On Westerns, his third CD, Denver singer-songwriter Jon Chandler begins to find creative bedrock. Chandler’s western roots go back to ancestors who came to southern Colorado before the Civil War, and include a sheriff who worked the area around Trinidad and Raton. Westerns collects fifteen musical miniatures reminiscent of Charles Russell’s paintings — concise, yet full of detail that informs and delights.
It opens with the strong “He Was No Hero”, which destroys the myth that Jesse & Frank James might have been Robin Hood. Through the tortured eyes of the widow of Joe Haywood, the bank teller Jesse shot dead during the failed raid in Northfield, Minnesota, we see the James Gang for the killers they were. Three decades after Haywood’s death, his widow curses the coward Bob Ford for killing Jesse — she’d rather have done it herself. As for brother Frank: “If I had a gun, I’d hop a train/Head off to Missouri and shoot Frank James/Before he died, whisper low and plain/I’ve sent your soul to the depths of hell with your brother, Jesse James”.
It’s not all badman ballads. Chandler’s smooth baritone lends itself well to stories such as “Wagon Wheel Gap”, where he claims his true love is old Colorado. “The Spanish Peaks” expands on his feelings for the southern Colorado mountains that rise 14,000 above the high desert and are the setting for Chandler’s novel of the same name, the winner of the 1999 Western Writers of America award for best first novel.
The playing here is clean and simple, mostly acoustic guitar, fiddle, dobro and bass, with Chandler’s first-rate harmonica playing draped in the background. The stories and vocals play center stage. Mollie O’Brien provides the lead vocal on the haunting “The Dreams Die Hard”, and Baxter Black the warm narrative on “A Cowboy’s Christmas”.
The West has been the inspiration for all kinds of music, from the Sons Of The Pioneers to Ian Tyson. Add Jon Chandler to the short list of singer-songwriters with a clear vision of its magic.