Keeter Stuart: Press

....and I can honestly say WOW. I was stunned by the freshness and originality you showed in delivering those wonderful classics in a way that far exceeded any expectations. Well done, my friend.....
I have only responded to a couple of CDs in the past couple of years, so I really do mean it....it's a great piece of work!

"Almost perfect.....great CD.....best thing I've heard done locally in, forever....Great ideas....really fine work".

"Here find twelve timeless Stan Jones songs that snap with fresh musical input from Stuart and friends....it works to put this particular fresh coat of polish on these dusty gems.....I'm betting all but the fiercest steak purists will embrace this very well done salute to the legendary Stanley Davis Jones!

Comment :A very stripped style, just essence. It is very well done.
The sought-after goal is reached......

"Ghost Riders, Searchers & Cowpokes" is a cool new CD by the nephew of one of the most famous of all Western music writers, Stan Jones. This collection is Stuart's tribute to his uncle as all the songs were written by Jones.
Included here are "Cottonwood Tree", "Cowpoke", "Hannah Lee", "The Searchers", "Ghost Riders in the Sky", and many more.
Backing Stuart up are the beautiful harmonies of Susan Scholz, excellent fiddle, banjo, and mandolin by Lex Browning, along with the efforts of other superb musicians.
Stuart has a great baritone voice and a relaxed, comfortable style, and he does a fantastic job of delivering these songs. On a scale of one to ten, the "wow" factor here is about twelve. This one has instantly been added to our stack of all-time favorite CD's.

With the release of "Ghost Riders, Searchers, and Cowpokes" Keeter Stuart has snapped up the holy cowboy grail with this sterling collection of some of his Uncle Stan's finest songs. You can't pigeon-hole this effort as western or cowboy music though - these genre-busting arrangements will continually delight and challenge your musical senses. From the jaunty bluegrass feel of Hannah Lee, the lovely lilting soprano sax in The Lilies Grow High, the mariachi horns of El Diablo , to the intriguing Caribbean rhythms of Ghost Riders, these great old Stan Jones compositions are transformed into a memorable and richly rewarding amalgam of songs that deserve a place in any and all music lover's library.

The American West is often described by sound and smell: hooves pounding hard plains, the acrid scent of cowboy coffee or a smoky campfire, lonely cowpokes singing to the herd. And while this sensory information is strongly evocative, it has become as over-worked as the proverbial pack mule. How else can we find the essence of the old west? In ghost stories.

If you listen closely, the music of Keeter Stuart will conjure up more than a few spirits. Though the "wild" is mostly gone from our western states, what has remained and what feeds our longing for adventure are the stories, the legends, and the songs. Gratefully we also have modern troubadours like Keeter Stuart to give them voice.

The songs on his most recent release, "Ghost Riders, Searchers & Cowpokes" were penned by his uncle, Stan Jones, during the heyday of the movie cowboys. Uncle Stan witnessed the real life, often-terrifying, gritty world of hard work and short lives of western adventurers played out against the high desert landscape of Cochise County, Arizona. And it doesn't take much of a stretch to feel the shiver of ghostly remains in another place Jones lived and worked: the sparse, stunning terrain of Death Valley.

Tales -- "tall" or true -- of outlaws and misdeeds, of looking or longing for love, and of everyday actions by men and women of all colors who lived and worked the west are at the core of this music. In celebrating and reclaiming the story-songs of Stan Jones, Keeter Stuart pays homage to his heritage as he sings new life into old legends.

You won't need to saddle up or even break a sweat to appreciate this musical labor of love. But be prepared: you will want to listen many times to these timeless songs.

Carol Anderson, DJ
host of "Rubys' Roadhouse" on KXCI
91.3 FM - Tucson

........ An idea was obviously germinating, one that would blossom some two decades later into “Ghost Riders, Searchers And Cowpokes – The Timeless Songs Of Stan Jones” (Comstock). Together with a band of superb musicians (including a wonderful singer named Susan Scholz Hammel) Keeter was lovingly revived twelve of Jones’ best songs. Obviously “Ghost Riders”, “Cowpoke” (included both as a band and solo number) and “The Searchers” are in there alongside other great songs like “Hannah Lee”, “Wedding Day”, “The Lilies Grow High”, “El Diablo”, “Buffalo”, “The Hunter’s Return”, “Wringle Wrangle” and “Burro Lullaby” featuring, on tenor guitar and vocals, Stan Jones! www.keeterstuart.com
Remember there are stars in the southern sky.

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