Album Notes

There's a new and distinct style of western music breaking from the traditional formula and thundering across the plains to Americana music fans who are eagerly saddling up for its debut.

In the vanguard of this unique genre of music is The Pistol River Band's Western Ballad Opera, an epic series of nine intertwined, musical tales highlighting the gripping story of two generations of pioneers in a lawless frontier who find themselves engulfed in circumstances beyond their control.

"Consider it a musical version of the novel or television miniseries "Lonesome Dove," says veteran songwriter and co-writer John Bizzack. "The Western Ballad Opera tells a yarn about the trials, triumphs and tribulations of two generations of characters as their unique personalities collide with the unsettled west, changing their lives forever.

"It's a blend of sequential western ballads, folk, bluegrass, rock and country music that cohesively tell a single, but elaborate and suspenseful tale," he continued. "The Western Ballad Opera is not, of course, a real opera. It's more like a soap opera set in the old west whose characters are richly developed as the entire saga unfolds in each track."

"We were extremely lucky to gather the diversified talent of The Pistol River Band," added co-writer Marvin Adcock (see musician and vocalist biographies attached). "These folks are all A list players and individually have their own claim to many successes playing with and for top artists and musicians on the Nashville music scene. The combination of talent in the blending of music and lyrics blaze some very novel trails."

The Western Ballad Opera takes place between the early 1800s and 1870 and is divided into two "Acts." Each of the "Acts" focus on a handful of crisp, imaginative, funny and sometime sympathetic characters as they interact and grapple with the intense struggle to survive west of the Mississippi. The first "Act" of the opera, "Joe, Moses and Doc," focuses on development of three main characters and how their lives as well as their good and bad fortune intertwined. The second "Act," "Abbey, Morgan and Reuben," continues the story about the next generation of characters and the events with which they deal, live and die.

And, of course, the ballad delivers a series of gut wrenching twists that reveal the reasons behind each character's actions, leaving the listener thinking, "I should have figured that out."

"Without revealing the surprises and numerous twists and turns, let's just say our preview audiences have literally gasped out loud. The opera is more than a musical story - it becomes an experience for the listener." Bizzack said.

One preview listener said, "The plot itself was enough to make me want to hear it over again and each song revealed just enough to make me want to hear the next song." Another previewer said, "It left me wishing for more songs. I didn't want it to end!"

Pistol River's ballad is not your typical western style music, according to Adcock. Although there are few sound effects, the high quality musical production makes listeners sense they have watched an entire stage play."

The Pistol River band approaches their music crisply and clearly, making each track memorable, sometimes humorous and occasionally heartbreaking. The co-writers, who also play with the band, have created a series of realistic, spellbinding characters. Each time the opera is played listeners discover new clues and twists adding breadth and depth to the entire experience.

Most of all, Bizzack and Adcock's Western Ballad Opera simply envelops the listener's imagination. Whether you're listening at home or driving down the highway, you are drawn into a story that's told in a way you've never experienced before. The opera, according to one previewer, "has all the elements to become a cult classic."

And, in the end, that alone makes this new release worth the time to listen. As another listener said, "This story going to stick with me...I want to see the movie!"

The Pistol River Band's "Western Ballad Opera" comes with a 19th century "Playbill" outlining more specific details of the story, including additional plot surprises, along with vintage photographs representing each character and many of the events taking place in the opera. The CD insert includes all lyrics, brief profile of each character and a pre-amble of each story.

Additional details may be found at www.pistolriver.net.