was recorded at Kingsize Soundlabs, in Chicago. [5] Steel guitarist Mark Durante joined the band prior to the sessions. [6] "Death of Country Music" is an indictment of the country pop produced in Nashville; the song incorporates elements of the spiritual "Dem Bones". [7] [8] "Fast Train Down" is about a man who leaves his warehouse job to try his luck in Las Vegas. [9] "See Willy Fly By" is an interpretation of the traditional folk song "The Cuckoo". [10] "Wreck on the Highway" is a version of the Dorsey Dixon song. [11] "Big River" was written by Johnny Cash. [12] "White Lightning" is a cover of the song made famous by George Jones. [9] Do You Think About Me?, the band's next album, was made up of songs recorded during the same sessions. [13]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Chicago Tribune Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [14]
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Star full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [15]
Lincoln Journal Star Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [11]
Orlando Sentinel Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [8]
The Philadelphia Inquirer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [16]
The Village Voice A− [17]

Billboard stated that "the Waco Brothers are a brilliant band whose sound is possessed by the demon of rock'n'roll, haunted by the ghosts of old country music, and soaked soul-deep in the blues." [18] The Lincoln Journal Star opined that "the Wacos never misfire, whether on the title cut's shook-up, honky-tonk slide, the Bo Diddley-was-a-cowboy drive of 'Out in the Light' or the stripped-down straight country of 'Fast Train Down'." [11] The Sun Sentinel said that the Waco Brothers "know that good rock can still rattle heads, but country cuts a cleaner path to the heart." [7]

The Chicago Tribune stated that "the band recklessly encompasses T. Rex boogie, Bo Diddley beats, weepy steel guitar, flamenco dirges, gorgeous Gram Parsons balladry, Dylanesque train songs and punky-tonk dirges." [14] Robert Christgau, in The Village Voice , noted that "many of the originals surpass" the cover songs. [17] Greil Marcus, in Artforum , labeled the music "British country without apologies." [19] The Fort Worth Star-Telegram opined that the band "is far too self-conscious and lacks personality." [15]

AllMusic called Cowboy in Flames "one of the finest albums to emerge from the Chicago alt-country scene." [6]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."See Willy Fly By" 
2."Waco Express" 
3."Take Me to the Fires" 
4."Out There a Ways" 
5."Dollar Dress" 
6."Out in the Light" 
7."Cowboy in Flames" 
8."Fast Train Down" 
9."Wreck on the Highway" 
10."Dry Land" 
11."Do What I Say" 
12."White Lightning" 
13."Big River" 
14."Death of Country Music" 

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References

  1. ↑ Price, Deborah Evans (December 28, 1996). "Cutting-edge acts find home at Bloodshot". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 52. p. 5.
  2. ↑ Pruzan, Todd (January 1997). "Sturm und twang". Chicago. Vol. 46, no. 1. p. 19.
  3. ↑ Jenkins, Mark (February 8, 1997). "Waco Bros.: Raucous Country". The Washington Post. p. B3.
  4. ↑ Hoekstra, Dave (August 23, 1998). "Grave situation in Music City". Showcase. Chicago Sun-Times. p. 12.
  5. ↑ "Waco Brothers – Beer and whiskey in the land of milk and honey". No Depression. January 1997. p. 38.
  6. 1 2 3 "Cowboy in Flames Review by Mark Deming". AllMusic. Retrieved January 18, 2025.
  7. 1 2 Piccoli, Sean (February 9, 1997). "Nose Rings for Spurs". Sun Sentinel. p. 3D.
  8. 1 2 Gettelman, Parry (April 25, 1997). "Great Work from South by Southwest". Calendar. Orlando Sentinel. p. 6.
  9. 1 2 Terrell, Steve (February 28, 1997). "Terrell's Tune-Up". Pasatiempo. The Santa Fe New Mexican. p. 18.
  10. ↑ Marcus, Greil (2005). The Rose & the Briar: Death, Love and Liberty in the American Ballad. W. W. Norton & Company. p. 372.
  11. 1 2 3 Wolgamott, L. Kent (February 9, 1997). "The spirit of country: 'World's tuffest band' doesn't misfire with 'Cowboy in Flames'". Lincoln Journal Star. p. H4.
  12. ↑ Daily, Patrick (February 28, 1997). "Waco Brothers: Insurgent Country from Wilds of Chicago". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. E4.
  13. ↑ Fulmer, Douglas (April 24, 1998). "Rock + punk + industrial = country?". Friday!. The Plain Dealer. p. 10.
  14. 1 2 McKeough, Kevin. "Album reviews". Friday. Chicago Tribune. p. 7.
  15. 1 2 Ferman, Dave (January 17, 1997). "Country". Star Time. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 14.
  16. ↑ DeLuca, Dan (January 26, 1997). "Pop". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. F12.
  17. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (April 15, 1997). "The Waco Brothers: Cowboy in Flames". The Village Voice. Vol. 42, no. 15. p. 63.
  18. ↑ Verna, Paul (January 25, 1997). "Cowboy in Flames". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 4. p. 59.
  19. ↑ Marcus, Greil (2015). Real Life Rock: The Complete Top Ten Columns, 1986-2014. Yale University Press. p. 152.
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