It would be easy, from a folk purist's point of view, to look at Eddy Arnold's Cattle Call as less than authentic. Recorded in 1961-62 at the height of the folk revival, songs like "Streets of Laredo" and "Cool Water" were much more heavily arranged than, say, a Bob Dylan session from the same... [+] Expand

It would be easy, from a folk purist's point of view, to look at Eddy Arnold's Cattle Call as less than authentic. Recorded in 1961-62 at the height of the folk revival, songs like "Streets of Laredo" and "Cool Water" were much more heavily arranged than, say, a Bob Dylan session from the same period. Having said that, however, one must remember Arnold, like Marty Robbins, was singing within the country--not folk--tradition. Within this tradition, it's quite natural to add a healthy dose of echo to Arnold's vocals and to supplement his singing with drums, background singing, and Grady Martin's (who also worked with Robbins) tasteful guitar work. The distinction between a folk session and Arnold's work on Cattle Call also seems less important some 40 years later, when most people would find Cattle Call a stripped down affair. What remains, years after its release, is Arnold's expressive singing and his lovely treatment of classic songs like "The Wayward Wind" and "Tumbling Tumbleweeds." Listening to Cattle Call will leave old-timers asking: Whatever happened to country singers who could really sing? Whatever happened to great old songs like "Cowpoke" and "Ole Faithful?" The last song on the album, "(Jim) I Wore a Tie Today," is more heavily produced and doesn't quite fit in the collection, but this is a small matter. Cattle Call is a solid collection that's easy to like, and makes a nice companion piece to Robbins' series of cowboy albums. ~ Ronnie D. Lankford, Jr., All Music Guide [-] Collapse

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