Cowboy: Cowboy

Having released the first two Cowboy albums to great acclaim, and with the recent passing of producer Johnny Sandlin and the even more recent passing of Scott Boyer himself, it seemed like a good time to circle back to the last two Cowboy records for Capricorn, which, like our first two reissues, feature liner notes by Scott Schinder featuring great quotes from Tommy Talton and pictures from Tommy's private archive. Talton and Scott Boyer just kept cranking out one great tune after another on their 1977 self-titled album, their last for Capricorn and the last made under their name until 2011. In the producer's chair this time was Capricorn house engineer Sam Whiteside, while the band featured Arch Pearson on bass, Chip Condon on keyboards, and Chip Miller on drums. The band's sound shifted to a more pop-savvy, country-rock sound, but Boyer and Talton's wry, thoughtful songwriting continued to ring true, and such numbers as "Takin' It All the Way," "Pat's Song," "Everybody Knows Your Name" and the Latin-tinged "Straight into Love" demonstrated that the new Cowboy lineup was adept at navigating the novel stylistic wrinkles. Shortly thereafter, the band folded, fittingly, at just about the same time the Capricorn label did, but Cowboy remains a worthy last hurrah. CD debut, remastered by Mike Milchner at SonicVision!