Cowgirl A-Go-Go

Although Cowboy Nation has received good press, it isn't the type of band that calls a lot of attention to itself. Instead, Chip and Tony Kinman have followed their low-key muse, singing old cowboy songs with spare accompaniment, crafting a sound that evokes the past without seeming passé. Like the band's first two albums, Cowgirl A-Go-Go features Tony Kinman's deep, straightforward lead supported by a steady bass and mostly acoustic guitars. Chip Kinman adds harmony and lead guitar work. The slow, steady pulse of "Dollar a Day" and "Good Old Days" is mesmerizing, while shifting tempos fill "Paniolo" with pleasant surprises. A couple of things separate Cowgirl A-Go-Go from the group's previous albums. First, the Kinmans have written all of the material this time, meaning that while they're still evoking the West, they're putting a contemporary spin on it. On the title track, for instance, the cowgirl is described as a cross between a sexpot and independent woman. "She don't want you to think that you're the only/man she wants around/she'll take her pick, she gets away quick/she don't stop messing around." In other words, she's not Dale Evans. Cowgirl A-Go-Go also varies its instrumental formula more often than its predecessors, adding fancy electric guitar fills and slide guitar on a piece like "Full Fathom 5." The album's cover art is quite a curiosity. The front displays a scantily clad cowgirl with a pistol, recently fired, in hand; on the back, a jackrabbit takes aim with a rifle. It isn't clear if the rabbit is aiming at something in the desert or at the poster of a cowgirl on a horse. The inside lyric sheet also folds out into a calendar/poster of the 1930s cowgirl on the cover. This is hardly the kind of cover art that would receive Gloria Steinem's stamp of approval, but it certainly captures one's attention. The music on Cowgirl A-Go-Go will likewise capture one's attention. Cowboy Nation has once again crafted a fine album by combining spare arrangements with the myths of the American West. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., Rovi