1. Way Out There
2. Tumbling Tumbleweeds
3. There's a Roundup in the Sky
4. Empty Saddles
5. Blue Prairie
6. One More Ride
7. So Long to the Red River Valley
8. Cool Water
9. I'm an Old Cowhand (From the Rio Grande)
10. The Hills of Old Wyomin'
11. Blue Bonnet Girl
12. Ride, Ranger, Ride
13. Echoes from the Hills
14. I Follow the Stream
15. My Saddle Pals and I
16. Song of the Bandit
17. I Wonder If She Waits for Me Tonight
18. Chant of the Wanderer
19. Riders in the Sky
20. The Lillies Grow High
21. The River of No Return
Amazon.com
With their glorious three-part harmonies and sophisticated musical arrangements, the Sons of the Pioneers more or less defined the genre known as Western music. Hip-O's hour-long, 21-track compilation is a superb overview, containing the best of the group's Decca, Vocalion, RCA Victor, and Coral recordings from the 1930s, '40s, and '50s. Formed in Los Angeles in the 1930s, the earliest version of the Pioneers comprised guitarist Leonard Slye (later known as Roy Rogers), bassist Bob Nolan, and singer Tim Spencer. Later members included the brothers Karl and Hugh Farr, who created the group's signature (and surpassingly jazzy) guitar and fiddle instrumentation, with its echoes of Eddie Lang and Joe Venuti; bassist Pat Brady; and singers Lloyd Perryman and Tommy Doss. Despite the personnel changes, the group's rich sound never wavered, and their mournful, melancholic evocation of the Old West on such classics as "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," "Blue Prairie," "Cool Water," and "Riders in the Sky" is pure Americana. --David Hill
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Ultimate Collection
- Audio CD: 0 pages (2002-05-21)
- Publisher: Hip-O Records
- Label: Hip-O Records
- Studio: Hip-O Records
- Average Customer Review:
 based on 12 reviews
- Sales Rank in Music: #45974
Avg. Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: If Not Ultimate, Certainly Close 2009-01-01
Comment: This recording was the "Ultimate Collection" when it was released, although it has since been eclipsed in some ways by the "Essential Collection" with its more generous offering of 42 tracks versus 21 here. However, that two-disc set falls short of the "Ultimate Collection" by not including Tumbling Tumbleweeds or Riders in the Sky. So, in terms of offering all four of the top pieces (along with Cool Water and Blue Prairie) and with a very good sampling of other great pieces (Hills of Old Wyoming, Blue Bonnet Girl, Chant of the Wanderer, etc.), this disc is hard to beat. If you're a true fan, you'll probably end up owning several discs to get some of the missing pieces (e.g., Everlasting Hills of Oklahoma and Timber Trail, not on this disc)and enjoy the overlap among discs, which often sound differently among the different recordings. So, is this collection "ultimate?" Maybe not quite, and there are plenty of other good discs out there (e.g., "Republic Years"), but this one is still great and well worth the price.
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Best of the Best 2008-05-08
Comment: The original Sons of the Pioneers had the perfect blend of harmony. AND Bob Nolan wrote some of the greatest cowboy songs. Among them the unforgetable TUMBLING TUMBLE WEEDS. This recording has the perfect collection of Sons of the Pioneer hits of their day. If you like Country-cowboy of the 40s and 50s THIS IS THE ONE.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating: 
Summary: FUN 2006-08-23
Comment: This is just plain fun. You may start off enjoying it in a campy vein, but you'll find it's more than that. They know they're musicians pretending to be cowboys and they usher you along for a session of make-believe for grown-ups. They poke fun at themselves and C&W in general with lines like "I know all the songs the cowboys know 'cause I heard 'em all on the radio, yippy-kayo-kayeh." And if you liked their nutty yodelling from Way Out There in the film, "Raising Arizona" it's all over their other songs. Play this CD at a party and be forever known as a musical freak.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Love That Sound! 2006-03-17
Comment: Only the Sons of the Pioneers have that sound!! Great country music,and that mellow sound. If I didn't own this one yet--I'd buy it. It's good music to listen to over and over again.
5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
Customer Rating:
Summary: Not country, western. 2005-05-17
Comment: I remembered hearing my folks play the old "Cool Water" record when I was a kid, and it made me pick this up. "Ultimate Collection" is almost that. It's great because we gets songs from the 30's through to the 50's, a lengthy 21 tracks, and it's most of the good stuff. Included are the classics "Way Out There", "Tumbling Tumbleweeds", "Blue Prairie", "So Long To The Red River Valley", and of course "Cool Water". However I do sorely miss "Whoopee-Ti-Yi-Yo", "Cowboys Dream", and the excellent "Wind". No collection really has it all, but this one does a good enough job. Also, I doubt this is remastered, as the sound is a bit dull.
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Ultimate Collection
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