Album Notes

Introducing eight original songs about the West - six of them by songwriter extraordinaire, Bruce Huntington - as well as two Les Buffham/Walt Richards collaborations.

The 2008 Top Ten Ballot for the Western Music Association included eleven nominations for Trails & Rails, Including 4 of the Top 10 songs - all from this CD! - "Ghosts of Tombstone", "Best Dang Life", "Cold Northern Wind" and "Thinkin' 'Bout Montana". The first three were written by Bruce who was also nominated as 2008 Songwriter of the Year. "Thinking 'Bout Montana" was written by Walt in collaboration with Les Buffham, who was named Poet of the Year for the Western Music Association in 2007 and 2008.

Walt and Les also had two Top Ten nominations for Best Poet-Songwriter Collaboration:"Ten More Miles" and"Thinking 'Bout Montana" "Thinking 'Bout Montana" was a Top Five Ballot nominee in both 2008 and 2009.

Walt was a Top Five nominee for Instrumentalist of the Year and Trails & Rails was nominated in the Top Five for Traditional Group of the Year 2008. And the entire CD was a Top Five nominee for Traditional Album of the 2008.

The title track, "Ghosts of Tombstone", is played for audiences who attend shoot-out reenactments at the OK Corral in Tombstone. Another ghostly offering, "Cold Northern Wind", has a different (and just as intriguing) story to tell.

Guest vocalist, Ken Graydon joins us to sing one of his most requested songs, "Windmill". Ken's version was recorded on tape in 1983 and is not readily available. We think the song (and Ken) deserve a wide audience - we're happy to include them on this CD.

"Below the Kinney Rim" (more Les Buffham lyrics - with tune by Mike Fleming) is destined to become a classic in it's own time. A number of artists have already recorded it.

Do you like mystery in a minor key? Try "Ten More Miles" and "San Miguel" - two unresolved stories that have several possible endings . . .

We could go on this way about each song. But enough from us! We hope you'll be able to take a few minutes to hear them for yourself-