Cowboy: Reach for the Sky & 5'll Getcha Ten

The one act on Phil Walden's Capricorn Records that did not sound at all like the Allman Brothers Band, Cowboy didn't just boast a down-to-earth charm all their own. This loose aggregation led by Scott Boyer and Tommy Talton predates the Americana genre by some four or five decades and functions without any of the self-conscious attention to roots of much contemporary work in the somewhat contrived genre. With the emphasis Cowboy placed on vocal harmonies, it begs credulity they weren't able to capitalize on either the country-rock or singer-songwriter movements of the early Seventies, but it's quite likely provincial preconceptions fostered by their Dixie heritage (combined with some suspect business arrangements) hindered their commercial progress, despite the obvious virtues of their sound

ABB founder and leader Duane Allman heard Cowboy and recommended his manager sign them to his label, an act of advocacy that may also have resulted in the inclusion of their song "Please Be With Me" on Eric Clapton's 461 Ocean Blvd. (Polydor, 1974) album. But it was Cowboy's ability to sing and play that moved Skeydog's brother Gregg to enlist their assistance (and offer them some deserved exposure) on his initial solo outing in 1973 (see The Gregg Allman Tour, Capricorn 1974) The group nevertheless existed in relative obscurity as a home- grown act over the course of these first two albums, Real Gone Music's remastering brings of which out the deceptive nuance of the music, while the expanded packaging of both titles supplies proper historical perspective. It's little wonder Cowboy's held on to the 'small but dedicated following' Boyer refers to in the liner notes of their debut album.

Cowboy
Reach for the Sky
Real Gone
2015

As ambitious as the title of the first Cowboy album sounds, the overall quality of the finished product, for all its clear-cut virtues, may have been undermined during the in-house recording at Capricorn Studios in-progress combined with the tutelage of fledgling engineer producer Johnny Sandlin, once a member of Duane and Gregg Allman's Hourglass band. If mix assistant Tom Dowd had a greater role in the project, there's no doubt his more rigorously disciplined approach, as utilized with the Allmans as well as Derek and the Dominos, would spotlight Cowboy's singing, remarkably reminiscent of early Poco, and emphasize their best material, such as the haunting likes of "It's Time." Such an attitude might've made inevitable the exclusion of lesser songs like "Pick Your Nose." so to instead allow the sextet to utilize the multi-instrumental lineup including keyboards and fiddle/violin in addition to acoustic and electric guitars; the result of that altered approach no doubt would've been a more highly-focused representation of the band's attributes.

Cowboy
5'll Getcha Ten
Real Gone
2015

As appropriate as is the stick figure cover graphic on Cowboy's debut, the more ornate image on the front of their sophomore album suits the music inside (which benefits considerably by George Marino's remastering). Whether due to the influence of recording at the fabled Muscle Shoals studios or the presence of Duane Allman and Chuck Leavell (eventually to join ABB) on selected tracks, Cowboy applied themselves far more stringently to the dozen tracks that comprise this sophomore album. Gone is the occasionally haphazard writing arranging and playing from the debut, replaced with a seriously craftsman-like devotion that nevertheless kept alive just enough of the early reckless spirit of the first record. As such, the band wisely submerges down-home homilies as those that populate the titlesong within more a conventional eclectic framework that might well have elevated their status above that of cult figures, with more of the right exposure attuned to the most deserving material: in addition to the aforementioned cover of Clapton's, "All My Friends" appeared on Gregg Allman's first solo work Laid Back(Capricorn, 1973). Unfortunately, Cowboy lost what momentum they had generated to that point when the original lineup splintered, leaving Boyer and Talton to regroup (which they have since done more than once over the interim since then), based on the fan loyalty Talton talks of in the essay included here with period photos).

Tracks and Personnel

Reach for the Sky

Tracks: Opening; Livin' In The Country; Song Of Love And Peace; Amelia's Earache; Pick Your Nose; Pretty Friend; Everything Here; Stick Together; Use Your Situation; It's Time; Honey Ain't Nowhere; Rip & Snort; Josephine, Beyond Compare.

Personnel: Scott Boyer: acoustic Guitar, electric Guitar, violin,lead vocals; Tommy Talton: acoustic guitar, lead guitar, lead vocals; Pete Kowalke: acoustic guitar, lead guitar, vocals, drums; George Clark: bass, vocals;—Bill Pillmore: piano, acoustic guitar, fiddle, vocals; Tommy Wynn: drums, percussion.

5'll Getcha Ten

Tracks: She Carries A Child; Hey There Babe; 5'll Getcha Ten; The Wonder; Shoestrings; Lookin' For You; Seven Four Tune; Right On Friend; All My Friends; Innocence Song; Please Be With Me; What I Want Is You.

Personnel: Scott Boyer: acoustic Guitar, electric Guitar, violin,lead vocals; Tommy Talton: acoustic guitar, lead guitar, lead vocals; Pete Kowalke: acoustic guitar, lead guitar, vocals, drums; George Clark: bass, vocals; Bill Pillmore: piano, acoustic guitar, fiddle, vocals; Chuck Leavell: piano; Duane Allman: electric guitar (Lookin' For You), dobro (Please Be With Me); Tommy Wynn: drums, percussion.

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