Welcome to Howdywood

List Price: $9.98 Discount Price: $16.75

Customer Reviews:

WARNING: SAVE YOURSELF TEN BUCKS ! [Posted on 1999-11-16]
Well, somebody has got to be the first to review it, so here goes.

Of all the country albums I've heard, this is definitely the worst ever! I bought it just for "A cowboy's born with a broken heart", expecting the rest to be in the same vein (at least the titles looked promissing). I don't know how the other albums by this band sound, but this is pathetic. You can hardly call this country music by any standard. The first couple of tracks sound more like "praise songs", the harmonies are almost gospel-like. The only tracks bearable are "In another tear from now", "If her heart ain't in Memphis" and the forementioned "A cowboy's born ...". Only the latter is really good, the other two being ruined somewhere down the line. ABSOLUTE LOW HOWEVER IS THE KINKS-COVER "YOU REALLY GOT ME".

Verdict: one star for "A cowboy's born ..." and the effort. They should thank me for that one star.

Amazing! [Posted on 2001-07-29]
I don't know what the other guy is talking about. Jeffrey Steele consistantly pounds out amazing vocals. No, not all of the songs are along the same lines as 'A Cowboy's Born...' but how boring would that be?! Any good album has a vast mix showing the artists' ranges.

I've never heard a Boy Howdy song I didn't totally love.

Five Stars... TEN if I could.

If your a guitar player...you'll love this album. [Posted on 2002-07-27]
Superb album. The vocals are awesome. The musicianship is fantastic. The guitar work is crazy. I love these guys. They can play. They have their own sound (not like most that are popular today with all the same musicians on the record, just a different face on the cover / gotta love that Nashville carbon copy system:-(. Wish these guys would put out another record!

If your a guitar player...you'll love this album. [Posted on 2002-07-27]
Superb album. The vocals are awesome. The musicianship is fantastic. The guitar work is crazy. I love these guys. They can play. They have their own sound (not like most that are popular today with all the same musicians on the record, just a different face on the cover / gotta love that Nashville carbon copy system:-(. Wish these guys would put out another record!

Never mind the name - this is great country music [Posted on 2005-08-18]
Boy Howdy comprised Jeffrey Steele (bass, lead vocals), Cary Park (guitars, fiddle, mandolin), Larry Park (guitars, fiddle) and Hugh Wright (drums, conga percussion). The group came together in 1990 and disbanded in 1996. Jeffrey wrote most of the group's songs and has established himself as a successful country songwriter, providing songs for Tim McGraw (The cowboy in me), Collin Raye (Couldn't last a moment), Faith Hill (When the lights go down), Diamond Rio (Unbelievable), Rascal Flatts (These days), Trace Adkins (Chrome), John Michael Montgomery (Hello L-O-V-E), LeAnn Rimes (Big deal) and Montgomery Gentry (Speed, Hell yeah, My town).

Boy Howdy recorded two full-length albums and a mini-album, with their first full-length album appearing in 1992 (this one) and their second in 1995 (Bigger fish to fry). In 1994, they scored a number one country hit with She'd give anything (later covered by R+B singer Gerald Levert as I'd give anything) and another country hit with They don't make them like that anymore. A mini-album (this set) containing these two songs, three other new songs and one song taken from their debut album (A cowboy's born with a broken heart) was released to capitalize on the hits. I can only assume that they didn't have enough material for a full-length album at the time. None of their music had been released in the UK up till then, so the UK record company released an album also titled She'd give anything and with the same artwork as the American release, but containing all fifteen tracks then available. If you have (or buy) the UK edition of She'd give anything, you won't need this.

This album, their debut, contains the song that gave Boy Howdy their first taste of success - A cowboy's born with a broken heart. This last song is solidly traditional but is not really typical of their music, which has a contemporary feel to it. As if to emphasize their varied influences, the album includes a cover (the only cover here) of a Kinks pop classic from the sixties - You really got me. The Kinks did it as an R+B song but it lends itself well to a rocking contemporary country interpretation. The remaining songs contain a mix of ballads, mid-tempo and rocking up-tempo songs, all of which sound brilliant. Apart from the tracks already mentioned, I particularly like If her heart ain't in Memphis, Justine and If this is love, but there are plenty of other great songs here. No wonder that Jeffrey has become a successful songwriter.

Although their music doesn't exactly sound like any other group, fans of Alabama and Sawyer Brown will probably find Boy Howdy to their liking - if they can ignore that silly name.

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