The Highwaymen Album: “The Highwaymen”

Anyone at least in their teens in the 1960s should remember "Michael" (rowing the boat ashore) by the unfortunately under-recorded folk group, The Highwaymen (not to be confused by the much later C&W group led by the likes of Johnny Cash et al). This composite CD is taken from various of their LPs from the 60s, and represents a worthwhile trip back to old territory for many baby-boomers. They don't make music like this anymore today I am afraid!

Like a few million others, I bought 'Michael' when it first hit the charts. The intervening 40 years have done nothing to diminish the recording's charm and appeal. But this CD, culled from the group's various albums, is about far more than just one song. It shows just what a fine outfit the Highwaymen were. And also how innovative they were. They were the first to record Buffy Sainte-Marie's 'Universal Soldier', and they made the first American recording of Ewan McColl's 'The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face' - both of which are on the CD. But this CD contains so many superb performances. There is the patriotic sounding 'Sinking of the Reuben James', the charming 'Big Rock Candy Mountain' and 'Gypsy Rover', the Fifties pop hit 'Cindy', and the reflective 'Number One', a 1974 recording in which the group look back with wry humour on their career and wonder 'what the hell went wrong'. For me, the standout track is the spirited 'Whiskey In The Jar', originally issued as the 'B' side of their third single. Nice to have this one on the CD. My 45 is almost worn out. A first rate compilation, both for those who remember the group first time around, and also for those who simply appreciate top flight commercial folk music.

This is NOT a recording of The Highwaymen - a country music 'super group' consisting of Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Waylonn Jennings singing together. Instead it is a collection of solo performances by each of the artists. It is an import and probably used bootleg source material as the sound quality ranges from poor to mediocre. Don't waste your money. Amazon should not allow such a misleading description to be used in an ad.

I've read all the reviews here, and believe they all did a fine job of describing the merits of this CD. I personally think this is one of the prize discs in my collection. I bought it in 1992 when it was first released, and it provided me with all the Highwaymen material I'd been missing for years.

One reviewer mentioned briefly that this is one of the better releases in the EMI Legendary Masters Series. I thought I'd take a moment or two to fill in a few details about the CD with regard to that reviewer's mention.

For purists in the area of CD reissues, compilations and digital remixing & remastering, you should know that this compilation was produced and researched by Ron Furmanek, a legendary master himself. In addition, Ron did the remastering, and, along with Bob Norberg, did the song remixes. Bob Norberg was the engineer on the project.

The compilation was mastered from the original 3-track master session tapes and 2-track and mono master mixdown tapes. All of this should assure both collectors and fans of The Highwaymen that this CD presents these vintage recordings in the best sound/audio quality possible, and it is indeed a fine sounding collection.

By the way, there are three CD covers pictured on the Amazon detail page for this item. The one to which I refer here is NOT the one with the purple-ish cover art. I have never seen or heard that one.

An almost forgotten group these days though this collection proves that they had more to offer than just their no. 1 hit 'Michael'. Maybe because there were too many folk groups like the Kingston Trio, Brothers Four etc. More likely with the looming British invasion they got lost in the shuffle.

I found the whole album to be pleasant on the ear and one of the better sets in the Legendary Masters series. As well, it's probably the best Highwaymen collection available.