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           Reviews on Pure "D" Cowboy CD

He’s not kidding. This is pure cowboy. What a pleasure to listen to an album that’s not only about cowboys, cowgirls, and the western life,

but is actually written and performed by the man who legitimately bills himself as “Montana’s Singing Cowboy.” In the world of cowboy poets,

T.J. stands out as a top-notch songwriter, historian, and keeper of traditional values. Many of his appearances are in schools and other

venues where his persona does more than sell his wares. He touches lives, because he sees the bigger meaning of ranches, cowboys, Indians,

spirituality, old horses, and old friends. This is pure American west at its best.

Power Source Magazine - 2007

T. J. Casey's latest CD is the most appropriately titled CD I've seen in a long time. This is for sure a Pure "D"

Cowboy album. All the material here can unabashedly be called "cowboy." It's all about rodeos, ridin' the range,

livin' out west, and how cowboyin' gets in your blood while honoring the history of the cowboy at the same time.

T.J's vocals are even cowboy - sometime pure T.J and sometimes T.J. with a little Bob Nolan or Marty Robbins

influence. You don't get too far into this CD before you find yourself saying, "Yep - I'm listening to a real cowboy here."

When you listen to "The Wind", you quickly realize that had this song been written by Bob Nolan 60 years ago, it

would no doubt have been a Sons of the Pioneers classic. You also quickly realize that T.J. Casey knows how to

put pen to song. In fact, at least eight of the 12 songs on this CD have the potential to become western music

classics. They're the kind of songs other artists should consider recording.

My favorite song on the CD is "It's in My Blood." This is not only good songwriting - it's obvious that T.J. has worked

 at honing his skill - but I'm pretty sure it expresses the sentiment of any cowboy who has ever worked long and hard

 to fulfill his calling. "Blue Moon Trail" and "In Montana" are just pure "D" good cowboy songs. And after hearing a

few lines of "Heart Over Money", I'm thinking, "This is what cowboy songs would sound like if Billy Joe Shaver were

a western songwriter." And that's a good thing!

This CD is not a slick, hi-tech studio production. The insert is even done in black and white. And as with the title, I

think this is appropriate for what T.J. seems to want to accomplish with this set of songs. Everything about this CD

says that the cowboy life is not what you see on the silver screen. It's primarily a life of plain ole day-in-and-day-out,

black-and-white hard, back-breaking work in the midst of the most beautiful country that God spoke into existence.

It speaks of the romance that the cowboy enjoys with the west once the work is done.

With cowboy singers and songwriters like T.J. Casey still living loose and free, we can have confidence that "The

Cowboy Ain't Over Till the Last Coyote Sings."

Marvin O'Dell
Around the Campfire
Classicheartland.com

Wow! The CD Blew us away. You are a great singer, poet and songwriter. You still have a lot of miles and trails ahead

of you but at the end you will still be a "Cowboy". That's a good thing to know. Ride easy my friend and thanks again.
Val & Sandy

For the last several years I have been listening to the music of T.J.Casey, Montana's Singing Cowboy. His new album

 just builds on a career that puts him on a par with Don Edwards, Michael Martin Murphy, or even Riders In The Sky.

 Casey is a "real" cowboy, not just somebody trying to cash in on a niche market in the music business. He not only

can ride, he can work on horses, and I can tell you, from personal experience, that is not an easy task.

This album starts with "Ride Cowboy Ride", about a bullrider's life. Bullriders live for that eight seconds, and they

know that they must not let the bull get them in the well, or they might be headed for the unknown, known commonly

as hell, or the unseen world.

"The Cowboy Hall of Fame" is simply about Dan Mortenson, and his desire to be as great as his hero, Casey Tibbs. To

all of you who rodeo, you know that Casey Tibbs is probably the greatest roughstock rider of all time, and Dan Mortenson

 is nothing but a younger version of Tibbs.

Starting with some great fiddle playing, "i'm Gonna Ride" is about a cowboy's dream of the perfect cowboy life.

"The Cowboy Ain't Over (Till the Last Coyote Sings) follows immediately. It is a tune that immediately reminds me

of "Monte Walsh", and how a cowboy isn't someone who decides to become a cowboy, but someone who is born a

cowboy, and will remain a cowboy until he hasn't a breath left in his body. "It's In My Blood" just reinforces this belief,

that a cowboy is born a cowboy.

"The Wind" features some yodeling by T.J., and brings back memories of Gene and Roy, and a time that a lot of us

wish hadn't passed so quickly.

"Wish I Was Just A Kid Again" is just a quick reminder that we better enjoy each and every moment of our life to the

best of our ability, because when it's gone, it truly is gone, and though we can look at those things that surrounded us

in our younger years, and we can walk in the same tracks, nothing ever does stay the same.

"Blue Moon Trail' is just a good old cowboy song that has some great accordion playing in it, and hearkens back to when

a lot of children in years past spent a dime to get into the double feature at the community theater to see two westerns.

"Montana" is more of the same.

"Heart Over Money" is another song that probably bleeds over into mainstream America today. Today our world is 'money

over heart', and our youth would do well to listen to the lessons that this song can impart. One can't help but think how

much better this world would be if people did do what they love in life, rather than what makes them the most money.

"Without ranchers and farmers", we are in trouble, and, as I listen to this song, I wonder about how many don't realize

 how food gets to the table, and, further, I wonder how they could survive if they had to raise their own. This song has

a lot to say about our society today.

"Cowboy, Don't Change Your Ways" reminds this writer of the real cowboys he has known, and how much better this

world would be if we all had the spirit of the cowboy.

"Old Can Man" is the story of an old cowboy who, though he is on the downside of life, he still lives up to the cowboy

code, and still is honest and true to himself, and hasn't compromised himself in any way.

T.J. Casey has a fine voice, and did an excellent job of not only doing this album, but putting it together in such a way

that it just flows from one song to the next. After several listens, I found myself humming along, and enjoying each track.

This album is about good music, the cowboy life, and last, but certainly not least, the American way and life. I think that

 this album certainly has a lot of things to say about how good a cowboy's life is compared to most of what we live in today,

with all our worries and cares. I think we should thank T.J. for giving us a real "slice of cowboy life" that we can integrate

into our lives away from the ranch and the farm.
John Burris

Takin' the Country Back

America has produced several distinctive varieties of music: spirituals, jazz, blues, bluegrass, rock-and-roll, and Western

or cowboy music. Perhaps more than the rest of these, cowboy music conjures up a mental image of the western frontier

and the iconic figure of the hard-working, hard-living, fundamentally good-hearted cowboy. Of course, the dime novels

 and movies have contributed greatly to that image but that doesn't negate its fundamental truths. And music has always

 been associated with the cowboy, both in reality and in entertainment. These days one of the foremost true cowboy singers

is Montana's T. J. Casey. A cowboy poet, Certified Veterinarian Technician, rancher, and singer. "Pure "D" Cowboy" is

Casey's second album. His first, "Blue Montana Skies," was reviewed here 1/16/03.

The authentic cowboy starts off by encouraging his fellow rodeo cowboy to "Ride Cowboy Ride". There's a nice ringing

chord near the end. Casey dedicates his song, "The Cowboy Hall Of Fame" to the American cowboy. Casey Tibbs was

inducted in 1955 and Dan Mortenson (from Casey's Montana) in 1997. Casey then declares, "I'm Gonna Ride," to the

ideal cowboy country. "The Cowboy Ain't Over (Till The Last Coyote Sings)," Casey protests that the cowboy will be

around for a while yet. In "It's In My Blood," Casey explains why he's a cowboy. That's Native American musician

Joseph Firecrow on flute, rattles, and chant. "The Wind" is a tribute to the ever present wind.

A little reminiscing is in order in "Wish I Was Just A Kid Again." "Blue Moon" describes the life of a lone cowboy.

Casey pays tribute to his favorite state by stating he loves to be "In Montana." "Heart Over Money" is a plea to preserve

 things from exploitation by the big money boys. "Cowboy, Don't Change Your Ways" is a plea to the cowboy not to

change despite the pressures to change. The "Old Can Man" is a moving portrait of a cowboy entertainer who has

fallen on hard times.

T. J. Casey has put together another fine album of cowboy music from an authentic cowboy. "Pure "D" Cowboy"

evokes not only the romance of the cowboy life but also its pains as it resists fading away. He is effective in communicating

the thorough penetration of that life into the soul of the cowboy. Casey is a fine lyricist and musician and has chosen an

 excellent group of musicians to support him here. Special thanks to Joseph Firecrow for his work on "It's In My Blood."

If you like cowboys, cowboy music, or just music, "Pure "D" Cowboy" will surely please.

My Favorite Songs: "I'm Gonna Ride," "It's In My Blood," "Old Can Man"
Copyright 2006 William Theron Yates

Roots66
 

Montana cowboy T.J. Casey returned to the studio awhile back, so he could bring you this new collection of 11

original compositions, plus one by Val Prophet. Actually, Val wrote the lyrics and T.J. wrote the music to that one!

There are some fine compositions here, and as I look around the country to see what DJs are playing, it looks like

each one has a favorite. "It's in My Blood" is one of T.J.'s own favorites (and one of mine), and it features Joseph

FireCrow, who appears courtesy of Makoche' Records. This song represents the theme of the whole album, and

it's very nicely done.

I think the band really shines on the uptempo songs, and Western swing DJs seem to agree with that assessment.

 But, for me, T.J.'s at his best on his cowboy & Western ballads "Heart Over Money" and "Blue Moon Trail" (in spite

of the difficult hight note at the end), and a medium - tempo tune titled "Cowboy, Don't Change Your Ways."
O.J. Sikes-Rope Burns and Western Way Magazines and www.bostonpete.com/broadcast
 

Casey looks like he stepped off the cover of a Louis L'Amour Western paperback. His handle-bar moustache and

traditional cowboy hat and bandana aren't mere gimmicks though. He's a working cowboy who uses his thirty years

of writing songs and poetry celebrating Western cowboy culture.

Known as "Montana's Singing Cowboy," TJ Casey has released the follow-up to his excellent Western swing debut,

2003's Blue Montana Skies. This more traditional acoustic album, Pure "D" Cowboy, is a Montana-made cowboy

 classic, featuring a dozen original songs about riding, roping, and wrangling.

TJ is respected for his horse training as much as his performing. Snapshots on the CD cover
capture him in action on the ranch and rodeoing. Much of his time is dedicated to teaching Western culture and

cowboy poetry to schoolchildren. He is warm and genuine in person, endearing himself to kids of all ages.

Produced and engineered by John Westbrook(who adds guitar and bass), Pure "D" Cowboy features other Montana

musicians, including multi-award-winning fiddler Tim Todd, and Laura Wilson on accordion.

The single from the ablum, "It's In My Blood," features a special guest appearance by Native American flutist

Joseph FireCrow, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Nation of Montana, a past Grammy nominee, and winner

of two Nammy's (Native American Music Association awards).
It is a sincere collaboration between cowboy and Indian.

This has been a busy year for TJ, with the release of his first video, In America, a new book of cowboy poetry,

A Cowboy's Thoughts in Rhyme, and over 100 appearances throughout the country.
Scott Prinzing

MusEco
  

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