Brief Roundup Of Fall Western Titles

Just like every other genre, Western music has its star acts, seasoned veterans, and up-and-comers, many of which will be releasing product this fall.

Among the most talked-about young acts is Austin-based trio Hot Club of Cowtown. Comprising fiddler Elana Fremerman, guitarist Whit Smith, and bassist Jake Irwin, the group will be on the road this fall supporting its Sept. 17 Hightone Records release, Ghost Train.

"Our agenda is not to be revivalist or sound old-fashioned," Smith says of the Hot Club sound, which infuses 1930s jazz with Western swing. "It just so happens we love an older style. We swing the music and play jazz solos over Western melodies. When people see us play, they see that we are enjoying it immensely."

Fremerman says the group "wrote almost all the songs on [Ghost Train] ourselves. There are as many originals on it as any rock or pop act releasing a record," she observes, adding that she hopes the new songs will help dispel the perception that Hot Club is just a revivalist band.

Here's a guide to a few key releases:

• That No Quit Attitude, Waddie Mitchell (Oct. 8, Western Jubilee Recording Co. [WJRC]). The new effort by one of the genre's top cowboy poet/humorists features appearances by Don Edwards, Rich O'Brien, and the Sons of the San Joaquin. The title track was commissioned by the 2002 Winter Olympic Games committee for use there.

• A Dyin' Breed, Royal Wade Kimes (Sept. 17, Wonderment Records). Kimes, a former Asylum recording artist, has found his niche in the Western market. His previous release, Hangin' Around the Moon, was voted album of the year by the Academy of Western Artists. The new CD includes a duet with Garth Brooks on "Night Birds."

• 15 Years: A Retrospective, Sons of the San Joaquin (Oct. 8, WJRC). Highlights from the career of one of the genre's top groups, the album includes such classics as "Charlie & the Boys," "Along the Santa Fe Trail," and a new version of "Ghost Riders in the Sky."

• Wagon Tracks, Red Stegall & the Boys in the Bunkhouse (Oct. 8, WJRC). Produced by Rich O'Brien, this is Stegall's WJRC debut. WJRC partner Scott O'Malley calls the project "a historical overview [of] the way this music migrated from Ireland and then from East to the West. Red's done a terrific job."