Search - Bob Nolan :: Sound of a Pioneer

A "true" Pioneer

paul scheidecker | Fallbrook, CA United States | 11/22/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you are one of those, who are captivated by the the very special sound of the Sons of the Pioneers, you will absolutely love this cd. As far as I know it is the only recording Bob Nolan did on his own. His voice is probably the most recognizable of all the "Sons", besides Roy Rogers.
All the selections and arrangements on this cd are most "special"."

A Poet For The Ages

Bernie Waugh | Hanover, NH | 01/11/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the history of American reverence toward Nature, Bob Nolan's place is right up with Thoreau, Aldo Leopold and John Muir. Nolan was prime songwriter, and spiritual/musical center, of the Sons of the Pioneers from 1936, when Roy Rogers left, to 1949, when Nolan "retired." He rode the "cowboy" wave, but his best lyrics transcend any genre. Without a word wasted, his moving song-poems about wandering loneliness, and finding God in desert and stars, convey an authentic manliness that his resonant voice made hugely popular in those days before faith became so political, and before "Western" meant the violence of Clint Eastwood. Nolan's memory deserves a much better fate.



That voice still haunts on this unique recording, made a year before his death. The real treats are two of his best post-retirement songs (the only Nolan recordings): "He Walks with the Wild and the Lonely" and "We'll Go A-Wandering" - plus Nolan's moving version of Marty Robbins' "Man Walks Among Us."



There's a line from the Nolan song "The Mystery Of His Way" which could easily apply to his own body of work: "And He will find a way/ To speak with you some day.""