Music Review: Marty Robbins, El Paso City/Adios Amigo (Reissue)

By Melissa Bratcher

I’m a nostalgist. What I love about reissues is hearing a song I’ve forgotten entirely about. In a beat, I’m transported to the back-backseat of my parents’ station wagon, listening to KTTS on the radio. The reissue of Marty Robbins’s El Paso City/Adios Amigo took me right back to that station wagon.

1976’s El Paso City appears for the first time on CD, paired with 1977’s Adios Amigo. Together, they give the listener a sense of the great range Marty Robbins was capable of. While there are the storytelling songs that he is well known for, we get to hear him take on classics and pop songs. It’s a treat.

“El Paso City” was the transporting song for me. A #1 hit on the country charts, it’s deeper than I ever considered. He follows this with a trio of self-penned cowboy songs—proper cowboys, not just fellows wearing hats and boots. These are songs to ride the range by: “Ave Maria Morales,” “I’m Gonna Miss You When You Go,” and “Kin To The Wind” all fit perfectly in the same universe. The man could really set a vibe.

The Nashville Edition (as seen on Hee Haw!) perform backing vocals on the record, and they’re mostly understated. However, their Sons-Of-The-Pioneers-esque harmonies on “Way Out There” are goosebump igniting.

This album is like watching an afternoon of Westerns in your head. There are so many dramatic songs of peril and horses and sure death. “The Legend of Bill Thaxton” would make a great movie, or a short film, at least.

“She’s Just A Drifter” was a big surprise, and doesn’t sound like anything else on El Paso City. Fuzzed-out guitar and a wailing fiddle make this more rock than country. It’s an eye-opener.

El Paso City closes with “Among My Souvenirs,” a hit for both Bing Crosby and Connie Francis, as well as another #1 for Robbins. It’s a showcase for his expressive voice.

In 1977, Marty Robbins released two albums. The first of these was Adios Amigo. The title track is awash in Spanish guitar and vocal dynamics, and it’s fits perfectly into Robbins’s canon. But then, things take a turn for the unusual.

Bobby Darin’s “18 Yellow Roses” is the first in a record full of eclectic covers. It’s an interesting choice, and Robbins makes it his. Mike Nesmith co-wrote “I’ve Never Loved Anyone More,” which Robbins gives an easy vocal to. He makes singing sound like it feels great. He tackles Bobby Vinton’s “I Don’t Know Why (I Just Do)” and makes it earnest, comfortable, and relaxed, but never dull. He sounds as if he’s having fun. Another cover, of Fats Domino’s “My Blue Heaven,” becomes unmistakably a Marty Robbins song.

The bluesy self-written “Falling Out Of Love” is beautiful. The album closes out with the bland “Inspiration For A Song” but is then redeemed with the upbeat and sweet “After The Storm.”

Adios Amigo is a good companion to El Paso City. There’s not a cowboy song within earshot on Adios Amigo and together they give insight into Marty Robbins’s range and versatility. Combined on one disc, they make for excellent listening.

El Paso City/Adios Amigo was reissued via Cherry Red Records on April 15 and is available to order directly from their website.